“In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.”I think this scripture verse is important because it reminds us to follow the Lord’s lead.  Yes, we have plans and we have an idea of where we want to go but the Lord shows us the way.  I’ve talked about how important it is to have desires and then to go after them.  What this verse is saying is that it is good for us to plan where we want to go, and then the Lord will show us how to get there.  He will establish the steps for you.  And you know what is even more remarkable, He can create steps where none exist.A lot of times I think we look at where we want to go and we look at the road to get there and we think that we can’t do it.  That the road is too long and the hills are too steep.  Maybe when you look at the road to get to where you’re going and all you see are mountains that you will need to climb.  Guess what?  Our God can move mountains, and so can you when you have God on your side.  However treacherous your journey looks, know that you are not alone and that with God you can do anything.  Philippians 4:13 says, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”  God will give you the strength to take the steps you need to get to where you want to go.  This is easier for many of us to believe when it is about our career.  It is easier for us to believe that God will open doors for us and show us the path for our career.  I have heard many people say things like, “If I get the job, it was meant to be and if not, it wasn’t meant to be.”  This is something that is easier to say and to believe when it is about something that we are not as emotionally invested in.  For instance, if we get the certain car we want, or if the restaurant we want to eat at has a reservation.  If we are not that emotionally invested then we can easily tell ourselves that it didn’t work out because it wasn’t supposed.  We can tell ourselves that everything happens for a reason and we can not let it get us too down.  But, what about when we are emotionally invested. What about when we were really counting on that door to open, and it didn’t.  I know several ladies right now that are struggling with some really tough things concerning their children.  They are in situations that feel impossible and they can see no way out  I totally understand this feeling.  I have been in situations like this before.  What about you?  Have you ever been in a situation where you exhausted all possibilities and then felt like there was no choice other than giving up?  Have you been in a situation where you could not see the way out?  This is God’s specialty.  This is often times when you will see God do His most miraculous work.  Why is this?  Because this is the place when most of us finally turn the situation over to God.  This is when we finally get down on our knees and beg God to do something.  We are desperate and vulnerable and would do anything to have our prayers answered.  We have exhausted all that is humanly possible and now we need some supernatural, divine intervention.  Once we ask God for His help, he starts to show us the way.  Sometimes, he will miraculously fix the situation and you can move forward with life.  Other times, he will show you the way one step at time until you climb out of the situation that you are in.  Either way, He helps you out of the situation.You may be wondering why He waits until we have exhausted all possibilities.  This is because that is when we ask him for help.  Once we have tried all we can do to fix it, then, and only then are we ready to relinquish control to the Almighty one.  Have you ever been on a committee with someone or had a co-worker that had to be in control?  Have you worked on a project with someone that had such a strong idea of how they wanted the project to come out that you couldn’t get a word in edgewise?  They were so committed to their plan, and even though you could see flaws in it, they wouldn’t listen to anything you were saying.  They needed to try it their way and fail before they would listen to your thoughts or advice?  I imagine this is how God feels all the time.God knows what we are going through, He knows the best way to move forward and yet often times we don’t stop and ask Him.  We are busy going through our lives trying to do it on our own.  Why is that?  Why aren’t we stopping and asking God to show us the way?  Or maybe some of us are in some areas, and not in others.  I don’t think it is intentional.  I don’t think we are even aware that this is what we are doing most of the time.  I think if we are spending time in prayer each day then we assume we have asked God for help and that we have turned over our difficult situations to Him.  And maybe we did .  Maybe during that prayer time we turned over our worries to God, we asked Him for help and then went on with our day.  But, what about later in the day when those thoughts come back?  Do you take it back from God and start worrying about it again?  Is it like a tug of war where you hand your worries over to God and then take them back, hand them over and take them back in a repetitive cycle?  If this is you, don’t worry, you are not alone, we all do this to some degree or another. How do we get to a place where we can turn our troubles over to God and not take them back?  How can we get into the habit of turning to God first instead of last?  These are great questions and they are ones that I’m not sure I can answer.  I would say that being aware that you are doing this is a great first step.  Take a moment and think of the last big thing you were going through.  Did you pray about it?   Did you ask God to show you the steps to move forward?  Did you do this at the beginning of it all, or did you do it as a last resort after you had tried all you could do?  There are no judgements here.  We are all learning and walking together on this road to holiness.  Be honest with yourself.  If you did not turn to God first, don’t be hard on yourself, this is not something that most of us do.  We are not in the habit of doing it.I guess that would be a great second step then.  Become in the habit of turning to God.  What does that mean?  To me, it means to develop a daily habit of prayer.  Figure out a time each day when you can spend even just 5 minutes with the Lord and tell Him what is going on in your life and ask Him what He thinks you should do about it.  If you are not used to talking to the Lord, this may seem weird.  Trust me, if you can figure out a way to spend at least 5 minutes a day with the Lord, this will quickly become your favorite 5 minutes of the day.  At first it will seem like a chore.  This is normal.  I say this because I think we all feel as though we should enjoy prayer and then when if feels like a chore, we are hard on ourselves.  Doing new things, things we are telling our self  we need to do, always seem like a chore.  Prayer is no different.  However, if you can keep it up, you will soon start to love it.  That time becomes a really special time between you and your heavenly Father.Once you are used to turning to God every day for a few minutes, then God will be closer to the top of your mind when you need Him.  Do you have a friend that you talk to when you are struggling?  If so, that is probably who you think of when you are in a difficult situation.  You want to talk to them because you are in the habit of discussing issues with them.  It is the same with God.  If you create the daily habit of talking with Him about life, then when you need Him, you will think to ask Him for help sooner.Those are two ways that you can get in the habit of turning to God sooner, and not waiting until it is a last resort.  Now, as far as turning our worries over to God and not taking them back, this is still something I am working on.  My two suggestions for this would be first, ask God for help.  It would be great if that could be our first step for everything.  If we are struggling with something, the first thing we could do is ask God to help us.  After all He did say in Matthew 7:7 “Ask and it will be give to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened for you.”  So, if you ask God to help you turn your worries over to Him and not take them back, then He will help you with that.  Second, I would say keep trying, keep practicing.  When you are worried about something or in a difficult situation, turn it over to God.  Then, if you notice that you are worrying about it again, turn it over to Him again.  The more you do this, the less often you will need to do this.  God wants to help you.  He wants to show you the steps you need to take to get out of a difficult situation.  He just needs us ask for His help and then to get out of His way and to let Him help.  We can do this.  We can learn to turn to Him sooner.  We can stop wasting all of our energy trying to get ourselves out of all these situations while He sits on the sidelines and watches.  Will you keep God benched on the sidelines or will you ask Him to show you the way?Heavenly father I ask you to bless everyone listening to this episode today. Lord we ask that you come into our lives and show us the way. Lord we ask that you help us turn our troubles and our worries over to you. Lord we ask that you give us the strength to leave those worries with you and not pick them back up again.  Lord we know you are all mighty and powerful and you are more than capable enough to handle anything that comes our way. Lord help us not to worry and give us the wisdom and knowledge to know that whatever is going on you are working in it and with it and that you were going to use it for our good. Lord we love you so very much and we thank you for being so patient with us and not getting angry when we try and sell things on her own. We thank you for stepping in when we finally ask you to and for showing us the way.  We ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’ holy name, Amen.