Stumbling Blocks or Stepping Stones

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. – Proverbs 3:5-6

As the New Year was about to begin I took time to think of what it might bring. I thought of the adventures that await, what changes will take place and what challenges are around the corner that I will need to face. In that moment the Lord reminded me of how He created me.

He created me to be a planner. Detail oriented. Forward-thinking. Organized. Goal-oriented and driven. All of which requires persistence, focus, and a strong will. All of these also require extra effort to trust God, have faith, and let go and believe that God will take care of all the details. After all, He is the ultimate planner. He has already organized (orchestrated) everything with the right goals in mind. He is purposeful (driven) and will accomplish all things in ways far greater than I could ever imagine or do on my own.

But still my mind holds to thoughts like, I’ll give this up for something better, when God is saying, give it up for what is best. Sometimes my mind spirals with thoughts of what if? Then I spend countless hours planning on how to manage the fall out of those thoughts.

God says, Trust me. I’m faithful. I will see you through. You don’t have to do this alone. You don’t need all the answers. You don’t need all the details because if you had them, you wouldn’t seek me.

I’ve experienced His faithfulness many times in all the seasons of my life. I remember Him telling me, Fear not. Watch and see what I will do. I lost so much peace in that season because I didn’t heed His message. Instead I kept trying to fix it on my own. In the end it turned out far greater than I could have ever imagined or could have accomplish on my own. Why didn’t I trust to Him?

While my gifts and talents work well in my job and life, they are either going to be the stumbling blocks or stepping stones in my relationship with God. If I continue to lean on my own understanding and abilities I am going to experience life in much harder ways than it needs to be. But if I submit to God, trust Him, and lean on Him, I will experience peace and outcomes that are far beyond anything I could accomplish.

God was clearly giving me my theme for the New Year. Whatever may comes Lord, I will trust You.