Climb into the Chariot

"Later God's angel spoke to Philip: "At noon today I want you to walk over to that desolate road that goes from Jerusalem down to Gaza." He got up and went....The Spirit told Philip, "Climb into the chariot." Running up alongside, Philip heard the eunuch reading Isaiah and asked, "Do you understand what you're reading". He answered, "How can I without some help?" and he invited Philip into the chariot with him" Acts 8:26, 29-31

I read these verses yesterday and God spoke to me through it. It is short passage but the message was powerful for me. God tells Philip to go to a desolate road. He never gives a reason. He doesn't give any more details. He just says, "go". He gives Philip a time, noon, and a how, walk, but no why, no what for. Philip does it. There is no verse that says that Philip said, "why?" He just does. I admire his faith, but it gets better.

Then He tells Philip to climb into the chariot. Now, that line seems strange to me. I mean the first one had some details, when and how. He was told to walk over to a desolate road and he is told when to walk there, but in this verse he is just told to climb into the chariot. I would be thinking, "how? How am I going to just climb into some person's chariot, some person's I don't even know?" Then of course there is the slight issue that the chariot is in motion. I don't know how fast it was going, but fast enough that Philip had to run. So Philip, with no more direction than just "climb into the chariot", sets out for a run, asks the eunuch a question, and gets invited into the chariot. Now to me that shows faith!

God started this with a little more detailed instruction. Then when Philip is obedient and does it, God gives him another instruction with very little detail and one that seems difficult to accomplish. But Philip is obedient and acts out of faith. I love that Philip runs along side the chariot. He doesn't stand there and think, "I wonder how I can get the chariot to stop so I can climb in." He just starts running!

How many times has God asked me to do something and given my enough details that I can accomplish the task easily enough? I am sure plenty of times. Then when I act in obedience He gives me another instruction, this time with very little instruction. My answer often is, "how? How am I supposed to do that?" I start questioning and doubting. I start playing scenarios in my head. I usually end up not doing it, not "climbing into the chariot".

But God calls us to do so much without any real clear details and I want to grow enough in my faith that next time He asks I do it, I not only do it but I run. And I want to grow more so the next time, and the time after that, and the time after, and so on, I just do it.

I have this crazy, I think it's crazy, dream swirling in my mind. It is crazy because I am not equipped and I am not qualified and I'm not even sure I want to be, but it is there and it excites me anyway. I know that it isn't my "noon time" yet, but I believe He is asking me to walk into a place, maybe even a desolate one. I don't know how soon or anything else really, but I believe He is preparing me for it.

Philip didn't just wake up one day full of enough faith to run next to chariots. God prepared him to do it. I believe that I am in such a preparation place. I know, with a peace that I don't understand, that I am in that place. And I am looking forward to the instruction that tells me to "go" and I hope that I have enough faith to climb into the chariot.