Step by Step

I just started a Bible study with the amazing women at my church. We are going through Beth Moore's Stepping Up, a study on the Pslams of Assent (120-134, in case you are like me and didn't have a clue where they were in the book of Psalms). As the Jewish people made pilgrimages they would sing these 15 Psalms. We are going to taking an in-depth look at them to see what we can learn from them as we ourselves are on a pilgrimage. Several thoughts come to my mind as I think about this concept:

*We are foreigners and aliens here on earth, just passing through, for heaven is our true home.

*We are running a race, one God has prepared for us and will be with us every step of the way.

*To stay on course, we must set our eyes on Jesus.

*When we get tired and weary, God will give us strength, helping us soar on wings like eagles.

*At the end of the race is an amazing prize, one that makes any troubles along the way totally worth our while.

I also thought of a song we often sing at Ponca Bible Camp. Fittingly, it's called "Step by Step."

Step by step You'll lead me and I will follow You all of my days...

O God, You are my God and I will ever praise You

I will seek You in the morning and learn to walk in Your ways

And step by step You'll lead me and I will follow You all of my days.

More often than not this concept of following after Jesus, hard, with all that is in me, is overwhelming. Not because I doubt God's goodness or His faithfulness. Not because I worry that He will leave me. Not because I fear that His plans aren't good. Rather, it's because I don't know the details. I don't necessarily know where exactly we are going or how we are going to get there or what we will encounter along the way. I only know three things. First, God has said to go. Second, He has promised to be with me, every single step of the way. And finally, God's ways are always best (even if I don't understand them fully now). So I will take these three facts and keep on keeping on, one step at a time.

Lately, my journey has been uphill, or so it seems. But I am reminded that the view from the top of a mountain is usually pretty incredible. And you can see things that you would never be able to see from the ground level. You see things from a different perspective too, as you are able to take in so much more all at once. I love that God knows where I am, what is in my heart, and that this Bible study would speak to me and teach me and help me on my way as I try to figure out what He's doing in my life. In the first video session, Beth Moore said two things that really stuck out to me:

*God has called us upward, to Himself.

*Wherever we are at in life right now, we are not going to stay there. We are just passing through. This is just part of our journey, and it will ultimately get us one step (or maybe a lot of steps) closer to God.

Then, today in my homework, another statement stuck out and encouraged me. "Sometimes we don't know why we're on a certain road with God until miles have made their way to the soles of our feet." Right now I am not sure why God had me take this turn or why He chose this path for me. I just know that He did. And once again I hold to those three things: God has a reason for this, He is with me, and it will all turn out for His glory and my good. In fact, His plans will far exceed even my wildest dreams.

I was reminded of this yet again when I was reading Ruth Myer's 31 Days of Praise. She writes, "Your power is unlimited...absolute...beyond imagining. You are able to do immeasurably more than we can ask or dream of." She goes on, and her words resound so closely with what I have been reading in the Psalms (once again, I love how God connects all these things and seems to be whispering to me over and over again that everything is going to be okay, that He is right He with me and working everything out just perfectly). She says, "You are exalted high above every star and galaxy in the entire cosmos...yet You are also the God of all mankind, the great personally present, personally involved God who loves, rescues, and takes care of all who trust in You." Just this morning I read Psalm 55, "But I will call on God, and the Lord will rescue me...Give your burdens to the Lord, and He will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall." (vs. 16, 22) Wow! Word for word. Only God can arrange things like that!

To finish, Myers encourages me with this, "I praise You for Your sovereignty over the broad events of my life and over the details. With You, nothing is accidental, nothing is incidental, and no experience is wasted. You hold in Your own power my breath of life and all my destiny. And every trial that You allow to happen is a platform on which You reveal Yourself, showing Your love and power, both to me and to others looking on. Thank You that I can move into the future nondefensively, with hands outstretched to whatever lies ahead, for You hold the future and You will always be with me, even to my old age...and through all eternity."

And with that in mind, I will put one foot in front of the other, following God step by step.