Following Simply Because He Leads (1 Nephi 4:6)

“And I was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do.” (1 Nephi 4:6)

I want to know the outcome before I take the first step. I may not want to go down that path if it’s going to hurt or cause discomfort. I don’t have to see the whole path, just to the next bend. I need to see ahead, just a little bit. Please.

The problem with seeing ahead a little bit is I believe I can guess the final destination from what I can see from the starting position. Because I can see some of the consequences, I think I know all of the results.

This is not wisdom. This opens the door to fear.

For a controlling, type-A, need to know, I want my ducks (and everyone else’s) neatly rowed type of person, letting go and trusting God is not a natural way to live. To live by faith alone requires me to unlearn everything I’ve learned from life thus far, and re-learn a whole new set of behaviors, actions and thought patterns. Then I have to remember to use those behaviors, actions and thought patterns in every new situation.

Daunting.

So here’s a question: Is fear in itself a lack of faith? Or is it merely instinctual?

What if the true lack of faith is not in feeling the fear, but in allowing that fear to stop us from taking the next step on the path. It is allowing the fear to stop us from trusting the Lord.

If I trust the Lord, then when He says, “Step here,” I step—looking only at Him and not the path ahead.

True faith, true trust in the Lord, is to follow simply because He leads.