Wisdom for the FutureSample

Question 5: What are the next steps?

If you use a watch or an app with a step counter, it might surprise you how many steps you take in a day and how quickly your steps add up. Walking the aisles of your grocery store might not feel like exercise, but every step adds to your body’s daily movement. Life works the same way, and today we’ll explore the truth that taking small, next steps creates movement and ultimately momentum. A next step moves you from where you’re stuck and allows you to gather the traction you need to walk boldly into the future.

Life is a series of problems, and you grow by solving them. Whatever problem you’re currently handling, it’s time to ask our fifth and final question: What are my next steps? To move forward from where you find yourself, take this question to God with the Next-Step-Prayer: Jesus, show me a possible next step so I can move in the direction of what You’ve put in my heart. We often talk, think, or worry about our problems far more than we pray about them, and sometimes we’re slow to invite others to pray with us or for us. Commit to prayer and see what fresh ideas, clear directions, or next steps God lays on your heart.

The reality is that thinking about options doesn’t change your situation. Execution is the key. So, considering where you perhaps still feel stuck, think about how even a small step might create movement leading to momentum and change.

I once went shopping on Christmas Eve with thousands of others and, incredibly, I noticed a free parking space near the front entrance of the overcrowded mall. I now live by the principle that there is always parking (even if I can’t see it from where I am). In other words, there are solutions to the problems I face and God knows them all.

The five questions we’ve learned to ask ourselves lead us to possibilities we couldn’t see before. Paul writes, ‘We walk by faith, not by sight’ (2 Corinthians 5:7). So many people I know have gone through the five-question process and enjoyed astonishing results. Even though their situations seemed impossible, they dared to admit their deeper desires to God. They trusted God to open their minds to His creativity. They began to consider even farfetched possibilities. They took next steps, believing that God rewards faithfulness in the smallest things. This can be your story too.

As you step into the adventure of the future, may you carry these five questions with you to face every challenge. May God bring wisdom and clarity to your heart and mind as you ask yourself: What is the problem? What do I want? Why do I want it? What are the options? What are the next steps?

This plan was adapted from the series, Wisdom for the Future, on RightNow Media. To find out more, visit: https://www.rightnowmedia.org/af/get-access