The Leap: How to Follow God’s Call without Fear

Jerusha: I’m pleased to welcome Hannah Davis to the blog today! I had the pleasure of meeting Hannah at a conference last year and am excited to learn more of her heart for God and courage against fear. Join me in giving her a big FW community welcome!

By Hannah Davis

Terrifying.

That’s how I describe the moment of stepping into Princess Izzy, my ’98 Dodge neon, and driving across the country one hot July nearly six years ago.

It wasn’t just because I had to trek across plains, mountains, and desert in the blistering heat with no A/C. It also wasn’t because my car was held together by duct tape and no small amount of prayer.

It was because I was moving halfway across the country to Southern California.

You see, I was just coming off of a major failure. One that shattered my confidence in who I was and humbled me to my core.

And in that brokenness, I asked God what he wanted from me.

He asked me, “Do you trust me?” (I always remember that moment as if God had an Aladdin voice.)

“Um, of course.” (Like, duh, God. Helloooo.)

“No, do you really truly trust me?”

I thought about it. Swallowed. Choked a little. Then nodded my head to myself.

His request: move to California.

Now, I know that doesn’t seem like the craziest request. When I think of leaps of faith, I usually think of Gideon, leading his measly army of 300 men into battle. I think of David, fighting a giant—with just some rocks and without any armor. I think of Peter, walking on water. (Although, really, I do that every winter in Minnesota. #winterlakelife!)

It wasn’t really the idea of moving to a land of palm trees and beaches that terrified me. It was leaving the Midwest, a place I had called home since birth. It was leaving my family behind, as I knew I was going to miss out on celebrating many events and holidays with them. It was the fact I had only a temporary place to stay and a couple of potential part-time jobs lined up. It was the $800 I had left in my pocket coupled with a significant amount of student loan debt, all compounded by the high costs of living in Southern California.

It all crippled me with fear. Anxiety attack kind of fear. Calling friends and freaking out/bawling/blubbering to them kind of fear. (Uh, thanks for that, Daniella.)

I once listened to a sermon by John Piper entitled “But God.” I probably should’ve paid more attention, because I was about to experience the biggest “But God” moment of my life.

But God was insistent. I had never experienced God’s voice so clearly than when He put it in my heart to move, and despite the fact I had every logical reason to say no, I knew moving was still the right decision.

Truthfully, a lot happened in that first year that would’ve drowned a lot of people. I was able to find a couple part-time jobs right away, which kept me afloat for six months, but my temporary housing situation was quickly running short on time, and I hadn’t found a job that would pay me enough to actually make a living. Not only that, my poor Princess Izzy finally collapsed into a heaving pile of metal and exhaust one day on the 101 freeway just five months after the day I left home.

I won’t go on to tell you how God figured it all out, because we could be here for days. “But God” did. In every single situation that threatened to drown me, he used His people and His amazing ways in providing jobs, providing meals, providing transportation, and providing housing at the exact right time with the exact right people. I eventually moved back to Minnesota, but those years in California were some of the hardest and the best years of my life.

The idea of faith sounds perfectly do-able until you have to put it into practice. Then it becomes a terrifying dark cavern—a place where you are certain your next step will be falling into a pit.

Yet, the best part about being in that dark cavern is that it requires you to focus every day on trusting in His plan. Then you get to watch how God, the best Author, unfolds His master plan.

Francesca Battestelli came out with her song “Strangely Dim,” based on the traditional hymn “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus,” around the same time I headed out to California. It became an anthem for me during that turbulent first year. The original hymn’s lyrics say this:

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,

Look full in His wonderful face,

And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,

In the light of His glory and grace.

If God is calling you to do something and you feel like it’s crazy or doesn’t make any sense, take that step (see: gigantic leap) of faith, and then keep your eyes fixed on Him, because that’s where God is going to show you His great power.

Have you ever taken a leap of faith? Have you had a “But God” moment that negated your fears? Please share!

Hannah Davis is a journalist by day and aspiring fiction writer by night.

Hannah currently lives in the heart of Minnesota, where she summers by the lake and passionately cheers for the Minnesota Vikings in the winter.

She also loves to escape the bitter cold to the sunny beaches of Southern California, the land she calls her other home.

Connect with Hannah online at Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. And “nerd out” with Hannah over books, movies, and TV at the Story Nerds Facebook page.