Stepping Out in Faith

Anyone who has talked to someone in the band about us going full time has probably heard the phrase, “We’re out of the boat now.” We all left our jobs back in June 2015 so that we could always be available to go wherever God opens the door for us. We stepped out on faith that God would provide our needs to go where He needs us to be. It wasn’t the easiest thing to do at first, but the more we have relied on Him the more He has blessed us. We are living proof that God will do what He says and will take care of His children.

When we stepped out we learned just what it meant to fully rely on God and trust Him in all things. In doing that God used it as a way to weed out those who weren’t ready to really go into full time ministry like He did with Gideon and his army in Judges 7. God told Gideon that he had too many men in his army and that if they won then the people would be boastful and say that they won and they wouldn't give God any of the glory. So first He had Gideon tell the men that anyone who was afraid should leave and 22,000 men left. Then God said there were still too many men and He told Gideon how to test them. He had Gideon take the men to the river for a drink and God said that anyone who put their head into the river to drink like a dog would needed to be told to leave, but those who used their hand to cup the water and bring it to their face to drink while they kept watch was to stay. Gideon was left with just 300 men. Think about that for a second. He went from having over 22,000 men to 300. Through Gideon’s obedience God was able to use just 300 men to defeat the entire Midianite army and deliver the Israelites.

When we started the band we had 14 members between those in the band and the family members that traveled with us. We are now down to just 8. God knew the hearts of the people and knew who was ready to travel and who wasn’t ready. He slowly pulled people from the ministry and replaced others till we had just the right group to go out and do His work.

Sometimes it feels like every time we would start to doubt what God is doing and second guess ourselves God just does something so amazing as if to say, “Don’t you get it yet? I got it!” He did that to Gideon too. He asked God for 3 different signs of confirmation before believing the God wanted him to lead the army and every time God gave it to him. Every time we say, “God are you sure?” He shows us that we are exactly where He wants us right now. When our singer left just 2 weeks before we were supposed to leave for a month long tour God gave us a new singer the NEXT DAY. The need was filled before we could even try to do anything about it.

If God calls you to step out in faith you can believe that He will carry you the whole way through. He will mark and guide you steps the whole way through. One of my favorite phases is "God doesn't call the equipped, He equips the called." Meaning you don't need to have it all to do Gods work. If He calls you to do something He will give you all the tools you need to do the job.



If you would like to read more about Gideon and what God did through him you can read his story in Judges starting in chapter 6.


Closing question:
What areas in your life has God asked you to step out in faith? Did you listen? What blessings do you think you either received or missed out on?

The Chains Holding You Down

"Break the Chains" has become the calling card for Never Forsaken. Everywhere we go Jim gives a brief testimony about himself and the whole team about the chains that God has broken in the lives of each of the band members. Those things that weigh us down, hold us back and that the enemy likes to use against us when we're weak. Everyone has a story and has chains that hold them in place instead of being able to grow in Gods plan. God broke Jim's (ministry leader/lead guitarist) chains of alcoholism with no program or rehab. His wife Lois (bassist) was freed from regretting things that she had done in her past before she was saved. Doug (drummer) stopped holding grudges against people who had wronged him. Gage (tech crew) was freed from an addiction to heroin.  Cristabelle (lead vocalist) was released from fear. Bob (sound engineer) stopped being quick to anger.

Myself? I had to think hard about that. It wasn't that I didn't think God was moving in my life, but because I didn't feel like I had such clear cut answer like everyone else did. And since I wasn't on stage with the band actually dropping the chains and sharing, I stopped trying to think of one. No one really talked to me about it anyway, so no big deal right? Well then Jim started calling me out in the crowed and telling people they could talk to me about my chains. Now I had to think of something. A few shows went by and still nothing came to me for what to say. I started to worry every night that someone would ask me and I'd have nothing to say. I really had to dig in and spend some one-on-one with God to figure this one out.

Finally He showed me. God has broken my chains of taking my self worth from other people rather than Him. I had always relied on my family, friends and people around me for my self-esteem and to tell me who I was. I would change my personality to fit the people I was around so that I would be accepted and people would like me. I realized that the reason why it took so long for me to see that was because it was a gradual change. It didn't happen all at once, it took some time. I really couldn't even say how long it took or when the last bits of that chain fell. I just know that changing how I saw myself and how I felt about myself was not something that I could do on my own. That was all God.

For some people, God helped them bust through their chains like an ax on the chopping block, mine took some more time with a saw working its way through the metal. I thought for a while that because I couldn't identify my struggle right away that maybe I couldn't say that God broke any of my chains. That just wasn't the case. It just took some time for me to realize that God doesn't always have to come though like a wrecking ball. Sometimes our chains are wrapped so tight around who we think we are that He has to work a little slower so that we don't get hurt in the process.

We would love to know what chains God has broken in you life! Leave a comment for us with your praise reports!