“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” — Proverbs 3:5–6 (ESV)
There is something uncomfortable about not knowing what comes next. We like plans. We like certainty. We like knowing that if we take this step, the next one will be waiting for us. Sometimes we even approach God that way. We pray for direction, but what we really want is the entire map. We want Him to show us where we are going, how long it will take, what it will cost, and how everything will turn out before we agree to begin.
But God doesn’t always give us the whole road.
Sometimes He simply shows us the next step.
That can be difficult because our instinct is to look beyond what God has placed in front of us. We wonder what will happen next month, next year, or five years from now. We ask whether the opportunity will work out, whether the relationship will last, whether the calling we sense will become something more, or whether the seeds we are planting today will ever produce a harvest.
Yet Proverbs doesn’t tell us to understand the path. It tells us to trust the Lord.
There is a significant difference.
Understanding says, “I’ll move when everything makes sense.”
Trust says, “I’ll move because I know who is leading me.”
Throughout Scripture, God repeatedly called people forward without showing them everything that lay ahead. Abraham was told to leave his country and go to a land God would show him. Peter stepped out of the boat while the storm was still raging. The disciples left their nets when Jesus simply said, “Follow me.” They didn’t receive a detailed explanation of everything that would happen afterward. They received an invitation to trust.
Perhaps that is where you find yourself today.
Maybe you know what the next step is, but you’re hesitant because you cannot see what comes after it. Perhaps God has placed something on your heart—a conversation you need to have, something you need to begin, something you need to surrender, someone you need to forgive, or an opportunity you know you should pursue. But you keep waiting for more certainty.
Sometimes the certainty we are waiting for only comes after we move.
A farmer doesn’t dig up a seed every few days to check whether it is growing. The seed is planted, the soil is watered, and then there is a period when nothing appears to be happening. Beneath the surface, however, life has already begun.
Our walk with God can be like that.
We take the step He has placed before us. We pray. We remain faithful. And sometimes, for a while, nothing seems to change. But an empty-looking field does not mean God is absent. A quiet season does not mean He has forgotten you. And not being able to see the destination does not mean you have taken the wrong road.
Faith is not having every answer before you begin.
Faith is knowing enough about God to follow Him even when you don’t know where the road leads.
Maybe today you don’t need another sign. Maybe you don’t need God to reveal the next ten years. Maybe you simply need enough courage for the step directly in front of you.
Because you don’t need to see the whole road when you trust the One who is leading you.
So today, instead of asking God to show you everything, perhaps ask a smaller question:
“Lord, what is the next step?”
And when He shows you, take it.
Prayer
Father, I confess that sometimes I want certainty more than I want trust. I want to know how everything will work out before I am willing to move. Help me to trust You with the parts of the road I cannot see. Give me wisdom to recognise the next step You are placing before me and courage to take it. When the future feels uncertain, remind me that You are already there. I may not know where every road will lead, but I know the One who walks with me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Reflection: What is the next step God has already shown you that you may be hesitating to take because you cannot see what comes after it?