Take the Next Step

…so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God…

Colossians 1:10

A memory comes to mind of my daughter when she was first learning to walk.  We would help her stand up and then encourage her to take a few steps toward our outstretched hands, ready to catch her if she started to fall.  I remember sitting out on the grass in our front yard excitedly watching as she would attempt to stand up by herself. After just a few unsteady steps, she would fall.  But with a little coaxing, she would stand up and try again.  Each step was a celebration!

            Today, I’m thinking about how our Father must take delight in our small steps of obedience that draw us closer to Him.  I’m thinking about the many small steps I have taken in the last two years which have resulted in writing weekly messages on my website. More recently I compiled a book of the earliest messages.  If I had known what it would take to get this far, I may have been tempted not to take even the first step!

            Many of the first devotional messages were written about 25 years ago.  A friend and I were both writing at the time and getting together to share what we had written.  There was no plan to do anything with what we wrote, and they remained in my file cabinet until two years ago when I was prompted to get them out of the file cabinet and re-read them.  As I prayed and asked God if there was something I should do with them, no clear answer came right away.  But more ideas for new messages came to mind, and I started writing again. 

I rediscovered notes I had written from a talk our pastor’s wife had shared with the women’s group at church.  I picked them up and read them again, and the first line I had written was this: “Just take the next step.  Even if you don’t feel qualified; even if you don’t know the final outcome.”

That has been my guiding principle ever since.  And I can look back and clearly see how God led each next step of the journey He has planned for me.  My first idea was to just make copies of the devotionals I’d written, staple them together and hand them to a few friends.  But God had something completely different in mind.  Through a friend who had started posting devotionals on a website, I was encouraged to create a website and begin posting weekly messages.  Way easier said than done to create a website!!  But with lots of prayer and dependence on God, help from a friend and my son-in-law it happened! 

After a few months, a friend asked if I had ever considered compiling the devotional messages into a book.  She had several co-workers she would like to give them to.  I immediately said “No.” But within a couple of weeks, two other friends asked me the very same question. Again, I said “No.” I was still recovering from the trauma of creating a website!  But I realized it was the Lord who was prompting this next step. God brought a dear friend into my life who had already self-published quite a few books.  And she was willing to walk me through each next step. The book was published on Amazon on March 27^th this year (2021)!  No one could be more amazed than I am! It was definitely not something that I had planned for myself.

So, what does it mean to “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord?”  I have personally experienced that it means taking each step that He calls me to take.  Even when I don’t see any farther than one step ahead. Even when I feel absolutely unqualified.  Even when I have no idea of the final outcome.  It means taking each step in faith, trusting that He will lead and provide everything necessary to accomplish His plan and His purpose. 

Having taken so many “next steps” in the last couple of years has strengthened my faith immeasurably.  And I can wholeheartedly encourage anyone else to be willing to listen to what God is calling you to do, and follow the steps He leads you to take! I’m certain that He delights in our small steps of obedience that result in His purpose being accomplished for His glory.

PERSONAL REFLECTION

What “next steps” is God calling you to take? 

Maybe there is a broken relationship He wants to mend.  Maybe there is a ministry He is calling you to.  Maybe there is a deeper level of intimacy with Himself He is calling you to. 

Please consider praying and asking God to show you what steps He wants you to take.  Trust that He has a perfect plan for your life and will clearly guide and provide as you willingly follow in obedience.

p.s. In case you’re interested in purchasing a copy of my devotional book, it is available on Amazon.com. The title is “Living in God’s Extravagant Grace; Encouragement from God’s Word.”