Have you ever had a desire in your heart but didn’t have the courage to fulfil it? Have you ever had a dream but didn’t know how to reach it?

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”

Jeremiah 29:11 NLT

When I was a child and even a teenager, I don’t remember taking lots of chances. Maybe it is my age that causes me to forget or maybe it is that I really didn’t do many things outside my comfort zone.

However, as I aged, desires in my heart took some courage and encouragement to achieve. The first major decision that I had to make as an adult was going back to college. You see, even though the hubs and I met in college, neither one of us finished our degree before getting married and having children. We had been married about 3 years, already had 2 kids and the hubs was working day and night on the farm trying to make ends meet. One year, however, I watched as my hubby stood out in the corn field after a night of a destructive hail storm that wiped out our crops. I watched him hang his head in that field and I could just imagine him thinking, “How is this going to work? How will I ever provide for my family?” It was then that God gave me a desire to go to work.

I knew it was time for me to go back to work and help provide for us. I applied for several jobs in town and after a couple of job offers that weren’t going to pay very much at all, I decided that maybe it was time to go back to college and finish my degree. I had encouragement along the way from a wise, older woman and my parents were my biggest supporters when they told me they would pay for my school. I had never been so scared to walk back onto a college campus than I was the first day that I went back to school.

Fast forward about 10 years later. I had moved from being a teacher to being an assistant principal. I loved my job in administration and God was really giving me a desire to lead others. After a conversation with a principal who encouraged me to get my master’s degree, I went back to college to earn my master’s degree in educational administration. Once again, I was scared to death and second guessed myself on several occasions.

The desires that God placed in my heart led me to a 30 year career in education that I will forever be grateful for. I absolutely loved my years as a teacher and a principal and I’m so grateful for the chances I took to reach those goals.

Do you have a desire to make a change but just don’t see a way to make it happen? Have you prayed about it? Do you have a friend in your life who can speak encouragement into you? Have you sought scripture to lead you?

The answer to those questions can help you when making a decision. Seek good council and spend time with God. He wants to give you the desires of your heart when you are in right standing with Him:

“Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you your heart’s desire.”

Psalm 37:4

A few years ago, I felt like it was time to leave a church that we had attended for basically our entire marriage. I had a strong desire in my heart to look for a different church, but my hubs didn’t have that same desire. One Sunday, I decided (with the urging of the Holy Spirit) to attend a different church. I had to muster up a lot of courage to walk into church that day. However, from the second I walked in, I knew I had found my new home. It took awhile for the Lord to work on the hubs, but eventually he joined me in our new church as well.

About two years ago, I had a desire to start a blog. I wanted to use the blog to bring wisdom to other women. I wanted to glorify God in the blog. I wanted God to use my words to minister to those like me. God worked out all the details (more to come on that in a later post) and today, I am able to spend much more time on my blog and have even taken over the blog for our women’s ministry at our church.

Maybe you have a desire to start a new career or a desire to stop a career and stay home with your children. Maybe God has given you a desire to step into a new group of friends. Maybe God wants you to step out in faith and attend a new life group or a new church.

God will make a way! If you are truly walking in His path, He will lead the way.

Today, I’m still taking chances. I have recently joined a new tribe of women who are like-minded bloggers. Our leader has challenged us to put ourselves out there through a video and this is out of my comfort zone. However, there is no doubt that God has led me to this group where I can learn and grow my blog so that it can reach more people for His glory! So I will do hard things because this is the direction God is leading me.

“Taking chances is scary, but there is something that should scare you far more than anything: missing out on something truly wonderful because you were scared.” (Katherine Matheson)

Take a chance. Trust God. Seek the desires of your heart. You won’t be disappointed.

Be Blessed,