We all have those landmark moments of faith in our walk with God. You know, those God-encounters that boost your faith and propel you forward toward becoming more like Jesus.

One of those moments for me came my sophomore year in college. My pastor had done a lot of research about various historical revivals, including the Welsh revival of 1904. Listen to this! During that time in the country of Wales, there was a huge revival and over a short period of time more than 100,000 came to know Jesus.

It began when a young Welsh man named Evan Roberts, who was passionately committed to Jesus–and spent lots of time studying the Bible and seeking God through prayer–was led by the Spirit to begin preaching with great passion about the salvation God offers through Jesus. Evan had four main points that were a part of his message:

+Confess all known sin.

+Get rid of any ‘doubtful’ habit in your life.

+Obey the Holy Spirit promptly.

+Confess Christ publicly.

Now, back to my sophomore year…

My church held a consecration ceremony where we were offered an opportunity to make a commitment to do those four things I just shared.

So, I did.

It wasn’t just an outward act to go down to the altar and make a commitment…it came from my heart. And let me tell you what happened as a result! I was spontaneously filled with this non-stop, overflowing joy that could only supernaturally come from God.

I didn’t ask for that joy. I wasn’t expecting it. But it surpassed anything I had ever experienced before. And it just kept happening. Every day.

My heart was full of joy all the time. I even found that as I walked to classes I was smiling and saying hello to people I walked by who I didn’t even know. I couldn’t help it! I was joy-full.

I also found that I was so much more free during worship times at church, and didn’t care about what other people thought of me…I just wanted to connect with God and worship Him.

So…

Has something like that ever happened to you? Have you ever had a God-encounter that left you dramatically different? When you make a genuine commitment to God, either for the first time, or to give yourself more fully to Him, He responds. For me at that point, God was responding to my step of faith by filling me with an abundant joy that I knew I didn’t manufacture on my own. I knew it came from Him. God did it, and He was glorified through it.

What step of faith is God leading you to take this week?

Even though taking a step of faith is risky and can be scary, just do it. God is faithful to meet you on the journey. And He will respond in ways that are more wonderful than you can imagine.

For a video version of this blog click here.

This post is part of a group blogging project celebrating the release of Inciting Incidents, a book featuring the stories of six creatives who share honestly about surviving life’s difficulties while attempting to do great things. Visit IncitingIncidents.Org to read an excerpt from the book, learn more about the authors or to share your story.