The Step You're Avoiding Might Be Delaying Your Next Assignment

Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do. (Acts 9:6 (NIV).

Sometimes, we ask God for more clarity, direction and confirmation when He’s still waiting on us to do the last thing He said. In Acts 9, Saul, who would later become Paul, has a life changing encounter with Jesus. He’s stopped in his tracks on the road to Damascus. A heavenly light blinds the same man who had been persecuting Christians, and he hears the voice of Jesus. What happens next is powerful. Jesus doesn’t give him a detailed plan. He gives him a simple instruction: Get up and go into the city. Saul will be told what comes next only after obeying that first step.

Have You Obeyed the First Instruction?

This verse reminds us that sometimes, God is waiting on our obedience before giving us further direction. Ask yourself:

• Have I done the first thing God told me to do?

• Am I expecting clarity without first moving in obedience?

• Have I allowed fear, hesitation, or pride to keep me from taking the next step?

If you’ve been feeling stuck, it might not be that God is silent; it could be that He’s waiting for you to do what He has already told you to do.

Obedience Doesn’t Always Look Impressive

When Saul got up from the ground, he couldn’t see. The man who once operated in earthly authority, backed by the high priests, now had to be led by the hand into the city he was traveling to with bold intentions. What a humbling picture! Paul had to surrender control. He had to receive help. And he had to keep walking- even when he couldn’t see.

You might be in a similar space right now. You know you’re called to more, but the process doesn’t look like what you expected. The next step may not feel grand or exciting, but if it’s the step God gave you, take it.

Walk in Purpose

To walk in purpose, we must:

• Study and apply God’s Word

• Surrender our way of doing things

• Trust God’s timing over our own

• Accept help when we need it

• Take the next step, even when the path ahead is unclear

Paul’s story reminds us that purpose often starts with one act of obedience. Get Up. Go Forward. Trust God.

This is your reminder: Don’t stay on the ground. Get up and go into the city! Whatever God last told you to do—do it. Even if it’s small. Even if it’s humbling. Even if it means receiving help. God will meet you in your obedience. You don’t have to have it all figured out. Just take the step because the step you're avoiding might be delaying your next assignment.