As I told you before, I have recently quit my job and I am now taking a “sabbatical” in order to find out what is God’s will in my life, what He wants me to do.

The decision to quit my job was at first a crazy thought that crossed my mind. Then God talked to me through Scripture, books and articles and that crazy idea became more and more a real and valid option, then it became my choice – and I believe it was God’s will.

The first time that I seriously thought of such a radical change was when I was reading through the New Testament, and I got to the episode when Jesus sends out the twelve disciples in a mission to preach the Gospel to other cities. What caught my attention was this specific part of His instructions:

“Do not get any gold or silver or copper to take with you in your belts — no bag for the journey or extra shirt or sandals or a staff, for the worker is worth his keep.” (Matthew 10:9,10)

Can you imagine preparing for a trip and not taking anything with you? I’ve traveled a lot, mainly for business, and I can’t think of making a trip without taking at least some money.

Jesus wanted them to depend upon faith alone to be able to fulfill this mission they were assigned to.

Then I remembered a few more episodes in the Bible when God presented a challenge of faith to His follower:

• He told Abraham to leave his country and his family and start a journey to an unknown distant land (Genesis 12:1-3).
• He  told Moses, who by then was a shepherd in the desert, to go back to Egypt and face the pharaoh and free His people (Exodus 3:1-21).
• He told Gideon to gather 300 men, chosen by God, to face a much larger army (Judges 6:33, 7:7).
• Jesus told the rich young ruler to give up his fortune and follow Him in order to gain eternal life (Luke 18:18-30).
• Jesus told Saul (who later changed his name to Paul) to go and join the Christians, although he had persecuted and killed many of them (Acts 9:1-19).

And there are many other examples.

The reactions of these people were usually positive (like Abraham who obeyed right away, no questions asked), but not everyone was bold enough to trust God and face the challenge (like the rich young ruler). God left the choice to them.

Every time that God had something special prepared for those people, He would ask them to do something that most people would consider “crazy”.

After a while I realized that the idea of quitting my job wasn’t so crazy after all. Actually, it was just a challenge to leave my comfort zone.

See, I’ve got my own apartment with no mortgages or any debts. I also have my own car. I have some money saved that would allow me to pay my bills for a while even with no steady income. And with my skills and experience, and the current high demands for them in the IT companies in Brazil, I wouldn’t have much difficulties in getting another job. So what could I be afraid of?

I was afraid of the uncertain and unknown. But that’s when faith comes into play. All those heroes of faith had to take at least one big leap into the unknown. Maybe it was time to take a leap. And actually, it wasn’t such a big leap, after all. It was just a step, a step of faith.

I pray that it was the first step of a blessed new journey.