~ written by Connie Dunmyer
Do you ever wonder if what you are currently doing is the right thing? Do you lie awake at night trying to figure out your purpose? Oh how often I have cried out to God: “Please give me wisdom. Please tell me what to do.”
To some degree this is progress, I guess. Because I can remember a time, not so long ago, when I would have just blubbered over my problems and not actually asked for guidance from the Holy Spirit. I spent a good deal of my early years being so fearful that I would do the “wrong” thing, that I did nothing. Or I would conclude that I made so many mistakes that God would be unable or unwilling to use or help me. And then there's the classic "Am I really even hearing from God?"
Perhaps it simply requires time – even years – to be able to look back and realize that my Sovereign Father was ordering my steps all along. Which means He is still ordering them today. Problems, evil and even fears will always exist in this life. But my response to them is what matters, and I can always improve on that.
Proverbs 2:3-4: “And if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure…”
I have certainly asked for wisdom plenty of times. Asked. But can I truly say I’ve “searched”? Searched like it was silver or hidden treasure? When it comes to wisdom, can I honestly say I even “ask, seek, & knock”? (Matthew 7:7-8). Have I searched for it any more than I might have looked for Easter eggs back in the day? What tools am I even using in my search?
When I was younger, I was pretty sure I “knew everything”. I’d grown up in the church as a preacher's kid. I memorized Bible verses in Sunday School. I could list all the books of the Bible in order. I always won at the Bible Game. I could spell “Habbakuk” and "Zerubbabel", for goodness sake. But the older I get, the more certain I am at just how very little I know. So these days I do want to search for wisdom and direction like a great treasure – because that is what it is. It will be and IS the thing that brings goodness to life.
Matthew 6:21 “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Proverbs 2:6 “For the Lord gives wisdom”
Seems pretty direct. God gives wisdom. It’s not merely happenstance. It’s not luck. He gives it. It's a gift. It’s not even “learned behavior”. Makes me wonder what gets in my way from hearing. Worry perhaps? Fear perhaps? My constant whining? Perhaps I keep saying the same things to God over and over so much, that He can’t get a word in edgewise?
(Hmmmm. Maybe that’s why Jesus said so often “Whoever has ears, let them hear.”, Matthew 13:9 … in other words, “Try Listening!”)
Perhaps, if I truly believe God's Word, upon asking for wisdom and direction, I should stop and listen... and then take a step toward the first thing that pops into my mind, or open the first door of opportunity that comes my way.
Proverbs 2:7-8 “He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of his saints.”
Hey! A couple of tools! Be upright and walk in integrity. Be honorable, honest, and just. Be fair and honest in my treatment of others. God has promised that He holds sound wisdom for me, and He will protect me. He will guard my paths and watch over my journey. I don’t need to fret about today OR tomorrow.
Matthew 6:28-34 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you — you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
So basically I’m hearing that it’s less about where I’m walking, and more about my heart and honestly in the journey. The Lord not only orders my steps, but is guarding my path. Perhaps… just perhaps, all I need to do is get up off my duff and take that first step. If it’s the “wrong” step, the Holy Spirit is perfectly capable of nudging me back to the “right” one. The Father KNOWS what I need, when I need it, and how to perfectly take care of me on this journey.
Proverbs 2:9-10 “Then you will understand what is right and just and fair – every good path. For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul."
God does not require my perfection. He does require my honesty. God doesn’t require that I know everything. He does desire my love and faithfulness. This is a process. This is a roadmap. A journey. A treasure hunt. I may not see the treasure, but I know it exists and it’s worth my soul.
The search for wisdom begins inside me. It requires honestly and humility. It requires time and attention. It requires listening more than asking. For the Lord is most eager to grant us His wisdom, His leading, His path for our lives, His treasure.
I know sometimes it’s difficult to know what to do. But it occurs to me that perhaps we should concentrate less on “the thing to do”, and more on the attitude of our heart. If we humbly ask for wisdom, God will provide. If we do “the wrong thing” in our effort to do “the right thing”, God will redeem it. We just need to take that step on the path He has laid before us and trust that Jesus IS holding our hand. We can trust Him even with our "insecure" steps.
Here are seven scriptures about the Lord ordering our steps - - one for each day of the week. These are His promises to His children. Take a bold step. He’s got you.
MONDAY:
Psalm 37:23-24: “The steps of a man are established by the Lord, And He delights in his way. When he falls, he will not be hurled down, Because the Lord is the One who holds his hand.”
TUESDAY:
Proverbs 16:9: “In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.”
WEDNESDAY:
Psalm 31:15: “My times are in your hand; rescue me from the hand of my enemies...”
THURSDAY:
Proverbs 20:24: “A man's steps are from the Lord”
FRIDAY:
Psalm 119:105: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
SATURDAY:
Proverbs 19:21: “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”
SUNDAY:
Isaiah 48:17 (The Message): “I am God, your God, who teaches you how to live right and well. I show you what to do, where to go.”
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© 2026: Connie F. Dunmyer, All Rights Reserved.