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Trusting God In Every Season – When The Way Isn’t Clear

Have you ever driven through heavy fog? The kind of fog where turning on your high beams only makes it harder to see? You grip the steering wheel a little tighter, slow down, maybe even lean forward as if that will somehow help you keep your eyes on the road. In those moments, your headlights don’t show you five miles ahead—but they’re enough to show you what’s immediately in front of you. Each foot forward reveals the next.

Life can feel a lot like that—foggy, uncertain, hard to navigate. And in those seasons, you don’t need the full five-mile view. You need the assurance that the next step is lit. God doesn’t promise to show us the whole journey, but He promises His presence in every step. As we open the Word today, God wants to remind us that when the way isn’t clear—His Word is.

I. God’s Word Brings Clarity in Confusion

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Psalm 119:105 NKJV)

This verse doesn’t say God’s word is a sun to my whole journey. It says it’s a lamp to my feet. A lamp doesn’t flood the entire forest with light—it only helps you see enough not to trip over what’s immediately in front of you.

God’s Word won’t always spell out the five-year plan or tell you where every turn is going, but it will anchor your next step. Like a lantern on a dark trail, Scripture helps guide us—one obedient moment at a time.

Remember the Israelites in the wilderness? They didn’t receive a GPS with a predefined route from Egypt to Canaan. What they got was just enough direction for each day. 

“And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night.” (Exodus 13:21 NKJV)

God gave daily direction—not the itinerary. And He does the same with us. So when confusion rattles your heart and the road ahead looks dim—don’t panic. Don’t demand the five-year plan. Trust His light for the next faithful step.

We will never know the joy of true freedom until we understand we cannot take a single step without His help.

What is the one “next step” God has clearly shown you—even if you don’t yet see why?

II. Fear and Faith Cannot Share the Same Space

“For we walk by faith, not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7 NKJV)

Faith does not require full sight—it requires steady trust. But uncertainty can be a breeding ground for fear. Fear says, “What if God doesn’t show up?” Faith says, “God already has, and He will again.”

You can’t simultaneously give your heart to fear and to faith. One has to quiet the other. When we trust God in the unknowns, we’re not denying reality—we’re leaning into a greater one. 

Trust doesn’t eliminate questions, but it tells us who holds the answers.

Peter walked on water toward Jesus. As long as his gaze stayed fixed on Christ, the waves didn’t matter. But as soon as his focus shifted to fear, he began to sink (Matthew 14:30). The storm didn’t change—only his focus did.

Corrie Ten Boom once said, “Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.”

What voices are louder in your life right now—fear’s whispers or faith’s promises?

Speak God’s Word into what you fear. Don’t let fear have the final word.

III. Remember What God Has Done

“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.” (Psalm 103:2 NKJV)

When you’re unsure of the present, recall the past.

God has a track record in your life—and it’s good. But trouble has a way of giving us spiritual amnesia. That’s why Scripture repeatedly reminds us: don’t forget.

In the Old Testament, the Israelites were instructed to build altars of remembrance—markers of moments when God intervened, provided, protected, or delivered.

Imagine flipping through a photo album of moments when God was faithful to you. Maybe it was the job He provided, the healing you experienced, the unexpected peace during grief. When you remember those moments, it changes your outlook. Even if you can’t see the next step, you know who’s led every previous one.

Start a spiritual journal. Write down answered prayers, moments of provision, hard seasons where God sustained you. These become landmarks of faith when you feel lost in the fog.

IV. Seek God, Not Just Answers

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV)

Can we be honest? Most of our prayers in uncertainty sound like, “Lord, tell me what to DO.” But God is often saying, “Come close and know who I AM.” God is more interested in us knowing Him than in us knowing the plan!

Sometimes, God’s direction isn’t about the answer—it’s about intimacy. He doesn’t just want to give instructions; He wants to be with you in the questions.

When Mary sat at Jesus’ feet, and Martha was busy working, Jesus said Mary had chosen the good part (Luke 10:42). Mary wasn’t seeking solutions. She was seeking proximity, closeness, and getting to know Jesus, And that was the better choice.

Set aside time not just for seeking answers but for worship, prayer, fasting, and listening. Your most powerful prayer during an unclear season might simply be: “Lord, align my heart with Yours.”

Ask yourself, “Am I more concerned with what God wants me to do—or who He is shaping me to become?”

V. Obedience Today Prepares the Way for Tomorrow

“If you love Me, keep My commandments.” (John 14:15 NKJV)

Sometimes the clearest path into an unclear future is simple obedience today.

If you’re waiting to know what comes next, ask: What has God already asked of me that I haven’t yet done?

Obedience doesn’t require full clarity. It requires full surrender.

-Noah didn’t know when the rain was coming. He just knew he had to build the ark (Genesis 6:22). 

-Abraham didn’t know where he was going—he just knew God said “Go” (Hebrews 11:8). 

Scripture is filled with people who embraced a foggy future because they trusted the One sending them.

Think of how a GPS works. It doesn’t give you every instruction at once. It waits—sometimes until the very last second—to give the next command. Why? Because if it told you too early, you might forget. It gives you what you need exactly when you need it.

God’s guidance is often the same. He isn’t withholding; He’s timing.

What step of obedience have I delayed because I’m waiting for more clarity?

Conclusion: The Light for the Next Step

The still, quiet voice of God speaks best in the unknown.

When the path is unclear, choose the lamp. When the answers are hidden, trust the Guide. God may not show you the full map, but He promises never to leave your side.

Our job is not to guess the distance, but to walk obediently, step by step, one step at a time, in the light He provides. His word is a lamp. His Spirit is a comforter. His history is trustworthy.

So, when the way isn’t clear—hold onto what is:  

– God is with you.  

– God is for you.  

– God’s Word is enough for your next step.

Be the kind of person who says: “I don’t see the whole road, but I trust the One holding the lamp.”

Prayer  

“Lord, when I cannot see the full path, help me to trust the light You’ve given me. Let Your Word continue to guide my next step, and may I follow You with faithful obedience even in the uncertainty. May I choose faith over fear, Your presence over answers, and obedience over delay. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

Your Sister In Christ,

Pastor Kris Belfils

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Does God Order Our Steps? (5 Steps in our Walk in Life)

We are all on a journey. This journey is to the heart of God. This journey is to be more like Jesus more and more each day. It is to live our lives and follow God’s direction. This journey is to the purpose and destiny God planned for us. But how does one travel on this journey? Each one of us use a certain form of transportation as we go. It is the steps we take in our walk with God. We are all confronted with decisions and choices. We need guidance and wisdom to make the right steps.

Life is a walk. Each day we take steps. Our tomorrow is determined by the steps we take today.

One thing I’ve found out in my own walk: 

-When I am following God’s word and obeying His voice, I step correctly.

-When I try to do things on my own, or ignore God’s word, I end up taking the wrong steps, and find myself down a road I never wanted to be on.

Did you know that the words, “Path, steps, ways, walk, and go” can all express our journey?

Psalm 119:105 (KJV)

“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”

I like how the Contemporary English Version stats it:

(CEV)  “Your word is a lamp that gives light wherever I walk.”

And the Message expresses it this way:

(MSG)  “By your words I can see where I’m going; they throw a beam of light on my dark path.”

We all need a “beam of light on our dark path.” God is the light of the world! He is Light.

1 John 1:5 

“This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.”

Why not ask the God of light to show you where to take your next step? Stormie Omartian states in her book; “Just Enough Light For The Step I’m On:”

“Sometimes only the step I’m on, or the very next one ahead, is all that is illuminated for me. God gives just the amount of light I need for the exact moment I need it. At those times I walk in surrender to faith, unable to see the future and not fully comprehending the past. And because it is God who has given me what light I have, I know I must reject the fear and doubt that threaten to overtake me. I must determine to be content where I am, and allow God to get me where I need to go. I walk forward, one step at a time, fully trusting that the light God sheds is absolutely sufficient.”

Stormie Omartian

(Copyright 1999 by  Harvest House Publishers)

There have been many times in my life I didn’t know what to do in some desperate or troubled times. I would seek God and ask Him for direction. Sometimes He did not answer as quick as I would like. During the waiting time, I would love His word and walk in His ways. I did this because I love Him, not because I am obligated. There is pleasure in obedience. We worship God with our obedience. God honors our obedience and brings blessings to us. King David spoke about walking in His righteousness and how that pleased God;

2 Samuel 22:20 – 25, 33 & 34, 37 (TNIV)

20)“He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me. The LORD has dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me. For I have kept the ways of the LORD; I am not guilty of turning from my God. All his laws are before me; I have not turned away from his decrees. I have been blameless before him and have kept myself from sin. The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to my cleanness in his sight…33)It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer and causes me to stand on the heights…37)You provide a broad path for my feet, so that my ankles do not give way.”

One might read this passage and think David is full of himself, and pride and arrogance. We can have a critical eye and think David is full of self-righteousness. But these passages are not written from an arrogant heart. They are from a heart who knows he is walking in obedience to God’s word. David realized that God rewards and helps those who follow His laws. David wrote what He saw God do in his own life.

I write in my journal often. It is literally writing my heart to God. I look at David’s writings as his journaling to God. He poured out his thoughts and emotions, and expressed praise of what God had done in his life!

God does reward and direct the steps of the righteous!

Psalm 37:23 & 24 (KJV)

“The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.”

Rejoice for the steps of a righteous man or woman are ordered of God. God does order our steps as we follow and obey Him. We can be comforted to know that His rod and staff are there to correct and guide us (Psalm 23:4).

Good News; our Good Shepherd is always with us guiding our every step. If we start to veer to the right or the left too much, the Good Shepherd comes with His staff of guidance, and His rod of correction, and gently nudges us back on the path we are to take. Our job is to yield to His correction. If we don’t heed to His gentle nudges, God will use His rod and staff a little firmer until we change our direction, even if it takes breaking our legs (like shepherds have to do at times to the sheep) to bring the correction. He will help us heal and to stay on the right path if we yield to His correction.

We are such creatures of habit and so resistant to change that God sometimes has to shut off the way things were in our lives so He can bring us into the way He wants us to be. New beginnings don’t happen without something ending.

Steps in our walk with God

Step 1. Seek God’s will. 

If you don’t know what to do about a decision you are facing right now, seek God and ask Him for direction. Stop trying to figure it out with your own understanding.

Proverbs 3:5 & 6(NKJV)

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”

We need God’s wisdom! Our own understanding or thinking can be wrong. Seek the Lord when faced with a major decision. Seek God’s wisdom in every area of your life.

King Solomon gave great advise to his son about wisdom and we should do the same.

Proverbs 4:10 – 12, 18, 26 – 27 (NKJV)

“Hear my son, and receive my sayings, and the years of your life will be many. I have taught you in the way of wisdom; I have led you in right paths. When you walk, your steps will not be hindered, and when you run, you will not stumble… But the path of the just is like the shining sun, that shines ever brighter unto the perfect day. Ponder the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established. Do not turn to the right or the left; Remove your foot from evil.”

Remember that the choices we make today will mold our tomorrow. Think about the steps you are taking today. Are they good steps? Are you stepping correctly?

Ask God to help you make good choices. We need to give up our control and allow God to have control of our lives. He knows what we need. He knows what steps we need to take and why, this is why we need to seek God’s will.

Step 2. Look for His direction. 

He will show you where to walk if you would just look for His direction. Sometimes God directs us through His word. Other times He directs us through hearing Him speak in our hearts. God uses people, places, and even things to direct us and get our attention.

God can place a thought in your heart and then confirm it by His word or by other ways. God will always confirm what He has been speaking to you. A friend might say something that pricks your heart to what God has said to you earlier. You might be driving down the road and you notice something and it brings to mind what God has spoken in your heart earlier.

There are never coincidences in a Christian’s life. Those so called, “coincidences” are really God speaking to you and giving you direction. Don’t overlook God’s confirmations and His flashes of light to bring vision to your path. You asked God for direction, receive it as an answer and take action.

Step 3. Obey what God tells you to do. 

We can find ourselves in the wrong place at the wrong time simply because we didn’t do what God was telling us to do, or we neglected to ask Him what we were supposed to be doing before we made decisions. Or perhaps we asked Him, but we failed to wait for an answer before we went ahead and did what we wanted to do. So much grief can be avoided by living an obedient life.

We serve a God who will pick us up if we fall or stumble. God knows we have trouble hearing Him. He is patient with us. Remember; the closer you get to God, the easier it is to hear His voice! I encourage you to snuggle right up into His lap and rest there knowing He receives you and wants to be close to you too. When you are in God’s lap, and leaning on His chest, you truly hear His heartbeat, and know His voice. It is a safe place.

If we make a mistake and fail, God will not condemn us. That is the work of the enemy. When we make a mistake, and come to the Father for mercy, He will give mercy.

What ever you need from God today; be it direction, love, acceptance, wisdom, financial healing, emotional healing, or whatever you need, God will always receive you and listen to your cry for help.

Step 4. Never be in a hurry.

Don’t be in a hurry to make something happen in your life. That will only lead to a mistake. Steps take time. A baby never learns how to run first, they learn how to walk. Their steps are clumsy and unstable. That is the same way we are too. Don’t be ashamed of your “baby steps” you are taking right now. They will eventually lead to bigger steps and take you places you’ve never been before.

If I am pressured to make a decision, I see it as a “red-flag.” I’ve learned to wait and not make a decision under pressure. When in doubt… wait! It doesn’t hurt to wait a few hours, a day, or even longer.

Make sure while you are waiting that you don’t take things in your own hands. Too often people don’t wait for God’s direction. They think God didn’t hear or he is taking too long to answer, so they decide to take a step on their own, in their own wisdom. This is a wrong choice. The word “wait” use to be a four letter word to me. Well it still is, but it was hard for me to wait. I wanted the answer right away and I wanted it my way. But God requires us to wait sometimes. It doesn’t necesarily mean you did something wrong and the answer is “no.” We humans give up  too easily on God and waiting for His answer. Remember to not be in a hurry. God’s time table and ours can be two different things. Trust that God is working on your behalf. It takes time to work out the details for your miracle, especially if another person is part of your answer. God is working on their heart too. God weaves circumstances together, at just the right time, to bring our answer. You might be ready, but someone or something else isn’t.

God is not a God to pressure you into a decision. That is the character of our advisory, the devil. When God directs, He will allow you time to make a choice. Remember He is gentle and loving. He never pressures you to quickly make a choice.

God will direct your steps and show you what path you are to walk as you give Him control and desire what He desires. If you are confused as to what to do in a decision you have to make, now is the time to seek what God wants. Lay down your desires and listen and wait for God to direct you into what path your feet are to walk.

How do we know we are walking in God’s path for our life?

Deut. 8:6  (HCSB)

“So keep the commands of the LORD your God by walking in His ways and fearing Him.” 

Obey the Lord and His instructions of His word. This is walking in His ways. Do it with a loving heart to please your Lord. God will always bless an obedient heart.

Step 5. Take a step!

We can go from one end of the pendulum swing to the other. At one end we are in a hurry and step too quickly into something, and on the other end, we never take a step at all. God wants balance in your life. He wants to bring you to a place you are not one extreme or the other. Again, this is part of trusting God. It is also self-control.

Sometimes fear grips our hearts and it frightens us to not do anything. We are afraid of making the wrong choice. We are afraid of failing. But if God has shown you something to do, step out in faith and take a step, even if you are afraid. Joyce Meyers has a saying, “Do it afraid!” 

God will meet you in your act of faith and soon your fear will turn into strength to endure the unknown. It will feel awkward to step out in something you’ve never done before or walk where you’ve never walked before. I am sure Peter, when He stepped out of the boat onto the water, felt awkward. His flesh felt uncomfortable because he never stepped onto water before. Peter pushed past his fear, and pushed past what his flesh felt like. He took the first step and began to walk on water.

Your flesh will scream at you to STOP! Flesh wants comfort. Flesh wants its own way. When you die to your flesh, and press into what God has for you, you step into a repositioning of God. Joseph was thrown into a pit. It was not at all the dream he had of his brothers bowing down to him. What looked like a demotion, God was making it his first step in his promotion.

Remember baby steps lead to bigger steps. It was a process Joseph had to go through to see the dreams from God come to completion. In the meantime, he lived an upright life and loved the Lord in all he did. God does not look away from that. As a matter of fact, it draws God to us. Joseph’s steps were ordered of the Lord because he was a good man who followed His God.

I would like to share from my journaling I wrote when God was teaching me how to walk.

“The steps of a righteous man are ordered of the Lord. I am righteous because of what Your Son did on the cross for me. I am Your righteousness.  I strive daily to follow Your will and continually ask You to show me what you want me to do in every area of my life. Therefore, I know my steps are ordered by You, and You show me the right path for my life. I desire to increase and not decrease. I desire your way, your path, your steps for my life because you created me and You know exactly what I was created for. I might have an idea, but truly You know all and I lean on and trust the One who knows all. I take one step at a time and I know you are there at every step. If I stumble, You are there to pick me up. I don’t have to be perfect to walk the path you laid out for me. I just trust You for each step knowing You light every step I am about to take so I can follow Your leading. I love You Lord for who You are in my life.”

Sin can tie God’s hands of direction

If you find yourself in sin, or in the middle of some bad choices/steps, God is there waiting to help you. God will show you where to step if you ask Him. He is waiting for you to repent and turn from your sin. You tie up God’s hands to help until you repent and turn to God for His direction. He can pick you up from the wrong path, and place you back on the right path, as you give Him back control of your life.

Take one step at a time as the Lord leads and directs you. Don’t get frustrated when you don’t see the entire path in front of you. We are in a “faith-walk.” Each step is a step of faith! Always know that God is there to make sure we stay on the right path.

You may ask, “Why doesn’t God illuminate the road before me so I can really see clearly? Remember that too much light is hard to take. It can blind our vision. No, God only gives us the right amount of light so we stay dependent on Him for the next step and not get overwhelmed with the road ahead.

We can trust God with our life. He sees clearly and see the entire road ahead of us. He knows what we need to stay on course. He has all the answers to our questions. Sometimes our questions seem unanswered. Can you praise God in the middle of unanswered questions? Can you worship God in the middle of the unknown? I say we can! This becomes a sacrifice of praise that God is looking for.

God will give you enough light for the step you are to take next in your life. Don’t be in too much of a hurry or you may take a wrong turn. So to answer the question; “Does God Order Our Steps?” the answer is, “Yes” as we trust and rely on Him to guide us and not try to figure it out on our own.

Enjoy the journey in this life and God will take you places you never dreamed were possible.

In His steps,

Pastor Kris Belfils

www.krisbelfils.com

www.hopefellowshipspokane.com