This past weekend was a great reunion for the Benedicts in East Earl.  Amanda came up from Richmond, Josh and Alaina traveled up from Northern Virginia, and Katelyn came home from university out in Pittsburg.  Justin couldn’t make it because of his marching band schedule out at IUP, but he sure was missed!

One of the things I look forward to when our children gather, is the opportunity to connect face to face.  I really appreciate texting, email, Facetime, phone calls and all. But to me it often feels chatty and superficial.  There’s nothing like a good old-fashioned face to face conversation to connect on a deeper level.

Over the course of the weekend, Pam and I had a really good conversation with my son Josh and daughter-in-law Alaina about their future.  Josh works as the director of international students at Broadfording Academy in Hagerstown and Alaina works for the Federal Government in Washington D.C.  They’ve been married for three years and have the possibility of an exciting overseas assignment. But the logistics are very complex and there’s a lot of uncertainty. They feel a bit paralyzed. They’re waiting on the Lord, praying about it, and want to fully submit to his direction.  But what exactly is that? At some point, they need to move forward.  And “no decision” is a decision too. What should they do?

I know that feeling. I think it’s common to many of us… “I can’t see clearly, I need to make a decision, so now what do I do?”  And in that uncertainty, we get stuck.  Sometimes there doesn’t appear to be any suitable options and we stand in front of a brick wall with no good solution. Or, conversely, like shopping on Amazon, sometimes there are limitless options, and we are at a loss to weed through all the choices and come to a singular decision.  Either way, we get paralyzed and feel stuck.

As we talked together, I heard myself saying a very wise thing.  Whenever I’m surprised by what comes out of my mouth (in a good way), I know it must be the Holy Spirit because I typically don’t feel like I have a lot of insight in the moment.  But I said, “So, what’s the next step?”

To many, that may seem obvious.  But when you’re paralyzed or face a very complex decision, it’s very good advice. Even in the waiting, there is something that you can do to move the ball forward; there’s some “next step” however small that could be done.  What is it?  Identify it and do it.

In the Old Testament, the priests bearing the ark of the covenant stood in front of the raging floodwaters of the Jordan River. The whole nation stood poised to enter the promise land, but there was an impossible obstacle.  What should they do next? How were they to get across?

It took courage and faith… but they took just one small step:

Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing… So, the people crossed over opposite Jericho. (Joshua 3:15-16)

And in that next step, the way became clear and a path opened.

In the Bible, I see a definite correlation between our active moving and God’s active directing…

The steps of a man are established by the Lord, when he delights in his way; (Psalm 37:23 ESV)

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

A person’s steps are directed by the Lord.
    How then can anyone understand their own way? Proverbs 16:24

Faith isn’t expressed in paralysis and waiting doesn’t mean we have to be inactive.  If we aren’t stepping, then what is there to guide? We often pray for God to lead us, so let’s keep moving and trust that he will truly direct our steps.

So, where are you stuck?  Is it a hurt, hang-up, or habit? A major life decision or just a general sense of malaise and uncertainty?  Prayerfully identify that next step no matter how small and move ahead, believing that God will lead and guide you in real time as you walk it out.

If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Galatians 5:25