Have you ever wished God would just hand you the plan?
Not just the next step.
The whole plan.
Lately, I’ve found myself asking some questions about the future. This summer I’ve been teaching summer school while completing literacy training that I felt clearly led by God to pursue. Every door opened. The funding came through. The internship fell into place. The timing worked.
And yet, here I am asking:
“Lord, what are You doing with this?”
“Where is this leading?”
“What’s next?”
Maybe you’ve asked similar questions.
Perhaps you’re wondering if you’re still called to your current school. Maybe you’re waiting for a breakthrough, a new opportunity, a change in circumstances, or clarity about the next season. You know God is faithful, but you can’t quite see what He’s doing.
A few days ago, my husband Jake and I were talking through some of those questions while on a walk. We were discussing discernment, uncertainty, and what it looks like to trust God when you don’t know exactly what’s next.
When we got home, I opened the mailbox and found a random mailer. Across the front it said:
“You don’t have to have the whole plan.”
I laughed because it felt exactly like something Jesus would do.
Then underneath it were the words:
“You just need to take the next step.”
That simple message stopped me in my tracks.
Because if I’m honest, I often want answers about six months from now when Jesus is simply inviting me to trust Him today.
The Tension of the In-Between
As Kingdom educators, we often live in the tension between what God has promised and what we can currently see.
We know God is good.
We know He’s faithful.
We know He has a purpose for our lives.
And yet we don’t always know the timeline.
We don’t always know the outcome.
We don’t always know how the story unfolds.
Hebrews 11:8 tells us that Abraham obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.
Think about that.
Abraham didn’t get the whole map.
He got the next step.
What if faith was never about having all the answers?
What if faith was learning to trust the One who does?
Stewardship Over Striving
One of the strongest thoughts that surfaced while recording this episode was this:
Sometimes we want destiny while overlooking stewardship of today.
We want clarity about the future while God keeps inviting us back to faithfulness in the present.
Love the students in front of you.
Pray today.
Show up today.
Steward what’s in your hands today.
Ephesians 2:10 reminds us that we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works that He prepared beforehand for us to walk in.
God is not scrambling to figure out your future.
He’s already there.
Our job isn’t to manufacture purpose.
It’s to walk faithfully with Him one step at a time.
Presence Over Productivity
This season has also reminded me of something else:
The Kingdom prioritizes presence over productivity.
The world tells us to achieve, perform, produce, and prove.
Jesus says:
“Remain in Me.”
In John 15, Jesus reminds us that apart from Him we can do nothing. Fruit doesn’t come from striving. It comes from abiding.
You can hold the right beliefs and still live exhausted from trying to carry everything yourself.
But the invitation of Jesus has always been relationship first.
Presence first.
Trust first.
God Is Still Good While You’re Waiting
Throughout this season of the podcast, one truth has continued to surface again and again:
God wastes nothing.
Not the heartbreak.
Not the detours.
Not the disappointment.
Not even the waiting.
Romans 8:28 has been woven through every conversation because it reminds us that God is actively working, even when we can’t yet see what He’s doing.
Toward the end of the episode, I returned to a passage from Psalm 27 that carried me through an entire season of my life:
“I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.”
What I love about those words is that David wrote them before breakthrough came.
Not after.
Hope isn’t pretending everything is okay.
Hope is believing God is still good while you’re waiting.
Friend, maybe you don’t need a five-year plan today.
Maybe you simply need today’s grace.
Today’s trust.
Today’s obedience.
Today’s bread.
Because the God who wrote the beginning of your story is still faithfully writing the middle.
And He already sees the ending.
Reflection Questions
Spend a few moments with Jesus and ask:
- Where am I trying to rush You?
- What am I afraid won’t happen?
- What are You teaching me in this season?
- What does faithfulness look like today?
- What do You want me to know about the chapter I’m living right now?
The story isn’t over yet.
And waiting is not wasted.
Resources & Next Steps
- Free Daily Truth Declarations for Christian Educators
kingdomeducators.com/declarations - More Encouragement & Resources
kingdomeducators.com - Interested in Coaching Support?
jesica@kingdomeducators.com
Guided Burdens Exercise for Christian Educators
(Coming Soon)