Every Step of the Way

I'm going to start today's FTM with the chorus of a current Contemporary Christian hit that is being played across the airwaves delivering an important message of hope for us all to understand.

 "Every step of the way
You’ve been You’ll be
Working everything for the best of me
So I’ll trust in who You are
Every step of the way
You’ve been You’ll be
Fighting and writing Your love in my story
You’ve held my heart
Every step of the way" 

Cade Thompson "Every Step of the Way" 

Does it feel like God is with you every step of every day? Walking beside you, walking in front of you, guarding your back and catching you when you fall? If you confidently answer that question "yes", count yourself as blessed. Having a deep, trusting relationship with your Creator gives you that confidence, sadly there are more people that don't have that confidence that is founded in faith and hope. Let's spend a few minutes diving down into the idea that God is with you "every step of the way".

Adversities, afflictions, trials, tragedies, valleys, and in life's dark alleys am I saying that God is right there with us every step of the way? Yes I am. I say that with confidence. The psalmist David wrote "yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, thou art with me" Psalm 23:4. David didn't say when times are good, or when I am on the tip top of the mountain you are there with me celebrating my successes and accomplishments. God is there too, but that is easy to acknowledge, it's when things are tough, when illness turns into a potential life threatening or life taking event, that's when we have to understand that God is with us even in life's tragedies. That can be challenging at best. 

If God is with me every step of the way then why did my loved one die? If God is with us every step of the way then why do snow storms, floods, tornadoes, and tsunamis destroy homes, communities, and lives almost daily? God doesn't say I'll put you in a bubble and push you along through life, He said I'll be with you and I will give you my rod and staff to comfort you (Psalm 23:4). In other words, I'll give you what you need to face the battles and the challenges that you confront, but I won't guarantee you that the outcome will always be what you think it ought to be, there is a bigger plan and purpose to everything that happens, we have to trust that while God is with us every step of the way that His plans and His paths are designed not for us individually, but for the greater cause which we cannot fathom. We are called to trust that He is with us every step of the way and that no matter what happens God is there. Every step of the way.

Let me pause for just a moment, there is context for a completely different FTM message in the understanding that if God is real and he is with us every step of the way then it is also important to understand that there is evil in this world and it exists right in front of us as well. Crimes, cruelty, and inhumane treatment of a person is not of God. Evil exists on this earth, but even when it appears that evil has gotten the upper hand, God will prevail. We must trust that God will prevail when it feels impossible to believe that something positive could come from some form of cruel and inexplicable tragedy. We may not be able to see it or understand it, but God will prevail if we only trust and believe that God's plan is beyond what we may even see in our own lifetime. When we are reunited in Heaven with all of our loved ones that truth of victory will then be revealed. For that truth, we can praise God from whom all blessings flow! 

Today God is with you every step of the way! That is the message I share with you today. Each step you take, every detour, pitfall, mountain you climb, and every valley you endure, God is with you every step of the way. Every victory lap you take, every life you touch, and every day you work and serve Him, God is with you every step of the way! My advice to you, walk forward confidently, blanketed in the knowledge that God is with you every step of the way!

One step at a time!

Coach Carter