Since it is already Christmas time for the Barrett household we started a new tradition. We are going to do a Christmas puzzle each year. So for the first time ever, my family has been working on our very first one and we have already finished it a little earlier than anticipated. I thought we would work at it here and there in passing, but it turns out I am way to competitive and once I get on a roll I have a hard time stopping. So we finished the puzzle after a few nights of working on it. All of us chipped in and put it together on our dinner table. We had a great time working on it, and realize we may have to do a few puzzles each year instead of just one.

Life is like a puzzle. Sometimes the pieces seem to fit easily yet at other times it seems as if no pieces are coming together. It can feel like an overwhelming jumbled mess.

What I have found about puzzles is that you cannot try and figure out the whole thing at once, you have to go at it piece by piece. When you focus on the next piece things are much simpler than trying to understand the whole picture. Life is so similar, we have to take it one step at a time otherwise we get stuck in the bigness of it all. When you boil it all down the only thing that really matters anyway is the next step. We can’t skip steps when it comes to life’s journey.

Psalm 37:23

The LORD makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him;

Our job is to delight in God and He will show us the next step. Too many times we want God to show us the whole picture all at once, but God does not work this way. He is always teaching us and maturing us step by step. Just like a parent doesn’t overwhelm their child with things they are not ready for, God teaches us step by step because we wouldn’t be ready for step 9 unless we got through steps 1-8. This is why I blogged about the importance of enjoying the journey of life and to not get so focused on our destination in my last post.

The most important question you can ask God is, “What is my next step?” And rest assure He will NOT give you your next step until you’ve completed the previous one. Sometimes God doesn’t answer us because we haven’t done what He already has told us to do. God doesn’t skip steps and He certainly doesn’t mature us without challenging and testing us.

Back to the puzzle…here is the principle focus on the next piece of your puzzle. Take steps to your destiny and quit getting overwhelmed or discouraged because your not there. You will get there step, by step, by step, by step, by step, etc… God will always be faithful to complete what He has put in your heart to do IF you continue taking your next step. It is not Him who delays His plans for us, it is us who stop stepping.

So what is the next piece of your puzzled life? Work on it!

(Here is our Christmas puzzle…500 pieces…we started basic)