Directed Steps

This moss in our brick pathway is there year-round, but it really stands out in the fall and winter when many plants lose their green and go dormant for the colder months. From our towering heights as we walk by, it just adds a touch of character and texture to the visual landscape. But consider the perspective of an ant…

Just look at all that stuff to climb over! And once we climb over one obstacle, we see the mountain at the end of the next brick, never realizing that the pathway is not laid out in a straight line (not that ants travel too frequently in straight lines, of course!).

Isn’t that the way of life? We climb mountains, whether of our own making or brought about by circumstances, not really knowing what’s on the other side, and still we climb. We have seasons of climbing and seasons of descending.

Climbing can be strenuous, but we usually can’t peak a hill with out it. Simply getting dropped off at the top greatly lessens the value of the mountain itself, as well as the growth of our strength and stamina that would have been required to get us there.

The descent may seem like the easy part, but it simply uses different muscles to fight gravity! To be sure, rolling down mountains is generally not advised…

And then there are seasons of just moving forward, when we may look around and adjust our course, or simply shift into autopilot. We have plans and goals, we plot a course on how to reach our destination, and off we go!

But God has a much larger perspective. We may not see the path winding up ahead, but He sees even beyond that curve and all the way to the very end.

• He has a plan for our lives that we cannot see completely. “We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps” (Proverbs 16:9).
• None of the obstacles or detours in our lives surprise Him, and He finds none of them insurmountable. “I am the Lord, the God of all the peoples of the world. Is anything too hard for me?” (Jeremiah 32:27) “But the Lord’s plans stand firm forever, his intentions can never be shaken” (Psalm 33:11).
• We are not left alone. “Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you” (Deuteronomy 31:8).
• We have guidance available to us, we simply need to ask! “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking” (James 1:5).

Where do you find yourself in life as we begin this new year? Are you climbing? On the descent? Maintaining? Feeling absolutely lost and disoriented? Wherever you may be, perhaps it’s time to recalibrate your heart’s compass, and get lined up with God’s purpose and plan for your life. Trust Him, and join Him in this great adventure. Watch what He can do in you and through you on your journey!