In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.” – Proverbs 16:9 

I have mentioned before that I wish God could give us a book on our lives that provides instructions on every step of the way. My biggest fear is that I will get to the end of my life only to discover that I missed out on what God had planned for me to do on this earth. But you see that exact fear is what drives my heart to constantly seek after what God has for me everyday and every step of the way. I look for God in the daily mundane tasks and ask Him how He wants to use me in that moment – whether it is listening to a friend who is struggling with their job over dinner or if it is praying over our weekly Bible study that God uses that time to grow our relationship with Him. These are all simple steps along the way that creates a bigger picture of our life’s course. So the fear that I am missing out is irrational if all I am thinking about is how can God use me in this moment.

Now I will be honest it is easier to trust God in the small daily steps, then in the big life decisions that can effect travel along a completely different path in my life. Right now, I struggle with trusting in God’s plan because I can’t see the end result. I start to worry and then I do the sinful thing which is to start planning my path without God because I trust in myself more. Ultimately that is what sin is, it is trusting in yourself as your own God than trusting in God. And I start planning when I begin to get nervous that the way my steps are leading me are not going down the path I had planned to take. So, I start to create my own map, use my own compass, and pack up my backpack ready to hit the road on my own communicating to God that I do not need him on this particular journey.

I had one of those moments this week where I had to stop and realize that I was ready to go my own way, do my own thing, and trust in myself to get me there. I had to take a moment and remind myself that my path was never meant to be traveled alone and that God was still beside me waiting for me to trust in how He was directing my steps with purpose. There are times when I won’t know where He is leading me or understand the purpose behind those steps (and stops) along the way, but I have to trust like I do in the small daily steps that He has me right where I need to be on this path doing the work that He needs me to do.

So I place both feet firmly on this current path and wait patiently for the next step by enjoying the views around me, breathing deep breaths, and listening for God’s direction. I let go of wanting to lead myself down an uncharted, diverted, rocky course. Instead, I recognize that every step is and important part of the bigger course in my life and I am heading exactly where God wants me to be.