Stepping Stones

At some point in every one's lives, we think about our future.  We wonder where we will go, what we'll do, who we might meet and how they might affect our lives.  Our future is a big mystery because not every plan or hope comes true.  But God is already at the end of life, and He knows every thing that will happen to every one of us.  In the song, "Already There", by Casting Crowns, they talk about how God knows every pain we will go through and every success we will have.  He knows every step you will take.

I have a story to help explain my belief that He knows every step and which step is best for each of us.  Let's say you are standing by a river.  This river is fairly large and it is flowing fast.  There are about 100 different, large stones that you can walk on scattered across it.  Let's say that where you are standing is at the beginning of high school and the other side of the river is the end of high school. As you look at the river, you see four stones all in a row and large enough to comfortable use to cross. Unfortunately, they are spaced far apart.  Still, you are confident that you can make the jump between each.  You step on the first stone, but suddenly, God takes you off the path of the straight stones and over to the right.  At first, you're wondering why you went this way but you go with it, confident it will all work out.  You hop around stones for a while until you come to a stone that is close to the bank.  You get very excited because it seems your journey is almost done and you can move on to other things you've been looking forward to.  But then God turns you around and away from the bank.  You go backwards.  This frustrates you so much!  You were so close but now, your going backwards.  All God says is, "Trust Me".  There is nothing you can do, so you keep hopping from stone to stone going forwards and backwards, until you finally cross the river.  You made it and as you look back at the path you just took, you see all the steps you took to get here. You see how God kept you safe through every experience.  You realized that if you had taken the path you had chosen, you would have drowned.  You now see that God knew the right, safe way that you should go.

So though you may not understand why things happen the way they do, why you must take the stones put in front of you instead of plowing along the quickest, easiest way, trust in God's decisions.  He knows what He is doing and if you stay open and aware of what He is telling you, He will keep you safe through your journey, because He is Already There.