Ordered steps

The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. –Psalms 37:23

I have recently become more aware of a habit I mostly do without giving it much thought. Our home has two floors; as you might expect, a flight of stairs leads up to the second floor. I am unsure when it happened, but I have counted those stairs at some point, and the number is fourteen. Perfectly normal for some, perhaps odd for others, but I tend to count those stairs when climbing them almost as if on auto-pilot. Then one day, I was preparing to wash some clothes, and my little stair game caught my attention.

So I was leaving my bedroom on the second floor, and I headed toward the stairs to go down because the laundry room was on the first. So with a basket of dirty clothes in my hands, I mounted the top first step and began my way down. But I could not see the stairs before me because of my load. But then, without really thinking about it, I began to perform my counting routine. I counted from one to fourteen without seeing where I was going until I reached the first floor. It was almost as if my steps were ordered on the way down. I could not see where I was going, but I took each step confidently because I knew that my numbers would keep me on track, and when I reached the number fourteen, I would be at the bottom.

Then I began to reflect on my life and the things God has done for me, even recently as the past few years. How many times was I spiritually at the top of those stairs and unable to see what was ahead? How often have I found myself in a place of so many unknowns and unable to see how it would all work out? But in the end, I found that the Lord ordered my emotional and spiritual steps when I walked by faith, not sight. He was my spiritual counting system, and each time I took a step of faith, I found that I was closer to the end of the journey through this dark land. But God, who “is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20), not only became my number system but was so much more.

As I counted the stairs down to the first floor, I was still burdened with the weight of my dirty clothes. But when the Lord came to order my steps amid my hardships, he not only came to lead and guide me but also to take the burden away. I found that I could “Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved” (Psalms 55:22). What a remarkable benefit we have in that we can cast our cares on Jesus!

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30)