Today’s Verse
“He guides me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.”
Psalm 23:3 (WEB)
Lead the Way
My happy place is wandering on my own through a Southern European city (Barcelona or Lisbon are my favorites) and getting completely lost. No map, no phone, no plan, just exploring narrow streets, looking up at the architecture and discovering hidden cafes and courtyards. There’s something freeing about not knowing where you’re going when the stakes are low and getting lost is part of the adventure.
But when it comes to my actual life? I hate not knowing where I’m going. The uncertainty makes me anxious. The lack of clarity feels overwhelming. And unlike vacation wandering, I can’t just enjoy the journey, I need to know the destination, see the route, understand the plan before I take the next step.
The problem is, I’ve spent a lot of energy trying to lead my own life. Making plans. Choosing directions. Figuring things out. And sometimes it works. But more often, I end up exhausted, confused, walking in circles, wondering why things aren’t turning out the way I thought they would.
The issue isn’t that I’m incapable, it’s that I was never meant to lead this journey alone. God didn’t design me to be self-sufficient, to navigate life without Him. He designed me to follow. To let Him go first. To trust His sense of direction over my own.
David understood this. In Psalm 23, he wrote, “He guides me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” Not “I figure it out and He approves.” He leads. I follow. That’s the design.
Today, I’m asking Him to lead the way. To go first. And I’m committing to follow.
Today’s Prayer
Lord, lead the way, because I don’t know which direction to go, don’t trust my own sense of direction, and need You to go first while I follow.
I’ve tried leading myself and ended up lost, confused, going in circles, and I’m done pretending I know where I’m going without You.
Teach me what it means to follow, to let You set the pace, choose the route, make the decisions while I trust and obey instead of trying to co-lead.
Leading the way means You go first, You’re out front, You’re the one determining the direction, and my job is simply to follow where You lead.
Help me surrender control of the journey, to stop insisting on my preferred route, to trust that where You’re leading is exactly where I need to go.
Remind me that You see what’s ahead, know the best path, understand the terrain I can’t see yet, and following You is always safer than leading myself.
Give me humility to let You lead, obedience to follow where You go, and trust that Your leadership will take me exactly where I need to be.
Let me walk today behind You, not ahead of You, asking Lord, lead the way, and following wherever You go.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.