steady on . . . . . . . A man’s life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps.
—Jeremiah 10:23
Kicking up dust
Heaven or bust
We’re headed for the Promised Land
Since the moment we believed, we’ve been eager to leave
Like a child tugging Daddy’s hand
May we never forget that patience is a virtue
Calm our anxious feet so faithful hands can serve you, Lord
(Chorus)
We run on up ahead, we lag behind You
It’s hard to wait when heaven’s on our minds
Teach our restless feet to walk beside You
’Cause in our hearts we’re already gone
Will You walk with us
We want to walk awhile
We know that every mile is bringing us closer home
We want to tell the story
Of sinners bound for glory and turn to find we’re not alone
When we walk in Your light the lost will see You better
As the narrow road gets crowded Lord won’t You lead us
Steady on
(Chorus)
We run on up ahead. We lag behind You
It’s hard to wait when heaven’s on our minds
Teach our restless feet to walk beside You
’Cause in our hearts we’re already gone
Headed home
(Bridge)
Steady me, when the road of faith gets rocky
Oh ready me, for fears I cannot see
Lord won’t You let me be a witness to Your promise
Won’t You steady me
(Chorus)
We run on up ahead, we lag behind you
It’s hard to wait when heaven’s on Your minds
Teach our restless feet to walk beside You
‘Cause in our hearts we’re already gone
(1st Chours)
Will you walk with us
Steady on
Heather Floyd
It seems as if I’m always in a race with time. Do you ever feel like that? Time is such a fickle master, isn’t it? I mean, it’s never satisfied. When I was a
little girl, I wanted to wear makeup before I was old enough. I wanted to drive before I was old enough. I wanted to grow up before it was time.
When we become adults, the race with time continues. “I have to buy this car before . . . I have to make this much money before . . . I have to have this many children before . . .”Before what? What’s the urgency? What’s the hurry? Why are we so impatient?
We want everything faster—quicker microwaves, faster fast food, and shorter shortcuts. Hurry, hurry, hurry! When you buy something that has to be put together, do you ever do what I do—try to put it together without reading the instructions? Reading instructions takes too long; I figure I can do it faster on my own. You’d think I’d learn, though, because every time I try to shortcut the instructions, I experience all kinds of frustration, and the project ends up taking twice as long as it would have if I’d just followed the instructions, step by step.
That’s how it is with my life. When I ignore God’s instructions and try to do things on my own time, I invariably get myself into trouble. And when I look back on the situation, I see that if I’d just kept in step with God—steady on—things would have turned out much better.
The line in the song “Steady On” that means the most to me is “Teach our restless feet to walk beside you.” I don’t know about you, but sometimes my feet get mighty restless, and I have a hard time walking beside God. Being the human speed-dynamo that I am, I often become impatient with God. I want him to walk at my pace. I want him to do things according to my busy schedule. I want him to answer all my prayers, my way, and on my time. There have even been times in my life when I’ve tried to answer my own prayers. In essence, I’ve tried to play God. Guess what happens every time I do that. Chaos! Total chaos.
Why is it so hard to do things God’s way, at his pace? Why is it so hard to keep in step with him? I think one reason we don’t stay steady on our course is that we take our eyes off Jesus. We get distracted. Maybe we even get bored. I love watching Denise’s baby, Spence. When someone gets his attention, he looks so intently, so steadily, right in their eyes. He holds his gaze steady . . . until he gets bored, that is. Then he looks around for something more interesting. Aren’t we a lot like baby Spence? When life’s pace slows, when God’s timing takes longer than we’d like, we get bored and wander off on our own.
Another reason we fall out of step with God is that we simply don’t trust him. Even though he’s told us over and over that he’ll take care of us, even though our own life experiences teach us that his way is best, still, our humanity struggles to do things our way. We ignore the teaching of Jeremiah 10:23: “A man’s life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps.” Instead, as the song says, “We run ahead, we lag behind.”
We know it’s true that we can’t see the future like God can, we understand that we don’t have the wisdom God has, and it’s obvious that we have little power to make good happen. But still, our humanity cries out, “Let me direct my own life!” All the while, God says to us, “Let me direct your life. Out of my vision, out of my wisdom, out of my power, out of my compassion and love, let me direct your steps.”
Walking steadily beside my God is one of the most terrifying challenges I face in my spiritual life. I have a hard time turning everything over to him, I struggle with trusting him to bring people into my life when I need them, and I wrestle with waiting on him to answer my prayers when I’d rather handle the situation my own way. Even though it’s not easy to let go, deep down I know that if I am to have any stability in my life, I must let him lead. I pray, to the depth of my being, that my restless feet will learn to walk beside my loving Father, trusting him.
If I can learn to truly trust him, then all my nerve-wracking urgency will fade away. My weak walk will become first steps of faith as I walk “steady on” beside my God, at his direction and in his time.
questions
1. When was the last time you got impatient with God’s timing and struck out on your own? What happened?
2. Have you ever gotten bored with the direction God seemed to be taking you? Did you keep in step with him anyway, or did you get off course? What happened?
3. Recall a time when you trusted God and did things his way even when you were afraid. What did that experience teach you?
4. Are you living your life with heaven in view? If so, how? If not, what needs to change?
. . . . steadfast Father,
Teach my restless feet to walk beside you. Forgive me for all the times when I’ve taken my own course. Guide my feet and light my path. Help me grow in trust so that I’ll follow you even when I can’t see very far ahead. Help me to run when you run and walk when you walk. Help me keep in step with you.
