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Phillipa Williams
avatarPhillipa Williams4 min read  

Every Little Step You Take

THIS MONTH'S THEME: FAITH & FREEDOM

No turning back. No turning back.

The year was 2015, and the Holy Spirit whispers in my ear Heaven's plans for the next phase of my life.

Start a nonprofit.

God was smart enough not to give full disclosure at the time else I would have surely ran the other direction. No, He used time and writing to help me tap into a passion to help single mothers in a way I could wrap my mind around. I will always be grateful for those days, weeks, months when it was just GOD 'n Me alone in the trenches of creativity.

Theoretically, this season should be called, "my first step", but for me it wasn't.

When I think "first step", I think of a bold move or entering into an unknown. I was still in the safety of my bedroom at this point with papers and plans laid out on the floor. No one, not even my family, had a clue what was to come. I was living in the ignorant and inaccurate bliss of "What they don't know can't hurt them."

I was with God. I was safe.

Creating a business plan for my nonprofit or mapping out strategies for serving the community was not what struck fear into my heart.

It was when I had to advise others of the change coming.

It was going public, saying goodbye to the success of my now in exchange for the uncertainty of next.

Notifying my employer of my eventual transition out put all eyes on me.

No turning back now.

The world behind me, the cross before me, The world behind me, the cross before me; The world behind me, the cross before me; No turning back, no turning back.

From the traditional gospel hymn, "I Have Decided to Follow Jesus"

There is a lot of speculation about who is the original author of this hymn, but it is confirmed to have originated in the 19th century as a North-East Indian folk song. One of the more colorful storylines about its origin is that much of the lyrics are the last words of a new convert when faced with the death of his family as well as his own demise by a violent tribal chief:

Angry, the village chief summoned all the villagers. He then called the family who had first converted to renounce their faith in public or face execution. Moved by the Holy Spirit, the man said:

“I have decided to follow Jesus.”

Enraged at the refusal of the man, the chief ordered his archers to arrow down the two children. As both boys lay twitching on the floor, the chief asked, “Will you deny your faith? You have lost both your children. You will lose your wife too.”

But the man replied:

“Though no one joins me, still I will follow.”

The chief was beside himself with fury and ordered his wife to be arrowed down. In a moment she joined her two children in death. Now he asked for the last time, “I will give you one more opportunity to deny your faith and live.” In the face of death the man said the final memorable lines:

“The cross before me, the world behind me. No turning back.”

He was shot dead like the rest of his family. But with their deaths, a miracle took place. The chief who had ordered the killings was moved by the faith of the man. He wondered, “Why should this man, his wife and two children die for a Man who lived in a far-away land on another continent some 2,000 years ago? There must be some remarkable power behind the family’s faith, and I too want to taste that faith.”

In a spontaneous confession of faith, he declared, “I too belong to Jesus Christ!” When the crowd heard this from the mouth of their chief, the whole village accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior.

The song is based on the last words of Nokseng, a man from Garo tribe of Assam (now Meghalaya and some in Assam), India. It is today the song of the Garo people.

Source: Dr. P.P. Job in ‘Why God Why’

We are not all called to be martyrs for the cause, but we must all die to something.

What will you die to today?

"Your next step is simple. You are the first domino."

~ Gary W. Keller, co-founder and Chairman of Keller Williams Realty (the largest real estate franchise in the world).

What glory awaits you on the other side?

Just know every little step you take, Christ will be there.

PHILLIPA WILLIAMS

Author | Founder | Ministry Coach

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