Mar 6, 2026 – Next Step
Utmost – Chambers speaks to the questions I have at times about what to do next, “It takes Almighty grace to take the next step when there is no vision and no spectator – the next step in devotion, the next step in your study, in your reading, in your kitchen, the next step in your duty, when there is no vision from God, no enthusiasm and no spectator. It takes far more of the grace of God, far more conscious drawing upon God to take that next step, than it does to preach the Gospel…. The thing that tells in the long run for God and for men is the steady persevering work in the unseen, and the only way to keep the life uncrushed is to live looking to God.”
JC – “Continue on this path we Me, enjoying My Presence even in adversity….The One who goes ahead of you, opening up the way, is the same One who stays close and never lets go of your hand.”
Power – The verse Joyce chose for today also helps when wondering about next steps: Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. Proverbs 3:5. Joyce points out this truth that doesn’t always settle well with those of us who want to know before we go, “Part of trusting God is having unanswered questions” and the deeper truth is that, “When you get answers, you don’t need to trust God anymore…. Have you ever said, ‘There’s nothing we can do but trust God’? Like it’s your last-ditch effort – you’ve done everything else and now you’re left with no other choice. We need to change the way we talk. We need to realize trusting God is the greatest privilege we have…. Retire from self-care, and start trusting God.”
Prevail #65 – Speaking of needing to change the way we talk, we need to remember that our speech comes from our thinking and from what we allow into our thoughts. Larson draws from 1 Samuel 17:28 (when David’s older brother, based on his own fear and insecurities, insults David’s motives and abilities) and points out, “It was David, the younger brother, who, because he saw the bigger story, was more concerned about the reputation of his nation (and his God) than he was about his own safety…. When you mature in faith, your heart of conviction will grow; you’ll start to care about things like honor, justice, and God’s glory. One day you’ll step out in faith, and you will excite the jealousies of others…. Pull out your shield of faith and use your capital NO. Don’t let their words in…. Keep your head up. Stay humble…. You stay obedient. [God] will deal with your critics.”
Streams – The importance of trusting next steps to God is further explored as Cowman develops her message based on thoughts from *Crumbs, “I have always been so sorry that the two disciples walking with Jesus on the road to Emmaus did not say to Him, ‘We still hope’ instead of ‘We had hoped.’ [Luke 24:21] The situation is very sad, because in their minds it is over. Oh, if only they had said, ‘Everything has come against our hope, and it looks as if our trust were in vain. Yet we will not give up, because we believe….’ …Jesus had to say to them, ‘How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe!.’” Cowman cautions us, “Are we not in danger of having these same words said to us? …May we never express our faith, as these disciples did, in the past tense…. Yet may we always say, ‘I have hope.’”
Max takes us another step further as he reminds us of when Jesus asked in John 11: 25-26, “Do you believe this, Martha?” Max helps us realize the reality of that question, “Look at where Jesus stood as he asked this question: a cemetery. Look at when Jesus asked this question: four days too late…. Martha wasn’t ready to say Jesus could raise the dead. Even so, she gave him a triple tribute: ‘the Messiah,’ ‘the Son of God,’ and ‘the one who has come into the world.’ She mustered a mustard-seed confession. Her expression of belief was enough for Jesus. Yours is too.”
Simpson offers us yet another verse about God being the best source for our decisions and next steps – “Lean not unto thine own understanding” (Prov. iii. 5) and he points out that, “Faith is hindered by reliance upon human wisdom…. The devil’s first bait to Eve was an offer of wisdom…. It was the spies that lost the Land of Promise…. Their foolish proposition to search out the land, and find out by investigation whether God had told the truth or not, that led to the awful outbreak of unbelief that shut the doors of Canaan to a whole generation.”
JA – “DO NOT DREAD walking through the valley of the shadow of death…. Since I never sleep, I am able to watch over you constantly…. Even if you wander from Me at times and fall into a slimy pit, you can count on Me to rescue you…. giving you a firm place to stand…. keep these words of comfort flowing through your mind: I will fear no evil, for You are with me.” See Psalm 23:4, Psalm 121:2-3, Psalm 40:1-2, and Deuteronomy 31:8.
*According to Google AI, “Crumbs refers to small, bite-sized portions of spiritual encouragement, often in the form of poetry or short mediations, which Cowman frequently included to supplement her daily readings.”
