walk_in_providence

Walking in God’s Providence, by Randall D. Kittle

Have you ever looked around at the church you are part of or even the greater church in your area and said, “There must be more”? The answer, of course, is yes, God has much more for us, and it begins in our own lives. God has much more for me … much more for you … if we will only begin to lay hold of it. There is always more in the kingdom of God, but most of us never attain even a fraction of what He has for us because we simply go through the routine of everyday life just like all the other people of this world instead of moving forward in the providence of God. It is time for true believers to get off the expressway of our modern lifestyle and begin to walk in the path of divine providence.

If we want to do more than scratch the surface of the kingdom of God and start to attain our spiritual destiny, it involves primarily two things: work and risk. Of course, that is just another way of saying it takes faith. Real faith is an active verb. It means acting upon the hopes the Lord has planted within us by going where He leads us and doing what He instructs us.

Walking Out Your Salvation
God tells you in Philippians 2:12 “to work out your salvation.” Working out your salvation involves walking it out. Let me assure you that while this is no walk in the park, it is how we walk in divine providence.

The most important step in every spiritual journey is the first step. The second important step is the next step. But what is important about every step is to be certain that it is the step God wants you to take. You don’t want to be hesitant, but you need to hear and heed the leading of the Holy Spirit as to when and where your next step will be taken. Isaiah 30:21 promises, “And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it.’” With each step you have to make, you will always know “by faith” that you should take it, but you will never know for certain until you do. This is because walking in God’s providence is always a walk of faith.

Steps of Faith
Recently, the Lord gave me a vision that shows why walking in God’s providence is such a walk of faith. It began with a person walking forward step-by-step on a path formed of paving stones. As they stepped on each stone, the edge of the stone seemed to illuminate as if to say, “Yes, that was the right step to make.” This sojourner was moving along quite steadily until suddenly they stopped and stood still in their tracks. The path had led to a river, and it was on the bank of this river that they halted their journey. After what seemed like quite a wait, a gentle breeze picked up and in it a hushed voice seemed to say, “Step to the right.” The person turned to look behind them, but, seeing no one, stood their ground. Once again, the breeze began to blow and I faintly heard the same instruction. This time they slowly and cautiously took a step forward and to the right. Just before their foot struck the water, a stepping-stone with its edge illuminated arose from the water under their foot. This same procedure was repeated until they reached the other side of the river.

Sometimes as we begin to step out in faith into something new, it seems relatively easy at first. Each step we need to take seems so clear, like the footprints they used to use for instructing a dance class. Eventually we come to place where we are not certain what step to take. Maybe there are too many choices; maybe there don’t seem to be any good choices. This is when it truly becomes a walk of faith. All of us like to see where we are going, but walking in God’s providence is a walk of faith, and we will often not be able to clearly see the next step, “for we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7). When this happens, we must step forward in faith choosing the way the Holy Spirit leads.

Stepping Stones on Our Walk
Walking in God’s providence is not one giant step. It is a step-by-step process. While they may have looked like instantaneous advancements, most of the spiritual victories in your life involved many steps of obedience before any breakthrough actually broke through. I know that is how it has been for me on my spiritual journey. Whether it was preaching my first message, my wife and I starting our ministry, our first pastorate, being invited to share my first prophetic message at a church, hosting our first conference, etc., it always involved walking by faith, obediently choosing to take step after step before things “suddenly” broke through.

Allow me to share with you an example of how the amazing things of God are walked out by simply taking step after step on God’s providential path. One day I received a phone call asking if I would go to a hospital in another state and pray for a woman whom the doctors had declared brain dead and wanted permission to disconnect her life-support. Even though I had no idea what God wanted me to do when I got there, I felt the Holy Spirit encouraging me to go, so I told them I would be there as soon as I could. The first step on this spiritual journey was: Step #1 - Go where God leads. We must be willing to go where God leads, even when we do not have all the answers. We are to go in faith, believing that, since God is leading, He will also show us what to do.

As I drove to the hospital (which took about an hour and a half), I worshiped the Lord and asked Him what He wanted me to do and say. He led me to Deuteronomy 30:19, “… I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life …” The words “choose life” seemed to just explode before my eyes. Even as I continued driving to the hospital, I began to pray this for the woman and prophesy this over her. Step #2 - Seek God’s way. It is important not only to go where God leads us, but also to do as He instructs. It is all too easy for us to just do what is familiar to us, what has worked in the past. But that is presumption, not obedience.

When I got to the city where she was, I had difficulty finding the hospital, trouble finding the right building, and a problem locating her room. By the time I got there and they asked me what we were going to do, I felt like anything but a mighty man of God. Though doubt wanted to come in, I did not share any of the difficulties I had in getting there or the littleness of the leading I had received for praying. Step #3 - Make no room for the devil. If we are to going to walk in faith, it is important not to share our doubts with others. As it says in Ephesians 4:27, “… do not give the devil an opportunity.”

After explaining to the mother how we would pray (and convincing the doctors that I certainly could not do this “dead person” any harm), we went in and prayed for the young lady. As we prayed, I could feel the presence of the Holy Spirit so strongly in the room. Prophesying for her to “CHOOSE LIFE,” I expected the monitors to start beeping and blinking and her to instantly awaken … but nothing happened. After praying for quite some time, I instructed the mother to keep praying, keep believing, and then I left. Step #4 – We must be willing to obey, even in the light of possible failure or looking foolish.

As I drove home, I prayed for her … and talked to God. I had more questions than answers. God had led me to go, given me a prophetic word to declare, and brought His presence powerfully into that room — yet nothing happened. Or, so I thought. The next day, I received a phone call from one of her relatives that the woman was starting to respond. Soon she was out of intensive care, and last summer I officiated her wedding!

The path of providence is not some deep, hidden pathway that only a few of us can discover. It is simple to find, but difficult to advance upon because it takes courage, boldness, and obedience. Simple … but certainly not easy. To walk in God’s providence we must have faith beyond reason and a willingness to look foolish in the eyes of the world. We must be willing to try and fail, instead of failing to try. But if we will choose to walk in faith on God’s path of providence, who knows what He will do through our lives.