As for Philip, an angel of the Lord said to him, “Go south down the desert road that runs from Jerusalem to Gaza.” So he started out, and he met the treasurer of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under the Kandake, the queen of Ethiopia. The eunuch had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and he was now returning. Seated in his carriage, he was reading aloud from the book of the prophet Isaiah. The Holy Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and walk along beside the carriage.”
Acts 8:26-29 (NLT)
Not too long ago, I was talking with a friend of mine who is a great cook. I was asking her about some of her favorite dishes and how she had learned to cook and bake. At one point I asked her if she was passing her knowledge and skills down to her kids. She told me that one of the biggest challenges in doing that was that she doesn’t have many
of her recipes written down. She just cooks by “feel” and even when she gets ahold of a new recipe, she always likes to change them up and try new things, often making them differently every time she cooks that dish. While the outcome is amazing, it’s tough for other people to learn those recipes or get them to turn out as well as the original.
That’s the way that I often feel when I am looking for divine direction for my life. I want God to provide specific, step-by-step directions that will take me from start to finish and give me a guaranteed outcome. But so often, I feel like I have just enough information and faith to take the next step.
In the book of Acts, one of the early leaders of the church is a guy named Philip. In Acts 8, God gives him some very specific direction for his life. He tells him which direction to head (south) on a specific road (the desert road from Jerusalem to Gaza). So Philip headed south on the desert road. Once he got going down that road, he ran into the treasurer of Ethiopia, who was reading the Old Testament book of Isaiah and trying to figure it out. As Philip walked by on the road, God spoke again and told him to go and walk alongside the Ethiopian’s chariot. Again, real specific and very clear.
There have been so many times I wished that God would guide me that clearly. But recently, as I read that passage again, I noted something that I had missed. While God spoke clearly to Philip, He only gave him small steps of obedience to follow. Get on the desert road between Jerusalem and Gaza. Check. Go south. Check. Walk next to that chariot. Check.
I realized that part of the reason God’s guidance in my life sometimes feels “fuzzy” is because I am trying to bring the entire route into focus. I want to see and know it all. But God is directing my steps. My next step. And the step after that. So, I am learning to listen and obey one step at a time. If you’ve ever felt the frustration of trying to figure out your route, try taking it one step at a time, and watch where God takes you.
Is there a clear next step that God has been showing you? What could help you take it? What could keep you from taking it?