Next Steps

READ: JEREMIAH 29:1-14; PSALMS 37:1-6; 139:1-24

Are you or someone you know graduating this year? While a graduation is a momentous occasion, what follows is the question: “What are your next steps?”

When I graduated from high school, it was the general expectation that you went to college. Being an adventurous non-planner, I left for a college that was located over twelve hours from home, not even sure what I wanted to do, but assuming I would figure it out along the way.

You might be like me, or you might be more like my son. He just finished high school with the ultimate plan. He’s interning at a tech company while setting up his own business. His life is well-planned, from his first vehicle to his finances.

Often, I wrestled with being “in God’s will.” What was He trying to tell me? What if I didn’t listen hard enough? What if I missed the grand plan He had for my life? Other people might wrestle with inviting God into their plan. What if He calls me to do something other than what I want? What if He calls me to do something or go somewhere I feel unqualified for? What if God’s five-year plan doesn’t mesh with the plan I have laid out?

If you’re wrestling with questions like these, I have good news. Whatever type of graduate you are or will be, I can tell you the best next steps you can take in your life! Before you think I’m presumptuous, or even nuts, read Jeremiah 29:11-13, emphasis on verse 13. Did you catch what God said? “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Seeking God is your best next step, and the step after that, and the one to follow.

Many people refer to Jeremiah 29:11, and the hope and future God promises us. But then they forget to include the surrounding verses, where God tells His people they are not going to be delivered from exile for a long time, but His people will seek Him and pray to Him, and He will listen and be found. It’s easy to worry about our plans and God’s will. But what is the will of God? For us to have a relationship with Him through trusting in Jesus, to know His love more and more deeply, and to be transformed to become more and more like Jesus. Every plan of our hearts, every question about our future—everything pales in comparison to seeking the one who created us and knows every intimate detail about our past, present, and future. • Savannah Coleman

• Do you tend to be more of a planner, or a non-planner? How could you be intentional about seeking God in His Word, through prayer, and with fellow Christians?

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13 (NIV)