He Determines Our Steps

Two weeks ago, I found myself in a very long immigration line in Costa Rica. As I was patiently walking though it, I noticed a sign painted on a little wall that said, “Your adventure begins in Costa Rica.” I don’t think I’ve told you guys this yet, but my word for this year is Adventure, except, in my head it’s more so spelled out like “Advent-ure”, like I wrote about during the advent season.

I had no expectations for this trip. Not that I was aware of, anyway. I think we all tend to have subconscious expectations of trips or events, and only find out later what they were, when we find ourselves feeling, to some extent, disappointed. So let me back track and say I didn’t have many expectations for this trip. That is a truer statement.

With such a blunt sign, I expected the adventure to be obvious. The first day, I began to keep my eyes peeled as to what exactly could be the beginning of something!

”Is this the week I meet my husband, Lord? Now, that would be the beginning of an adventure.”

Yep, ahem, there’s that subconscious expectation.

The truth is… nothing super, crazy, awesome, adventure-y happened. Now, don’t miss-hear me. It was truly an incredible trip. But on my last day there, I was honestly still asking the Lord, “exactly what adventure has begun in Costa Rica?”

The more I have sat with the Lord in it, the more the Lord has highlighted a thread that kept weaving its way into my heart throughout the whole trip. It was a verse actually:

“We make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.” — Proverbs 16:9

I don’t know if you’ve ever gone on a missions trip before, but in my experience, the #1 rule that seems to be the same no matter where in the world I am is “be flexible”— well technically sometimes the #1 rule is “don’t flush the toilet paper”— but being flexible is a super close 2nd! Most of the time, nothing goes as planned and one thing I learned on this particular trip, is that statement is especially true on a mountain in Costa Rica. One word. Rainforest.

We never knew what we would be doing each day, and not only that, but it was often times a moment by moment determination. We might be doing one thing after breakfast and then completely have to pivot and do something different after lunch, simply because it started raining, or vice verses. And let me clarify, this was not because of any kind of poor planning or disorganization on anyone’s part. There were definitely plans made, or as I learned them to be called, “ideas”.

I think one thing I’m learning to love about the Lord is how different His thoughts are than mine. I’m over here always looking for the big ole, grand, life-changing moments to slap an “adventure” label on, and He’s just simply extending an invitation of learning how to live in the daily adventure with Him. His thoughts are for sure not like mine. Thank goodness.

The adventure He began for me in Costa Rica is the one of trusting that He determines my steps.

I have several examples of this and even many moments when I literally said to my sister, “It’s all good, He determines our steps”, when something didn’t go as planned. But there is this one moment I want to share that truly marked me.

There was an organization that brought a group of teenagers for a three day camp. I got the honor of helping out with some of their activities. One morning after breakfast, I was tasked with assisting the high schoolers on the high ropes. I had no idea what I was getting into. And was it raining? Yes, that fun misting kind, that is more annoying than anything else. I was given a harness, a helmet, a rope thingy (I don’t know what it was called), and a crash course on what to do. Then I was sent out on the high ropes and told which platform was mine to stand on. It was indeed high and the platforms weren’t very big. I was so nervous, honestly, mostly because I wasn’t 100% sure of myself.

I had worked with these kids the night before, and there were three of them the Lord had highlighted to me to pray for over the weekend— two girls and one boy. As I was getting in the groove of what I was supposed to be doing, and getting braver with practicing my Spanish in order to encourage them forward, I saw one of the girls I had started praying for. She wasn’t in my area yet, but I was able to watch her as she worked through her fear and completed an obstacle. Relief and a new confidence wrapped around her as she made it to the next platform. The Presence of Jesus felt so close to me in that moment, knowing that whether she knew it or not, she was learning something about Him. She was learning to be an overcomer in Him and with Him!

“Do not start crying up here, Kristen! This is not the moment!”

I shook off the tears that were welling up in my eyes as she finally made it to the obstacle I was working at. I got to look straight into her eyes, smile, and in my broken Spanglish, tell her to take a deep breath and encourage her to keep going. She could do this! I noticed she had a different light in her eyes than she did the night before when I first saw her.

He determines our steps.

Even if those steps are messy and hard, and we feel like we can’t breathe because of how scary they are. They may feel unstable, irresponsible, or just flat out unreasonable at times. But the thing we often overlook, is that yes, He determines our steps, but He never intends them to be taken without Him. He has us in the harness of His Presence and Strength, tied to the ropes of the His Grace, clipped securing as an anchor to Himself. We are not alone. He will not let us fall. And the more we walk with Him—the more we embrace the steps with Him— the more His light comes into our eyes. His confidence lifts us up and trust in Him fills our hearts, minds, and even steadies our feet.

Your encouragement for this week:

As you get up each morning this week— as you’re cooking breakfast, packing lunches, referring to your calendar, and writing out your to-do list— pause and remember Proverbs 16:9. Make it personal, whisper it to yourself or confidently say it out loud to your spouse or kiddos. “We make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.” Then ask the Holy Spirit to open your eyes, ears and heart to His Presence. Notice who He places in front of you, His sovereign re-routes that may feel like inconveniences, and even the canceled appointments He gives you to slow down, take a breath and recenter your heart on Him. Maybe He’s asking you to pray for that man He highlighted to you at the gas station. Or maybe He’s encouraging you to be brave and speak to the woman at the grocery store you feel awkward around because of something that happened in the past. Maybe it’s an intentional conversation He’s wanting you to have in response to the question your 6 year old just asked. Whatever it is, wherever He leads you, know this: He determines your steps and He is right there, super close, holding you, taking those steps with you!