Am I Following God, or Asking Him to Follow Me?
Am I Following God, or Asking Him to Follow Me?
There are mornings when I sit with my Bible, close it, and feel confident about the person I am becoming.
I know God's Word better than I used to.
I recognize His goodness in places I once overlooked.
I try to treat people with kindness, extend grace, forgive, serve, and make decisions that honor Him.
And I believe those things matter.
But this morning, as I sat reflecting on God's character, a question came to mind that made me uncomfortable.
Am I following God's plan, or am I making my own plans and asking Him to bless my steps?
I wish I could tell you I immediately knew the answer.
Actually, maybe I did.
I just didn't particularly like it.
Because if I'm being completely honest, I spend more time than I would like to admit making plans and then asking God to bless them.
I decide where I want to go.
I think about how I'm going to get there.
I consider the obstacles, the possibilities, and the outcomes.
I make sure my intentions are good.
Then I bow my head and pray.
"Father, please guide me. Please bless this. Please open the doors."
And sometimes I wonder if what I'm really saying is...
"Father, I've decided where we're going. Would You please come along?"
That realization stopped me.
Because for years, I've believed that if I treated people well, studied Scripture, loved others, and tried to make godly decisions, I was following God's plan.
And those things are important. Scripture tells us to do them.
But doing good things doesn't automatically mean I'm allowing God to lead.
I can do good things while still insisting on my own direction.
I can serve others while neglecting something God has placed on my heart.
I can make a perfectly reasonable decision without ever asking whether it's the decision He wants me to make.
I can even become so busy doing what I believe is God's work that I forget to spend time with the God I'm working for.
And that's when the next question came.
How do I stop? How do I truly follow God's plan instead of asking Him to bless mine?
I sat with that question for a while.
I wish I could tell you that I found a perfect answer.
I didn't.
But I thought about Abraham.
Imagine being told to leave everything familiar.
Your home.
Your country.
The people and places you've always known.
And when you ask where you're going, you aren't given a detailed map.
God simply tells you He will show you.
That's what happened to Abraham in Genesis 12.
And Hebrews 11:8 tells us something remarkable.
Abraham obeyed and went, even though he didn't know where he was going.
Think about that.
He didn't know the destination.
He knew the One who was leading him.
I wonder how often I have those two things backward.
I want to know the destination so I can feel confident enough to follow.
But God invites me to know Him well enough that I can follow without knowing the destination.
And perhaps that's the difference I've been struggling to understand.
Following God isn't simply asking Him to approve where I'm going. It's trusting Him enough to let Him determine the direction.
That doesn't mean I stop thinking, planning, or making decisions.
God gave me a mind to use, responsibilities to fulfill, and opportunities to pursue.
But it does mean holding those plans with open hands.
Being willing to hear no.
Being willing to wait.
Being willing to change direction.
Being willing to admit that something I wanted very badly may not be what God wants for me.
And sometimes that is hard.
Because I like knowing what comes next.
I like being prepared.
I like feeling as though I have some control over what tomorrow will look like.
But Proverbs 3:5–6 reminds me not to lean on my own understanding.
Not because understanding is bad.
But because mine is limited.
God sees what I cannot.
He knows what I do not.
He understands my heart better than I understand it myself.
He knows the motives I haven't recognized, the fears I haven't surrendered, and the desires I've mistaken for His direction.
And He loves me anyway.
That's what gives me hope.
Because I know there will be days when I get ahead of Him again.
There will be times when I make decisions too quickly.
Times when I mistake my own desires for His leading.
Times when I realize I've been walking in my own direction and asking Him to bless the journey.
But I also know something about my Father.
He is faithful even when I am learning to be faithful.
When I recognize that I've wandered, I can repent.
I can turn around.
I can ask Him to show me the next faithful step.
I don't have to pretend I knew what I was doing.
I don't have to hide the mess I've made.
I can come honestly before the One who already knows me completely.
And He will not turn away a repentant heart.
Maybe I don't need to figure out God's entire plan for my life this morning.
Maybe I simply need to stop assuming I already have.
To open my hands.
To open His Word.
To seek His wisdom.
And to be willing to follow wherever obedience leads.
Today I don't have all the answers.
I don't know exactly what tomorrow will bring.
And I certainly haven't mastered surrender.
But I know who God is.
He is good.
He is faithful.
He is patient.
He is merciful.
He is my Father.
And He has promised never to leave or forsake His children.
So perhaps my prayer needs to change.
Instead of always asking,
"Father, please bless the road I've chosen."
I want to learn to pray,
"Father, show me the road You want me to walk, and give me the faith to follow You."
Because I don't want to spend my life asking God to follow me.
I want to spend my life learning to follow Him.
Encouragement
If you recognize yourself in these words today, don't be discouraged.
God isn't asking you to know everything He knows.
He is inviting you to trust Him with what you don't know.
You don't have to be a perfect follower to belong to a perfect Father.
And when you realize you've taken a wrong turn, remember that repentance is not the end of your journey with God. It's an opportunity to return to Him.
He is gracious, patient, and faithful to guide those who seek Him.
You can begin again today.
❤️ Heart Audit
Before you end your day, sit quietly with your Father and ask:
Father, where have I been making my own plans and asking You to bless them instead of first seeking Your direction?
Is there something I am so determined to accomplish that I have become unwilling to hear You say no, wait, or go another way?
What would it look like for me to surrender the direction of my life to You, not just the outcome of my decisions?
Don't rush through the questions. Allow Scripture to examine your heart and give yourself time to listen.
Prayer
Father,
Thank You for loving me even when I get ahead of You.
You know my heart. You know my intentions, my fears, my desires, and the places where I still struggle to surrender.
Forgive me for the times I've made my own plans and asked You to bless them without first seeking Your will.
I don't want to simply do good things in Your name. I want to do the things You have called me to do.
Teach me to recognize the difference.
Give me a heart that is willing to hear no, the patience to wait, and the courage to follow even when I cannot see where the road leads.
Thank You for being a Father who doesn't abandon His children when they wander.
I know I will not get everything right, but I trust that You will continue teaching me, correcting me, and drawing me closer to You.
I don't need to know everything about tomorrow.
I need to know You.
And Father, I want to know You more.
In Jesus' name, Amen.
📖 See for Yourself
Read Genesis 12:1–9, Hebrews 11:8–10, and Proverbs 3:5–6.
As you read about Abraham, imagine what it would have felt like to leave everything familiar without knowing exactly where you were going.
Notice what Abraham knew and what he didn't know.
Then ask yourself:
What does Abraham's willingness to follow reveal about the character of the God he trusted?
And here's another question worth sitting with:
Would I be willing to follow God if He showed me only the next step instead of the entire plan?
I'd love to hear what stood out to you in these passages. What did you discover about God that you hadn't noticed before?
Tomorrow's Invitation
Tomorrow morning, before you begin making plans, spend a few minutes with God.
Ask Him:
"Father, am I inviting You into my plans, or am I willing to follow Yours?"
Then carry that question with you throughout the day.
Be willing to pause, reconsider, and change direction when Scripture, godly wisdom, and prayer reveal a better way.
You don't need the entire map.
You need to remain close to the One who knows the way.
Anchor Truth
Following God isn't asking Him to bless the road I've chosen. It's trusting Him enough to let Him lead me down the road He chooses.
