I first wrote these words about when change is difficult when we moved from Baltimore to Virginia. It was a new season with a lot of change. As I sit now in our home in Tennessee, the principle still rings true and encourages my heart. I hope it encourages you too! 

The wood beneath my feet was unfamiliar and the length between each step was new. I tiptoed carefully listening for how the house might creak not wanting to wake the children. I reached the final step and made my way to the living room. There was a familiar comfort of the furniture that had been with me for the past ten years. I sunk down deep into my cold brown leather chair and took a deep breath. I looked around and embraced the new and unfamiliar. 

Seasons come and seasons go. It seems easy when we consider seasons in terms of the weather, but when it comes to seasons of life it’s down right hard. There is nothing easy about change. It can be exciting and exhilarating, but there’s something comforting about the familiar parts and places of life.

Then there’s the unfamiliar. These are times when change is difficult. You know the seasons of life that don’t feel cozy – the ones when marriage isn’t feeling happily ever after or when the children don’t act like they’ve ever been taught to obey. The moments in life when illness or financial strain seep so deeply into every part of life that you can’t even perform your daily tasks because life is in the way. It’s the times when God calls you outside of your normal and everything He instructs you to do is different than anything you’ve ever done before. 

When change is difficult, things are unfamiliar, and you wonder what God is doing, here are a few things to remember:

1. God created the new steps.

When the stairs creak beneath your feet and the unsettled feeling starts creeping in, remember God already knew the steps you would walk and exactly how it would feel, sound, and be. He knows every struggle you will face in your family and life. 

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”  Isaiah 55:8-9 (KJV)

2. God directs every step, it’s our job to follow.

Sometimes obedience is against everything we want. It doesn’t add up, make sense, or seem clear, but it’s right. God knows where you should go and what is will look like as you take that leap. He knows the way you will hesitate, wonder, and feel a bit uneasy. 

“And the Lord, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.”  Deuteronomy 31:8 (KJV)

3. God is with you each step of the way. 

Sometimes as when step out on faith, it feels like the next step is too far in the distance and before we reach it there’s a lack of faith that grasps our heart making us panic before our toes slowly land on the next stair. When we forget God is there, it’s easy to be afraid, but God is there. Right there. He is with us every single step of the way.

“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” Isaiah 41:10 (KJV)

4. God knew we would fear, so He gives us His Word to encourage our trembling hearts.

“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” John 14:27 (KJV)

If you’re feeling a bit uneasy as you take the steps God is directing, be encouraged today to keep on stepping!

Now when I walk down the wooden stairs and make my way into the living room, there is a familiar comfort that washes over me. God has walked these steps before me and He’s walked with me time and time again. Though I never could have imagined the steps God has directed, it’s a beautiful journey of God’s divine direction, purpose, and provision. 

God has a purpose for every step. If it’s feeling unfamiliar and a bit uncertain, just keep stepping. God is with you and He created the steps, directs the steps, is with you through each step, and knows every question, fear, and uneasy feeling you face. Keep on stepping! God is with you!

Love & Blessings,