Keep Treading
“I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses.” — Joshua 1:3
I love that God said, “I will give you,” but He still expected them to put their feet on the ground. God had already
given them the promise and provided what they needed to walk toward it. They weren’t going to experience the
Promised Land by standing on the other side of the Jordan talking about how wonderful it would be once they got
there. At some point, they had to move.
They had to put one foot in front of the other and start walking toward what God had already promised.
I think that’s the part we sometimes struggle with.
It’s one thing to believe God has something ahead for us. It’s another thing to start moving toward it when we
can’t see exactly how we’re going to get there.
I’d love for God to hand me the entire plan at once. Tell me where I’m going, how long it’s going to take, what
obstacles I’ll face, and preferably whether there will be snacks.
But God doesn’t always give us the whole map.
Sometimes He gives us the next step.
That next step may not look very impressive. It may simply mean moving toward something God has placed on
your heart, even when you don’t know where it will lead.
We can spend so much time praying for God to move that we forget He may just be waiting on us to move.
Israel still had to cross the Jordan.
They still had to walk into unfamiliar territory.
They still had enemies to face.
They still had obstacles between where they were standing and where God had promised they would go.
God didn’t remove every obstacle before they started walking.
He told them to walk anyway.
I can see this in my own journey. When I started writing, I wasn’t trying to write a book. I was simply writing what I was learning, what I was going through, the prayers I was praying, and the things God was teaching me.
I had no idea where it would lead.
I just kept going.
One page became another, and eventually those pages became a book.
Sometimes that’s what faith looks like.
We want to know where the road ends and how everything is going to work out before we’re willing to take the first step.
We want the whole map. I’d even settle for a GPS.
But God doesn’t always give us the whole route.
Sometimes He simply says, “Take the next step.”
Joshua and the Israelites had to do the same thing. God had already promised them the land, but they still had to put their feet on it.
God gave the promise. They had to tread.
Sometimes the ground God has placed in front of us won’t just fall into our laps either.
There may be something we’ve prayed about that now requires action.
You may have asked God for direction, and He’s given you enough direction for the next step but you’re still waiting for the next ten.
Perhaps you’ve been asking God to give you courage after you’ve already stepped outside your comfort zone.
But courage doesn’t always come before the step.
Sometimes the courage comes while we’re taking it.
That’s what makes it faith.
Faith isn’t always knowing exactly where we’re going.
Sometimes it’s taking the next step because we trust the One who does.
You may not feel ready, or brave, or even know where the next step will take you, and that’s okay.
God doesn’t require us to know the whole journey. He simply asks us to trust Him with the step that’s right in front of us.
I don’t know what your next step is.
But I do know this:
All it takes is one foot.
One step.
One day at a time.
Keep treading!
* Take a Moment *
What is God asking me to move forward with, even though I don’t know what comes next?
What am I waiting to feel or understand before I am willing to take the next step?
Prayer
Lord,
Help me trust You with the next step. When I don’t know where it will lead or don’t feel ready to take it, give me the courage to move anyway. Remind me that I don’t have to see the whole journey to follow You. Help me keep putting one foot in front of the other and trust You one day at a time.
In Your Precious Son Jesus’,
Amen.
