A leap of faith, according to the dictionary is an act of believing in or attempting something whose existence or outcome cannot be proved. It is when we take action believing in something outside our boundaries of reason. Like the fellow i met in 1981 who told me about when he and his family drove 386 miles on an empty tank of gas. The reason they stopped wasn’t that they ran out of gas but because the Lord told them to pull up at a gas station and He would provide gas for the car. Sure enough, when they pulled up to the pumps, the man in the next aisle asked if they would like a fill-up. It was beyond all reason, beyond anything they thought. When the gauge on the dash said the tank was empty, empty, empty, the Lord told each of them, starting with the kids in the back seat, to keep going, going, going. So, they did. At first, they inwardly prepared themselves for their faith to be dashed, but the further they went, the more amazing things got. At the 50-mile mark, they stopped holding their breath in trepidation and trembling. At the 150-mile mark, they were laughing and giggling with joy, and at 300 miles and beyond, they were singing so loud, hands in the air, it was all they could do to hold themselves together.

Now you may say that story is a bit over the top, but it happened. The car wasn’t a little 50 miles to the gallon vehicle. It was an old, gas guzzler. It was all they had. That was a leap of faith … it was beyond reason and far past their ability to comprehend, outside of the fact that God had done it.

The Lord asks us many, many times in the course of our lives to believe Him, beyond our work-a-day world, and enter into the realm of possibilities according to Him. For many, believing past what we can see seems insurmountable, yet for others it appears to come easier.

Sundar Singh was leading a group of people in the wilderness in India, carrying the gospel to remote villages. They came to a raging river with no way to cross. In front of everyone, within everybody’s hearing, he told a tree to fall across the river in order that they would cross. The tree cracked, popped, and fell exactly as was necessary. It was a leap of faith beyond what the people could imagine. God testifies to us who have eyes to see and ears to hear, He abundantly, openly testifies that He is able to do more than we imagine, better than we hope, ready and able that nothing is impossible for Him.

i had a dream recently where myself and some others were being chased by an army taking over the country. We came to a large green field and began crossing all that expanse of green. i could see the army in hot pursuit, coming down a dirt road. Suddenly, to my left walking near me in the field, a man leaped up, grabbing at something i couldn’t see. Instantly, in his hands was a cord, and above him was a glowing green parachute. In the dream i could feel my mind trying to reason through it, yes no yes no… but from my heart rose the idea to try, just try. Why not? So i too jumped as high as i could and pretended to grab a cord which, by all reason, was not there. Instantly a cord was in my hand and a large glowing, sparkling green parachute was above me, carrying me upwards. Suddenly, i could see others jumping also, having been inspired by what they saw in the other fellow and myself, and instantly, in their leap of faith, they all  held cords in their hands, which previously was not there, and at the top of each cord was a saving parachute. The wind began to blow and we all rose up out of harm’s way and were swept into the distance, over the tree tops and mountains to safety.

We all have leap of faith-type occasions in our life, at one time or another, and if you say you don’t, i’d bet you do except you simply didn’t see it. To me, the question isn’t “do you have leap a leap of faith” testimony, but maybe, more importantly, do you notice? For some, a leap of faith might be to quit your job and become a volunteer with a ministry in another country, after all, if you don’t go, it’s just not going to happen. For others, it may seem a leap of faith to believe God can change the heart of a spouse, child, or friend. It’s easy to doubt ourselves in the middle of our leap, but in that action, regardless of doubt, faith overcomes and the miraculous follows. It is putting your trust in God instead of yourself and then acting on that belief. Faith equals trust training.

Hebrews 11:6 tells us that faith triggers a response of pleasure in God’s heart. As we demonstrate our trust in Him, He is not apathetic or indifferent but actually delights in our belief in Him. Don’t you know, in Matthew 14, when Peter stepped out onto the water, it was a total leap of faith. By all reason, the water would not support his weight. BUT, he had a call on him from Jesus who said, “Come to me”. In John 9, it was a total leap of faith when the blind man allowed Jesus to put clay on his eyes and suddenly he could see. What in the world does clay have to do with sight? i don’t know, but Jesus was obedient to the Father, and that’s what He did. Do you think the blind man was thinking to himself, “i doubt this will work, but it can’t hurt to try.” He allowed Jesus to exercise faith on his behalf, and the blind man exercised faith by allowing the situation to proceed.

i know, whoever you are, that you’re likely facing circumstances so out of the realm of possibilities, and everything in you is screaming, no way out. But God will make a way where there was no way. It’s a leap of faith but you’ll never know where the path will lead if you don’t try.