I decided to turn my questions into prayers and penciled them in my notebook. "Lord, what should I say ‘yes’ to? Where do you want me to spend my time these next few months? Please show me what you have planned for me this coming year." 

I was hoping for a sneak peek into His Kingdom calendar so I could make adjustments in mine. In His wisdom, God gently but firmly whispered to my heart, “Stop asking Me about tomorrow. I want you to live in the hear and now.” I think He may have even spelled it so I would be clear on the point He was making.

I was a bit surprised by this. I thought I had been listening, but in that quiet moment I knew God was calling me closer. He was much more concerned with my character than my calendar. Before He would entrust me with more ministry, He was going to train me to recognize the faintest whisper of His voice. He wanted to see if I was willing to obey Him in the little things, before He assigned me any bigger things.

Isn’t it easy to seek God for the larger plans in life, convinced that if we figure out what He wants us to do we’ll become the person He created us to be? Have you ever thought: “If only God would show me what job to take; what man to marry; what church to attend  - then my life would be complete and I could serve Him with my whole heart?”

But how often do we get a glimpse of where He wants us to go and then assume we know how to get there? I can’t even count the times I have made that mistake. Then I wonder why I am not getting anywhere when I was sure I heard Him say, “This is the way, walk in it.”

Jesus shows us how to live each day completely dependent on our Father for the large and fine print written in our life plan. He was the perfect example of listening closely and obeying quickly. Jesus also let others see His dependence on His Father, telling them, “The Son can do nothing by Himself; he can do only what He sees the Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son does also. For the Father loves the Son and shows Him all He does.” (John 5:19-20a)