You’ll know what you need to do WHEN you need to do it.

The Lord has emphasized this statement to me over the last few days. It’s a nice reminder. It takes some of the pressure off of me to anticipate things ahead of time. 

The Lord taught me that truth many years ago when I took a professional sabbatical. There were so many unknowns – I had left my stable corporate career and was launching out into the great unknown of untapped possibilities lying before me. I was afraid I wouldn’t know how to make good decisions because I didn’t know what to anticipate. Making wise choices is often based on anticipating what will be needed and planning ahead. I had no idea what to expect. I just knew He was asking me to step away from my comfort zone and trust Him with the next step.

He encouraged me to make decisions based on all the information I had at the time. If I later encountered new information, I was not responsible for how I should have acted if I had known this information because I did not have it at the time the decision was made. 

It seems pretty simple or obvious now but at the time I was putting a lot of pressure on myself and this simple principle brought great relief. I could let go of all the “what ifs” and simple wait for His timing. When a decision needed to be made, I did my best based on my current awareness of what was needed. I have never regretted this and it taught me not to look back and wonder if I should have done things differently.

It takes a lot of trust in God to let go of control – that’s basically what is at stake here. When we plan our future, we think we are in control of the variables: I will study at this school, I will get this kind of job and I will live in this house in this city, etc. Or whatever plan we think we have.

But following Jesus does not involve this kind of certainty. He asks us to trust Him and follow HIM. Not our ideas or our plans, even if they are good ones.

When I left my secure, corporate job that paid well, I was also choosing to trust God financially. He said to me,

You will have all that you need WHEN you need it.

And I have! I have never lacked for anything I needed.

Timing is KEY in God’s kingdom and often He doesn’t share things with us too far ahead of time. I think it’s like when children are small. If you tell them, “We are going to the park later”, they get so excited that they drive the adults crazy asking over and over, “Is it time to go now?” He knows how we are – we tend to run ahead and try to plan things out. That gives us a sense of control.

Instead He waits to share what we need to know WHEN we need to know it. And often the timing of the information (or provision) is important as well. If you had known ahead of time, you might have made different decisions and it would have impacted the ultimate outcome. By not knowing, and by trusting God instead, you were right where you were supposed to be. Just like a child, trusting a good parent to take care of everything they need.

It takes a deeper level of surrender to simply live life not knowing what is next. To trust God to prompt you to do things when they need to be done. To trust God to provide what you need at the right time.

But I can tell you that He is faithful. I’ve always had all that I needed and I haven’t made bad decisions by trusting Him. Things have worked out beautifully, often miraculously.

What about you? Are you ready to let go of control and let Him lead you into the unknown? Can God be trusted? Can you rely on His certainty instead of your own plans? Share your thoughts or experiences below – that’s how we learn from each other. 😊

Thanks for reading. God bless you today! 💗

P.S. Sometimes God does tell us something ahead of time and we tend to drive ourselves crazy wondering about it, trying to prepare for it, etc. Then we get discouraged when we don’t see it happening the way we think it should or WHEN we think it should. I’ve found it’s actually easier NOT knowing! Ha! 😂 What do you think?