Your Next Step Doesn't Require the Whole Map

Well, hello, my valued listeners, and welcome to a brand new month of Living in Your Power. I'm your host, Dr. Marlene Greenleaf, and I am truly, truly grateful that you have chosen to spend this time with me today as we step into August. Yes, it's August already, man. Yes, August, we are beginning a new conversation. Now, over the past several months, we've talked about becoming rooted and resilient, getting aligned with our assignment, giving an empowered yes, learning to flourish, and most recently, living free. But now, now for this month of August, this is another part of the journey. It's moving forward. But not moving just for the sake of movement. Not rushing because everyone else seems to be ahead. Not forcing doors because we are afraid another opportunity won't come. And certainly, certainly not believing that we must have every detail figured out before we begin. So our theme for August is moving with intention. Purposeful Steps into What's Next. This month, this month of August, we are going to talk about what it means to move forward with faith, wisdom, courage, and peace, even when we can't see the entire road ahead. And today's episode, the first in our August series, is titled Your Next Step Doesn't Require the Whole Map. So let's get into it. Now, I don't know about you, but sometimes, sometimes I would really like God to hand me the entire plan. I mean, not just the next step, the whole thing. I mean, where, where are we going? How long is this gonna take? Who will be involved? What obstacles are coming? You know, I want the whole shebang. But I know, and while we're at it, can I get some confirmation that everything is gonna work out the way I hope? Hmm. Now, wouldn't that be nice? I know, but life really unfolds that way. I mean, more often than none, we are given enough clarity for the step directly in front of us, and that's where fate becomes real. That's what we call bold-faced fate, because it's one thing to move when you can see exactly where you're going, but it's another thing entirely to move when all you have is enough light for the next step. Now, many of us aren't necessarily afraid of moving forward. We are in fact afraid of moving forward without guarantees. So what do we do? We wait. We analyze. We overthink. I am chief. I am the one that does that overthink. We ask for another sign and then another. And sometimes, sometimes we call it preparation. Oh, sometimes we call it discernment. But if we're not careful, preparation can become Procrastination and discernment can become an excuse to remain where we are because the unknown feels uncomfortable. There comes a point, dear listeners, when fate asks us to move, not recklessly, not impulsively, but intentionally. Now, our scripture is taken from Proverbs 3, verse 5 and 6. And I know, I know you know this. It says, trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy path. I, I love it. This is one of my favorite Bible verses. Proverbs 3, verse 5 and 6. Trust in the Lord with All thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy path. I mean, there is so much in these 2 verses. Okay, first is trust, not understand, trust. And that's important because we often want understanding before we are willing to trust. I mean, we say, God, show me how this thing is gonna work and then I'll move. Or, or it says, show me the outcome and then I'll say yes. Or how about, show me that I won't fail and then I'll take the chance. But the scripture gives us the opposite order. It says to trust first. Then allow God to direct your path. And notice something else. It says he will direct our paths. It doesn't say he'll hand us the entire map. I mean, direction often comes while we're moving. I mean, think about using navigation when you're driving. You don't necessarily need to know every turn before you leave home. You simply need to know the next one. Then when you get there, you're given another direction and another until eventually you arrive and you arrive safely. Now fate can look a lot like that. God may not reveal everything at once, dear listeners, but he gives us enough direction to continue. Now our responsibility is to remain connected closely enough to hear when it's time to turn. And sometimes, sometimes we believe clarity must come before action, but I've learned that clarity often comes because we take action. Actions like you making the phone call, you submitting the application, or you attended the meeting, you started a conversation, you enrolled in the course, or you shared the idea. You finally begin the thing you've been thinking about for months, and then something happens. You learn. Maybe you discover that the opportunity is exactly what you hoped it would be. Maybe you discover that it isn't, but either way, you have more information than you had while you were standing still. Movement teaches us things that thinking alone cannot. And here's something else I've learned: not every step has to become your final destination to have a— to have been a worthwhile step. Okay, not every step has to become a final destination to have been a worthwhile step, because sometimes, sometimes a step introduces you to someone you needed to meet. Sometimes it teaches you something you needed to learn. Sometimes it confirms what you want, and sometimes it clarifies what you don't want. Now that doesn't mean you made a mistake. It means the journey gave you information. We put so much pressure on ourselves to make the perfect decision. Perhaps the question is, what is the next fateful decision? Not the next perfect decision, not the next Perfect decision, but the next fateful one. Because when we're moving with intention, we aren't trying to control the entire journey. We're listening, we're discerning, we're responding, and we're trusting God enough to take the next step. Now let's, let's, let's again return to today's scripture. Where it says, "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding." Now there is freedom in those words. Freedom because they remind us that we don't have to understand everything. We don't have to predict everything. Okay. Now there is freedom in those words because they remind us. That we don't have to understand everything. We don't have to predict everything. We don't have to control everything. We simply need to remain connected to the one who can see what we cannot. So perhaps the question isn't, God, will you show me the entire plan? Perhaps the question becomes, God, what is mine to do next? And then we listen. So your empowerment prompt for this week is, what is one step I already know I need to take? And, and then consider these: Am I waiting for certainty when God may be asking for trust? Have I confused preparation for procrastination? What am I afraid might happen if I move without knowing the entire outcome? Or what would taking one faithful intentional step look like this week? You don't need 10 steps. You don't need 5. You can just start with one, one conversation, one One decision, one application, one boundary setting, one beginning, one yes, or perhaps one no. Whatever your next step is, I want you to take it prayerfully, take it intentionally, and then trust God with what comes after it. So in closing, In closing, dear listeners, as we begin this August journey together, I want you to remember, you do not need a whole map to take the next step. You don't have to know how everything will turn out. You don't have to have every resource in place, and you don't have to wait until fear completely disappears. You simply need enough faith For the step in front of you. Now, there may be turns you didn't anticipate. There may be pauses you didn't plan. There may even be moments when God redirects you entirely, but that's okay because the goal isn't to control the path. The goal is to remain connected to the one directing it. So take the step. Stay prayerful, stay discerning, and keep moving with intention. I want to thank you for joining me for the first episode in our August series, Moving with Intention: Purposeful Steps into What's Next. So next week, we'll continue our conversation with Move at the pace of peace. You know, that's my favorite word— peace. Because moving forward doesn't mean we have to rush. Sometimes the most powerful progress happens when we allow peace, not pressure, to determine our pace. So until next time, dear listeners, you know the drill. I want you to keep living boldly in your power today. And if it gets tough, just breathe. You still got the strength to rise. So I'll see you next time, and continue to live in your power.