Leap of Faith Day

Today--it's somewhat of a special day.  It only happens once every four years.  It's leap day.

My nephew was actually due today, but that little sweetness arrived a few days early giving him a normal birthdate! Whew.

What is so special about THIS day? After all, it's really just a normal day.  A Monday even.

But..

Oh....

Just wait.

It's a day for a LEAP OF FAITH.

It always amazes me when God keeps whispering to your heart the same message over and over.  It may come in different forms and be worded a bit differently, but the root of the message is the same. 

And today, I'm finally stopping to TRULY listen to that message.

Yesterday at church, our pastor greatly encouraged us to pray a dangerous prayer, "Lord, do things we're not used to."  Or pray to be shaken up. 

The last several weeks, I've been participating in an online Bible Study based on "Becoming More Than a Good Bible Study Girl".  Between reading the book, listening to conference calls with various God-inspired teachers, and in conversations online, a theme has REALLY been grabbing my attention.  Pray dangerously.  Don't just pray for our convenience.  Instead pray to be inconvenienced.  Pray to get "messy" with our faith. 

In her book that the Bible study is based on, Lysa Terkeurst says,

"Yes, we want the promises, but we don't want to get any dirt under our fingernails in the process.  We want comfortable circumstances, but we resist any transformational changes that might be necessary.  Oh, how we want the gifts promised here, but I wonder if the real treasure is to get to the place where we want the Giver most of all."

Ouch!

This morning, my dearest mentor shared that today was literally a Leap of Faith Day in her life.  All day those words have been running through my heart at warp speed. 

I need to take a leap of faith today. 

I need to start praying those dangerous prayers.  Why are they so dangerous?  Because they might make us step out of our comfort zone.  They might reveal God asking something hard of us.  It might cause us to get dirt under our nails.  They aren't dangerous because they invite danger in, but because they are the kind of prayers that change us.  Isn't that what we really need?  To be changed.  To see differently.  To react differently.  To live and love differently.

It  is important to pray for our daily needs and to keep an open conversation going with God about anything and everything in our lives.  I'm not denying that. 

But....

What if?

What if I actually prayed those few words with sincerity...

"Lord, do something I'm not used to."

or

"Lord, shake me up."

Maybe, today my "Leap of Faith Day" is to pray that prayer.  To be willing to step out on the edge and just jump. 

Having just been to hear Amy Grant and Stephen Curtis Chapman, one of his older songs is on repeat loop in my heart.  (Another Holy Spirit whispering of the same message.)

My heart is racing, and my feet are weak
As I walk to the edge
I know there is no turning back
Once my feet have left the ledge
And in the rush I hear a voice
That's telling me to take a leap of faith
So here I go

I'm diving in, I'm going deep, in over my head I want to be
Caught in the rush, lost in the flow, in over my head I want to go

The river's deep, the river's wide, the river's water is alive
So sink or swim, I'm diving in

I'm taking that leap of faith.  Sink or swim.  I'm diving in.

What leap of faith might he be asking you to make?