“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” Lao Tzu
Now there are some wise words for you. So true on so many levels. That first step is difficult. So often I stand at the edge of a journey, or a decision, or any sort of obedience, and just stay there. Trapped in place, paralyzed. Trying to think my way into action, thoughts spinning a million miles a minute while my feet stay firmly in one place.
Willing myself to take that first step. Full of what if’s and uncertainty. Full of enthusiasm or hesitancy. Sometimes both.
What makes that first step so difficult is knowing that one step will not get you one thousand miles. One hesitant stride leads to another and another. No one mentions that the first step doesn’t really mean the second step will be any easier.
Obedience is a scary thing. Lately there have been things that I know I am supposed to do. The persistence of the ideas, being covered in prayer, has confirmed these leadings. They have become more than notions, maybe callings. And that should seemingly make action easier. Confirmation should insight confidence in my heart.
But all I can think of is “then what?”
So I make a decision, I take a step of faith. Then what is the next thing God will ask me to do. I worry that saying yes will lead me to a place of even more questions and worries. Where will I have to go from there? What if I can handle this thing, but I can’t handle the next?
I want to know the plan. To see it all laid out in front of me to the end. In my prideful mind, if I can see all that is ahead, I may be able to somehow summons the strength and the wisdom to accomplish it all. To have some sort of game plan. But in that scenario, I just want to do it all myself.
God only asks us to take one step at a time. He rarely lays out the whole plan in front of us.
Maybe you want to go back to school. But if you do, you don’t know how you will pay for it. Or you are scare to get a job afterwards.
Maybe you are considering having a family. But if you do, you just see a sea of unanswered questions and so many areas you think you lack. “What if I am not a good parent? What if I have to work? What if I mess my kid up?”
Maybe you are considering a move. But the idea of starting over is completely terrifying.
Maybe your kids are starting school, and God is calling you into another opportunity. But you worry how you can get everything done. Time is so limited.
There are so many scenarios like this. So many people in my life facing new transitions. For many of us, we let the fear of the next step keep us from making the first. We choose what is known and comfortable instead of stepping out in faith. Accepting the life we have and forfeiting the opportunity that God is leading us into. Instead of trusting that whatever is next, God will still come through.
So many times, I let the idea of future obedience keep me standing still. I say, “God I may be able to do this in your strength, but what will you ask next? What if I can’t handle it?”
The answer is I probably won’t be able to handle it. If I only made an effort to do what I believed I could in my own strength, I would miss out on so many blessings of our Father. Because nothing He asks is accomplishable in our own power. That is the point.
We need to trust that He has it all covered. He will deliver us through whatever is to come. Obedience is not only doing the things we think we can handle. It is obeying all that He asks, knowing we can’t handle any of it without Him.
God has already won our victory by His son on the cross. He has provided everything we need to make it through this life and into eternity. He traded our insufficiency for the sufficiency of His Son. He promised to never leave us or forsake us. He calls Himself our counselor, our deliverer, our strength, and our rest. He is everything we need. In every circumstance.
So do not fear. Pray fervently. And make your next move, not fearing the unknown to come. Because God is faithful. He will be with us through it all. In His strength, we can accomplish more than we ever ask or imagine for His glory.