A Prayer and a Purpose

“Lord, give us clarity and direction for the next step. We want more of you and less of us.”

Sitting silently around the kitchen table, Cari and I wait for an answer. This prayer is uttered from our mouths regularly, as our hearts yearn to only go where God wants us to go with LIFEstory. 

Perhaps you’ve said something similar as you try to discern the right answer to a decision or navigate a season of change or challenge. If you haven’t, you should try it.

But if you have, you know you don’t usually get a magic eight-ball answer or quick response. The silence very often doesn’t end with a simple solution or step-by-step plan.

Most of the time, prayers like the one above lead to waiting and more praying. Other times, you may get a part of the picture, but don’t see exactly where the plan is headed or even how you’ll get there.

The important part is that words like “more of you, Lord, and less of me” posture our hearts to be able to be open and ready to go when the next right step is made clear. Knowing our purpose helps us to be open to God’s plan.

Side Note: I think sometimes if we knew the entirety of where God was taking us, we probably wouldn’t go. Think of Abraham, Moses, David, or Mary. The bigger picture might be overwhelming, but obedience in the next step is more manageable. 

We won’t always get it right. In our willingness to be obedient, we might make plans that aren’t exactly what God had in mind. In these cases, knowing our purpose (more of Him and less of us) helps us hold our plans loosely, and be more willing to pivot when God leads us to make a change. 

I had the privilege of speaking at the Living Well Summit last month about just this topic. Even still, God reinforced the importance of holding our plans loosely as we live it out with LIFEstory this summer… 

We expected that LIFE Circle would stay in the virtual meeting rooms, and we thought we’d be done with our next LIFEstory guided journal. But instead…

God is leading us to transition LIFE Circle to an in-person option with us taking a support role to you, as you lead in your places. In addition, God opened doors for us to speak on podcasts, create training videos, and participate in the Living Well Summit, so our writing projects had to take a back seat.

Don’t worry, the next LIFEstory Guided Journal is still on the way, but we’ve had to learn to hold our plans loosely, pivot when necessary, and trust God’s plans and timing. Maybe you do too? 

• What is the next right step you’re praying for? 
• How might you need to pivot and trust God’s plans over yours?