I Am Led

I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.

—Isaiah 48:17

The gift arrived without fanfare: a homemade T-shirt, a children’s Bible, and a small card. On the T-shirt, handwritten in bright fabric paint, were the six letters of my seven-year-old daughter’s name. On the card, handwritten in the script of her Sunday school teacher, was the Scripture reference Jeremiah 29:11. Then these simple words: “God has a plan for you!”

Without hesitation, my girl reached for her new Bible to discover the secret of Jeremiah 29:11. I helped her find book, chapter, and verse, and then together we read the words of the prophet Jeremiah.

“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”

My little girl’s face lit up with a smile like the sun. The God of the universe had great plans for her life! Even at seven years old, she relished the thought of His personal attention and care.

My daughter accepted the truth of Jeremiah’s words without an ounce of skepticism. She believed it to be true as much as she believed the sun would shine.

It wasn’t so easy for me. I still believed in God’s goodness. I still believed in His love. But too many years of hardship had left me less than confident about His plans. Life hadn’t turned out quite like I’d hoped. How was Jeremiah going to explain that?

And yet a look at my girl’s face reminded me of the bigger story. Even at seven, she knew about life’s knack for getting off course. By the time she was five, she’d lost one family and joined another—ours. And yet I did not doubt God’s ability to bring good from the brokenness of her life. It was just a matter of time.

Thus the same was true for me. Isaiah’s promise wasn’t only for the lost and wandering people of his day. God included this reassurance in eternal canonical script so you and I, buried by our own lostness and wavering allegiance hundreds of years later, could know God’s promised plan for us as well. A good plan. A plan that, although perhaps not exactly what we’d imagined, could not be more perfect for the overall story God’s been writing from the beginning of time.

Sometimes life can feel a bit like walking through a minefield. Every day, we scan our circumstances, trying to make all the right decisions. We fear that one wrong move could cause the plan to unravel. So we tiptoe, cautious and afraid, agonizing over every move as if the future hinges on us.

The questions and unknowns twist and turn like an impossible maze. We do our best, no doubt about it. But the decisions and potential consequences never end, shaking us awake at night. If only God could overnight us a daily, detailed, step-by-step guide to knowing exactly what to do and when to do it.

Besides, where do we draw the line between submission to God’s leadership and taking responsibility for our choices and actions? Personal responsibility is a noble quality. It’s a good thing to make wise decisions and carefully weigh our steps. So how does this mesh with letting God lead?

Here’s the deal: We don’t have to have it all figured out. And we don’t need to panic or worry or stay awake staring at the ceiling night after night. Why? Because the pressure is on Him, not you and me. As Jeremiah prayed, we can pray: “LORD, I know that people’s lives are not their own; it is not for them to direct their steps” (Jer. 10:23).

If you and I determine to make our own way in this world to the absolute exclusion of God, then we have every reason to lose sleep. But if we keep our eyes focused on the one who holds the map and knows the way, if we ask for His leadership and search His Word for direction, we can trust He’ll guide our steps.

For I know the plans I have for you, He says.

And His plans, even if different from our own, are always good.

O God, You Who are the truth, make me one with You in love everlasting. I am often wearied by the many things I hear and read, but in You is all that I long for. Let the learned be still, let all creatures be silent before You; do You alone speak to me.

—THOMAS Á KEMPIS, THE IMITATION OF CHRIST