Wobbly Steps

This was my devotional yesterday. It really spoke to me and I hope it speaks to you.

Wobbly Steps
By Melanie Chitwood

“I'm not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don't get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I'm off and running, and I'm not turning back.” Philippians 3:12-14 (MSG)

After several months of continuous stress and challenges, I felt like giving up and saying, “This is just too hard, God. Find someone else for this assignment!”Then, through an adorable little girl, God gave me encouragement to press on.

One-year-old Catherine is learning to walk. She takes a few wobbly steps and then falls down. She sits for a minute, as if to gather her determination, and then she pushes herself back up on her little legs. With each step Catherine attempts, we cheer her on like it’s the greatest thing we’ve ever seen, as if we’ve never seen anyone walk before.

Then, when Catherine is getting tired or frustrated, her mom reaches down and holds her little hand. Catherine looks up at her mom, where she finds just the extra encouragement she needs to push herself back up and keep going. One wobbly step after another.

I think that’s how God looks at us. Even our wobbly, uncertain steps please Him. He will never give up on us, and He will never be disdainful of our imperfect attempts to obey Him. He sees our hearts, which want to please Him, and He cares much more about our surrendered hearts than our perfect performance.

When we feel discouraged, frustrated or tired, we need to fix our eyes on Jesus where we’ll find just what we need to press on.