Written by Michelle J. Goff, Founder and Executive Director of Iron Rose Sister Ministries
“To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.” (1Pe 2:21 NIV)
I love to watch children leap across the sand, striving with their little legs to reach their father’s stride and land in his footprints. The poem “Footprints” illustrates how Christ walks with us, and even carries us, along the paths of our lives.
When I reflect on what following in Christ’s steps has meant in my own life, it has consisted of a mixture of small steps in the day-to-day decisions and seemingly foolish, giant leaps of faith.
The launch of Iron Rose Sister Ministries would easily be considered one of many giant leaps of faith. Once God had made clear the vision of the ministry (equipping women to connect to God and one another more deeply), I was left with only one response, “Here am I, send me” (Is 6:8). I quit my job, sold my house, and jumped.
One of my sisters and her husband provided room in the basement of their house from which to live and work. Our now Board President, Katie Forbess, contacted me as soon as I announced my decision to let me know that she was “all in!”—even if only as a “glorified cheerleader.” Between my own savings and a small loan from a precious sister in Christ, we got started.
For nine months, every single day, every step of the way, Katie and I talked, prayed, and wrestled over what it meant to follow Christ’s steps—personally and as a brand-new nonprofit. The fact that God provides Iron Rose Sisters to walk with us on our journey as iron sharpening iron is a tremendous blessing. The fact that Christ walks with us as we strive to follow in His steps is one of the most beautiful promises of the Christian life. At that time, Katie and I were both grieving different traumatic events in our lives, but our steps to follow in Christ’s steps and our walk with one another along that journey provided a path forward.
What God has grown from an idea planted in my mind and heart to the international Iron Rose Sister Ministries you know today gives evidence of how God honors our commitment to follow in His steps.
The steps, the decisions, and the ongoing commitment have not always been easy. In the same way that God the Father was faithful to walk with His Son, guiding Him to always choose the Father’s will, God has faithfully walked with me as I have imperfectly followed. He offers the same to you.
What I have learned from following Christ’s steps is that it is a daily decision that requires faith—even faith as small as a mustard seed. God’s blessings and the equipping happening through Iron Rose Sister Ministries is a large-scale example of following in His steps. Most of the times that we commit to follow in Christ’s steps are small-scale decisions for which we may never know the impact.
Today, I chose to pause and pray—to lift something up to the Father, asking that His will be done and not my own. For this blog post, I chose to pause and pray. I asked God to use His Spirit to communicate instead of my own words.
Thankfully, God does not keep a tally of how many times we have misstepped or deviated from the Way. Rather, He provides us the opportunity to get back on track. He promises, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1Jn 1:9).
Yes, today, I paused and prayed. But also today, I got impatient and irritated. I doubted God’s provision because I didn’t know when or how it would come. And so, to return to following in Christ’s steps, I confess, “Lord, I need You, oh I need You. Every hour I need You.” And I rejoice in the confidence I can have in His forgiveness.
Now, to see how we can commit to following His steps tomorrow…