Are you facing a situation right now where you don’t know what to do next? That next step is uncertain because you don’t know where this is leading. You can’t see beyond today … and you’re not supposed to. But if you can’t see tomorrow, how do you know the right next step into that which you cannot see?

There are two kinds of people. The kind of people who take wild leaps just to see what happens when they do … and the kind of people who gather all the details before budging. The kind of people who click and buy because they liked it … and the kind of people who put it in their online cart for days while they research it. I don’t know which one you are, but I sure know which one I tend to be.

Are you the kind of person who just does something, anything, when you aren’t sure what to do? Or are you the kind of person who does nothing at all when you’re unsure? God wants us to be neither of these.

Here’s what God wants us to do … He wants us TO ASK HIM FIRST AND BELIEVE HE WILL GUIDE US.

James 1: 5, “Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God – who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly – and it will be given to him.” Lacking wisdom is a really nice way of putting it. The Message translation of that same verse says it like it really is: “If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father.”

Is that you? You don’t know what the heck you’re doing. You don’t know how to raise these kids. You don’t know how to fix this marriage. You don’t know how to crawl out of this hole. You don’t know how to make this right. You don’t know what to do next. You don’t know how to get from where you are to where you want to be. YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU’RE DOING.

Sometimes I feel like a total imposter. On most days I really don’t know what I’m doing. I don’t know how I’m ever going to be good enough to pull off the things I’m attempting to do. I don’t know how I can finish what I’ve started. But, through all of this, I’ve figured out the most important thing … I don’t have to know, I just have to pray!

I’m not posing, I’m praying. I’m not pretending, I’m praying. I’m not an imposter, I’m a pray-er.

I don’t know what I’m doing, so I pray to the Father. I ask him about the next step. I ask him who I need to be. I ask him to show me the way. I ask him to give me the words. Then, all I need to do is BELIEVE he is guiding me. I’ve learned just because I don’t know what I’m doing while I’m showing up to do it doesn’t mean I’m an imposter, it means I’m a vessel!

My sister, you are a vessel when you’re emptied of self and available to be filled! You’re a vessel when you show up with a determination to go wherever you’re prompted to go, and do whatever you’re prompted to do, even when it doesn’t make sense and even when you don’t feel like it. You’re a vessel!

Do you know how many mornings I know precisely what I’m going to share when I sit down to start writing? Practically none. I don’t know. I’m counting on God to guide me.

Do you know how many morning I feel like writing when I start the very first sentence? None. Absolutely none. The first sentence is always almost impossible. It’s like the first step on a journey when I don’t know where I’m going, nor do I know if I have what it will takes to go there, or if I will even like it. That’s a hard first step, but every day I have to take it.

But if I take it under my own power, I will struggle unnecessarily. IF I ASK GOD FOR HELP FIRST, the steps that follow will be completely different. I still won’t feel like it, I still won’t see where it’s leading, but I will be supernaturally guided by the power of God’s spirit that responds when I ask for help!

Asking God for help results in his supernatural power to guide you in what to do next.

Did you know God will ALWAYS answer your prayers for wisdom? Always. Remember, sometimes God’s way isn’t your way, so it doesn’t mean you will always like it or that it will always make sense, but he will always respond to your request for wisdom with his guidance.

Verse 5 of James 1 goes on to say, “He loves to help. You’ll get his help and you won’t be condescended when you ask.” God won’t look down on you for asking here. He won’t be frustrated that you haven’t figured this out on your own yet. He won’t be bothered by your request for help again. GOD LOVES TO HELP YOU.

We each have our own talents and passions. When someone asks for help with the things we’re really good at, we naturally get excited because we know this is our area of specialty. When someone asks me how they can make an ordinary day fun, I get giddy with excitement. I will give them a list of 100 things they could do today, right where they are, to create fun. On a budget? No problem, I know how to turn the simplest of things into an adventure. Have errands to run? Girl, no problem, the grocery store is your amusement park! I LOVE to help you create fun. It’s my thing. Everything can be a game. Everything can be an exciting challenge. Everything can be a memorable adventure. I love to be asked for help with fun.

You have your thing too. And when someone asks you, you just love to share with them. Maybe you’re a book girl, and when someone asks for a book on a specific topic, you know exactly the book they need. Maybe you’re a health expert and when someone asks about overcoming an issue they’re having in their body, you’re so excited to tell them a simple and natural remedy for their problem. Maybe you’re a foodie and when someone asks where they should eat, you have a list of restaurants and precisely what they should order. You love to help with the things you know.

Well, God knows the future. For real. The future is God’s thing. He knows the plans he has for you. He knows they are good plans. He knows the way there. And when you ask him how to get there and what to do with this current situation along the way, God gets excited. This is his thing! He loves to help you know what to do!

If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help you! He’s excited to share what he knows with you. What does he know? He knows your future and he knows the way there!

Verse 6-8, “And when you ask, ask in faith without doubting. For the doubter is like the surging sea, driven and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything form the Lord, being double-minded and unstable in all his ways.”

Isn’t that us? We ask God to show us the way, we come to an open door, then we stand in that open door second guessing our next step. We talk ourselves out of stepping into the very thing God has led us to. We doubt so hard that we create anxiety within our minds, questioning if God really opened that door. If you’re going to doubt, why even ask in the first place? Doubting steals the guidance the Holy Spirit offers.

If you ask me for ways to make a roadtrip with your 6 year old fun, I’m going to give you a list of car games you can play and creative ways to pass the time. But, if you respond to every idea with an excuse, eventually I’m going to stop sharing my tips for fun. The same is true with God’s offer of wisdom. If you respond to every prompting of the Holy Spirit on what to do next with a doubting excuse, eventually, he will stop prompting.

Are you serious about God helping you here? Great … then stop excusing his promptings!

The Message translation of verses 6-8 say this, “Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. People who “worry” their prayers are like wind-whipped waves. Don’t think you’re going to get anything that way, adrift at sea, keeping all your options open.”

Is that you? Have you been “worrying” your prayers? You pray, but then you worry you didn’t pray right. You worry God doesn’t like you. You worry you missed God’s answer. You worry you won’t like God’s answer. You worry about your worry. Yeah, God says don’t do that. I can’t work in your constant worry. I work in your faith. I respond to your request for wisdom that BELIEVES I will guide you. I show up where you genuinely seek me and believe you will find me.

Are you asking God for wisdom, but just keeping all your options open? Yeah, God says don’t do that either. If God said no to something, then stop knocking on that door. Girl, lock that door and throw away the key. End the conversation. Delete the number. Remember, if God’s not in it, YOU DON’T WANT IT ANYWAY!

You don’t need options when you are being guided by God. All these options has you sea sick adrift at sea. You’re going back and forth, juggling all the things, wondering why you’re absolutely exhausted and overwhelmed. Really, that’s a symptom of trying to maintain control instead of a complete surrender to God. My sister, sometimes you’ve got to let go of something to follow where God is leading you.

Follow in faith.

Here’s what I know, the step taken in faith, even when it was the wrong step, WILL BE HONORED!

God wants you to trust him. He wants you to ask him for help and believe with your whole heart that he will guide you. And sometimes you may not do this thing perfect, but if you do it in faith, God can work with that.

I used to be so afraid of making a mistake that I wouldn’t take the next step. Then God called me out onto the waters with him and I figured out these scary steps are actually thrilling. I’m totally addicted to walking on the water with him! Sometimes I sink a bit, but he always comes to my rescue. You know why? He’s just glad I got out of the boat!

That’s where he wants you. He wants you out of that boat. He wants you out here on the water with him, totally dependent on him for every step. He LOVES to help you in knowing the right thing to do, but he will only show you AS YOU GO! If you’re not willing to go, he may stop showing you.

One more time, here’s our scripture: If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. Stop worrying your prayers and keeping your options open. You’ll get his help when you ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. And that’s precisely what we will do today!

You’re not a posing, you’re praying. You’re not pretending, you’re praying. You’re not an imposter, you’re a pray-er!

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