Guiding Steps in a New Year

Ordered Steps

9 In their hearts humans plan their course,
but the LORD establishes their steps
Proverbs 16:9

What does it mean for someone to plan his or her life course from the heart? It is from one’s heart, the center of mental activity where we contemplate, consider, and reflect, that we make our plans. Planning our course includes all of our plans for life which includes our daily activities.

Isn’t it true that most of us have dreams, goals, and deeper desires for life? Now please understand with me that it isn’t that we as humans aren’t evil in planning the course of our life unless we do so without the Lord’s guidance. It is when we plan from our hearts our action plan and it is established with God’s guidance, this assures us of the best possible future in God’s will.

I would suggest something to you this day. God is not as concerned about the where and what of your life as he is about the how and why of your life. Many of us make our plans about the “what” we are going to do in life and the “where” we will do it. We see that as the most important part of God establishing our steps.

God is much more concerned about the “how” we live and “why” we live the way we do. We are to be God’s hand to the world everywhere we find ourselves.

Now when we work with God hand in hand that is the best possible scenario. Our hearts are bent toward him and we make our plans as best we can. We then surrender those plans to the Lord for his direction, approval, and adjustment. We consistently follow in this way adjusting, obeying, and listening to God’s input through circumstances, God’s Word, and communication with God. In 2020, we’ve had to be quite flexible, letting God lead us as our plans have likely dramatically changed.

Our physical health journey is simply one of the foundational parts of life that allow us to accomplish God’s best for our lives just like prayer and many of the other core life activities that support the rest of who and what we are in Christ!

Let’s start the new year in this way and realize that 2021 can be the beginning of a whole new “way” to live.