The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. — Psalm 37:23
Life often takes different turns than we expect.
I remember years ago having a clear plan for my future. I was going to go into computer programming. I had enrolled in college classes and was working toward what I believed was the path ahead of me. It made sense. I had mapped it out.
Then something unexpected happened. I was introduced to emergency services. I began volunteering at the local fire department, and something about it felt different than anything I had experienced before. One step led to another. EMT school. Then paramedic school. What I assumed was a detour, something on the side, gradually became the main road. What I thought I was building toward gave way to something I never planned for at all.
And looking back, it is clear. That was not a detour. That was God’s plan for my life all along.
We spend a great deal of energy mapping out our futures. There is nothing wrong with planning. But sometimes God allows the unexpected interruption, the course correction, the rerouted path, not to derail us, but to direct us somewhere better than we had imagined for ourselves.
The psalmist says that the steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD. Not just the destination. The steps. The individual moments. The turns we did not see coming. The doors that closed unexpectedly. The ones that opened when we were not even looking.
None of it is random in the hands of God.
It is easy to trust God when the path is clear and the plan is unfolding the way we expected. The real test of faith comes when things shift. When a door closes. When the major we chose does not work out. When the job we planned for leads somewhere else entirely. In those moments, it is natural to wonder if we have somehow missed it.
But God does not lose track of us when the path changes. He is not scrambling to adjust His plan because ours fell through. He knew the steps before we took them. He ordered them before we understood them.
If life looks different today than you thought it would, that is not necessarily a sign that something has gone wrong. It may be a sign that Someone far wiser than you is doing exactly what He said He would do.
Trust the steps. Even the unexpected ones. Especially those.
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About Another Well Ministries
Another Well Ministries exists to help people slow down, listen deeply, and encounter God in the ordinary places of life. Through devotionals, reflections, and spiritual resources, we seek to create space for faith to be formed with honesty, grace, and hope.
To learn more about the heart of the ministry or explore additional resources, visit anotherwell.org.
