“The mind of man plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps.” (Proverbs 16:9, NASB)
The verse has sat open on my desk for a few days now as I was unable to move on from its words. The words brought to mind another verse:
“If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.” (Luke 9:23, NASB)
For the Lord to order our steps, we must be willing to follow Him. The Message words this well:
“Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat – I am.”
That is it in a nutshell – we are not to be in the driver’s seat. Our place is to let Him direct, steer, and drive our lives. We are to follow.
I remember well when our first granddaughter began preschool. It did not take long for her to discover the importance of the job of “line leader.”
One day upon leaving school, she explained it to me: “The line leader gets to lead everybody to where we need to go. They are first and everybody is behind them.”
And so began the formation when I would pick her up from school – she, in the esteemed position of line leader. Mimi, the lesser – the caboose, whose only role was to follow.
The memory brings a lesson reminder:
Plain and simple –
Jesus wants the same formation.
He is to take the lead and I am to follow.
Upon typing those words, His Word comes to mind:
“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside quiet waters.
He restores my soul;
He guides me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.”
(Psalm 23:1-3, NASB)
When He leads and we follow, the results are incredible:
- More strength
- We bring Him honor
- No fear
- He is close beside us
- We have protection and comfort from Him
- He prepares us a feast
- Our cup overflows with blessings
- His goodness and unfailing love pursue us
He leads for our benefit.
Solely for our benefit.
Jesus – our lineleader.
Come, sit a spell. Bring your coffee, your posts, and your thoughts. If you link up, kindly visit those who have drawn up a seat around you.
Proverbs 16:9 is a comfort to me when I’m not sure which way to go. We can rest in His leading us the right direction when we ask Him.
Amen! What a beautiful image of Jesus leading us hand in hand Joanne.
Blessings, Jennifer
Joanne, a wonderful reminder to follow Him! And Leanna Crawford’s song is great!
I always find a nugget of goodness to ponder when I visit your site, Joanne. I can tend to be a control freak in life but the Proverbs and Luke verse as well as Psalm 23 are all great reminders of the safety, purpose and hope we find when we let Him lead our ways. Happy Wednesday!
What a beautiful message. Still water’s is one of my favorite songs. I often find myself singing this for Him. It’s a wonderful reminder.
Thanks so much for hosting and warm hospitality.
I find comfort knowing the Lord overrides my feeble plans. He knows the future and I can trust Him.
Great reminders, Joanne. We need these often because we can too easily sometimes forget we are not in control. Psalm 23 is something I often repeat as I am going to sleep along with the lines John Eldredge encourages, “I give everyone and everything to you, Lord.”
Well said Ms. Joanne. The hardest part for me, some days, is letting go of the “wheel” we call this life.
I love the picture!!
And the words… Jesus is the lineleader.
There’s a comfort in knowing that He is the leader, and I am to follow. Whenever pressure and anxiety build-up during my day, instead of trying to figure things out, I can remember that He is my line leader. Thank you for bringing His comforting message to me this morning, Joanne!
Joanne, I can’t remember if it is an actual paraphrase or just something I heard someone say once, but Proverbs 16:9 reminds me of this: “We roll the dice, but God makes the numbers come up.” I’m so thankful God is in the driver’s seat, especially when life is going in directions I wasn’t expecting or don’t necessarily like. Hugs, friend.
That line leader role is so important to kids and it’s such a good illustration of how we are to relate to Jesus. (We learn so much from our grandchildren.)