A Leap Of Faith

Steve O. Alabi

Fear is powerful, but faith persists.
Fear says, “why try?” but faith says, “why not?”.
Fear builds walls, but faith builds bridges.

Most of us are afraid of heading into the unknown, of uncertainty, of unfamiliarity, of not knowing what’s going to happen. We are scared that things could go wrong, that things will be uncomfortable, and that things might not go as expected.

Taking a leap of faith and throwing yourself into the unknown can be very rewarding. It means that you fully surrender to all expectations that you and others have ever had of yourself.

All of the greatest things in life require a leap of faith. It’s called a leap of faith for a reason. But what is faith exactly?
Faith is the belief in something larger, grander and more powerful than you. Faith is the belief that you cannot fail, you can only learn. Faith is the belief that you’re always being guided by God.

I took my leap recently and will like to share the experience with you.
My wife and I planned a trip to Nigeria earlier this year, with all the necessary arrangements done and concluded. It was scheduled to be a two-week trip. Alas, we were shocked to find that everything went unglued. It became a two-and-a-half-month trip. Everything that could go wrong went wrong at the worst moment during the trip. In all these, the presence of God was very evident.

Funds we were sure would come for us to execute the project never came. It was a period of total disappointment and uncertainty. We had daily expenses to meet without having any plan or hope of earnings during the trip. We kept on praying and believing that a miracle would happen. In the midst of all these, the “great provider” was working overtime on our case. It was tough and unshakeable faith!

By Divine Providence, all our needs were met and more. As a matter of fact, it was in thick of these problems that a long-time friend donated a sum of money that was equal to half of the expected funds we so relied upon to go on the trip.

Immediately after the donation was received, even documentations we had been processing for over three months were concluded in less than an hour by someone we never planned to contact or ask for assistance. It all looked like the situation was now being run on auto-pilot. It was God at the control panel and our leap of faith was gaining altitude. It really took off.

I like to think of my faith as an interconnected network of tree roots: No matter what storms may come my way, I will remain unshakeable and stand tall; I may bend, but I shall never break; I am grounded yet boundless. And yet, despite all of the strength I garner from my faith, it can still be difficult to accept this truth.

Fear is powerful, but faith persists. Fear says, “why try?” but faith says, “why not?”. Fear builds walls, but faith builds bridges.

A life lived in fear is like a bed of springs: It propels you headfirst toward a sliding glass door. But a life lived in faith is like a pile of pillows there waiting at the other end. No matter how many times you leap, you’ll always land softly.

No matter how many times you doubt your greatness, you’ll be sure to bounce back.
No matter how many times you trip up in fear, your faith is there to pull you back up with a hug.