Unknown

You know that place when God is planting a seed in your heart, but it's just a seed? The full bloom isn't there, so the path to the end result isn't known.  But the seed prompts your spirit to know that a step into the unknown is coming and is necessary.  That very first step into the unknown is very possibly the scariest step to take in any journey.

When God plants a seed, the only way for us to see it grow and bloom is to take God-directed steps.  Maybe that step is as small as accepting that the unknown is coming.  Maybe the first step is a move.  Maybe the first step is a change.  Maybe that first step is realizing that what we have planned isn't what God has ordained our steps to be.  "We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps." Proverbs 16:9 (NLT)

Whatever it is, the first step is always the hardest one to take.  But it's the most necessary.  It's the one that most demonstrates our faith.  It's the one that most demonstrates our obedience.  It's the one that most demonstrates our desire to walk in God's plan for our lives.

It's usually when we're about to take the first step that fear and doubt creep in.  The enemy attacks, knowing that if we take the steps, his work will get harder.  We question if we're really being directed by God or by self.  We hesitate because the end result isn't visible yet.  Or maybe the end result is what we've seen, but it seems unattainable, like a distant dream.  We so often want to know the whole plan before we take a step, but Scripture tell us, "The Lord directs our steps, so why try to understand everything along the way?" Proverbs 20:24 (NLT)

The unknown is a beautifully unsettling place.  A place where, in our total faith to take a step, we are witness to God holding on to us, giving peace and revealing what's next.  Slowly, but surely allowing the pieces to a puzzle to come together.  With each step into the unknown, we step closer to the full bloom of the planted seed.  With each step into the unknown our faith in God grows.  With each step a new lesson in obedience is learned.  And with the final step, we see life and vision in full bloom.  And we have the ability to help others have the courage to step into their unknown.