Directing Steps
“I don’t get it.” Our young son asks great questions, oftentimes questions so deep we pray for the wisdom to answer them, but sometimes as we are answering his question, he’ll just decide that he doesn’t quite understand. Even if we were explaining to the best of our ability, sometimes he will just respond with, “I don’t get it.” We have learned over the years to respond with, “That’s okay,” and he has come to accept that he doesn’t need to understand everything. It’s a lesson we all need to learn sooner or later.
“The Lord directs our steps, so why try to understand everything along the way?” (Proverbs 20:24)
Our questions only grow more complicated as we grow up. Will I ever find a job? When will the pandemic end? Why did it happen in the first place? Why did he/she have to die? Will I ever find a spouse? When will we be able to start a family? The questions will keep coming. There’s plenty we will not understand and that’s okay because God is in control. Why should we try to understand everything along this journey of life if God is directing our steps? If you were in an unfamiliar city and you got a taxi or Uber, would you try to understand every route choice or every street the driver took? No, you would trust that they know where they’re going and the best way to get there. This is the same point the writer of Proverbs 20 makes; it’s all about trust.
“Our God is in the heavens, and He does as He wishes.” (Psalms 115:3)
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.” (Proverbs 3:5)
When I am struggling with my tendency to depend on my own understanding, it helps for me to read the Lord’s response to Job when he struggled with depending on his own understanding of his situation.
“Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorant words? Brace yourself like a man, because I have some questions for you, and you must answer them. Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you know so much. Who determined its dimensions and stretched out the surveying line? What supports its foundations, and who laid its cornerstone as the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?” (Job 38:2-7)
The Lord’s questions to Job continue for another 65 verses stretching across two chapters. God asks such questions as: “Can you direct the movement of the stars? Who laid out the path for the lightning? Where is the path to the source of light? Do you know the laws of the universe? Can you use them to regulate the earth?”
“Then the Lord said to Job, ‘Do you still want to argue with the Almighty? You are God’s critic, but do you have the answers?’” (Job 40:1-2)
We don’t need to understand everything along the way. We’re not even capable of doing so. What we need is more and more trust. We need to trust that God is in control, that He is on His throne, that He does as He wishes, and that He loves us more than we can comprehend. The next time you don’t understand, remember that it’s okay because the Lord is directing your steps.
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
—Redeemed
