How Do I Move When I Cannot See the Whole Road?

I would really prefer it if God handed out maps.

Not metaphorical maps. I mean an actual map with the route highlighted, the difficult stretches clearly marked, and a few helpful notes along the way.

Do not panic here.

This delay is not a disaster.

You are going to think this was a terrible idea for about three weeks. Keep going.

A little red YOU ARE HERE arrow would also be appreciated.

That has not been my experience.

There are seasons when God makes one thing reasonably clear while everything beyond it remains hidden. I can see the step in front of me. What I cannot see is where it is going to lead. That is usually when I start negotiating. “Okay, Lord, I understand this part. But what happens after I do it?”

Nothing.

“So...we are just going to leave the rest of the plan blank?”

Apparently.

Sometimes we are not stuck because we have no idea what to do. We know enough to move. What scares us is everything we cannot see after that. Will this work? Did I understand God correctly? What happens if I make the wrong choice? What if things get harder instead of easier?

Those questions are what brought Joshua 1 to mind for me. When I think about moving forward without knowing what comes next, I almost automatically hear the words “be strong and courageous.” They are familiar words. We quote them when someone is facing something hard. So I went back to the chapter.

I expected to find what I thought I already knew: Joshua was afraid, God told him to be courageous, and Joshua moved forward. But when I slowed down and read the chapter from the beginning, I realized I had been starting in the wrong place.

God does tell Joshua to be strong and courageous. He just does not start there.

Before God Tells Joshua What to Do, He Shows Joshua Who He Is

Joshua 1 opens with the death of Moses.

We already know the rest of the story. Joshua becomes Israel’s leader. The people cross the Jordan. Jericho falls.

Joshua did not know any of that yet.

Moses had led Israel out of Egypt, stood before Pharaoh, received the Law at Sinai, interceded for the people, and guided them through forty years in the wilderness.

Now Moses was gone, and Joshua was expected to lead Israel forward.

Before God repeatedly tells Joshua to be strong and courageous, He says:

“No one shall stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.”— Joshua 1:5

That comes first.

God does not begin with, “Joshua, you need to toughen up.” He tells him something about Himself.

I was with Moses. I will be with you. I will not fail you. I will not abandon you.

Joshua is going to need courage, but God does not expect him to build it by convincing himself that he is capable of handling whatever comes. His courage starts with knowing the character of the God who called him.

That matters because when we pull “be strong and courageous” out of the passage, it can start sounding like a Christian version of motivational advice. You’ve got this. Believe in yourself. Push through the fear.

Joshua did not “have this.”

The responsibility in front of him was far bigger than he was. God gave him something better than confidence in himself.

You will not do this without Me.

After that assurance, God says:

“Be strong and courageous, for you shall give these people the inheritance of the land that I swore to their fathers I would give them.”— Joshua 1:6

Now Joshua has something solid to stand on and something specific to do. God has told him who He is. Then He tells Joshua what has been placed in his hands.

The people need to cross the Jordan, and Joshua is going to lead them. I imagine Joshua might have appreciated a little more transition time. Maybe six months.

Possibly a leadership consultant. Definitely a binder.

Instead, God says, “Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore arise...”

That is quite a first day on the job.

Still, Joshua’s responsibility does not stand by itself. It rests on what God has already said:

I will be with you.

Courage here is not pretending the responsibility is small. It is being willing to carry what God has placed in front of him because he knows the One who gave it to him. I think that matters for us too. There are times when we are asking God to explain the future while something right in front of us already needs our attention.

What has actually been entrusted to me? What needs to be dealt with today? What do I already know I need to do faithfully?

Those questions will not reveal the whole road. They may, however, show us where our feet need to be right now.

Then God Brings Joshua Back to His Word

This is the part of the chapter that really caught my attention.

God tells Joshua again:

“Above all, be strong and very courageous. Be careful to observe all the law that My servant Moses commanded you.”

Joshua is about to face armies.

If I were planning this conversation, I would probably start talking about battle strategy.

God talks about His Word.

Joshua is told to stay close to it, think about it, speak it, and live according to it.

For a long time, I heard that mainly as, “Follow God’s instructions so you do not get off course.”

That is part of it, but I think there is something deeper here. God’s Word is teaching Joshua how to live in relationship with the God who is leading him. Joshua is heading into territory he has never seen. He is going to face situations he cannot predict.

He does not need a brand-new set of instructions for every mile. He needs to know God.

He needs to understand God’s ways, His commands, what He values, and what faithfulness looks like.

That changes the way I think about our own questions. We often want God to tell us exactly what to do. Which job? Which house? Do I stay? Do I leave? Is this opportunity from You? What happens if I choose this?

And, if possible, could we please have the answer by Tuesday?

Scripture often will not give us that kind of specific information. What it does give us is a way to know God and learn how to walk with Him.

At first, I thought the problem was simply:

How do I get enough courage to take the next step?

But Joshua 1 started pushing me toward a different question:

How do I walk faithfully with God when I cannot see where the road is going?

That is not quite the same thing. The answer is not just, “Take the next step.”

God is shaping Joshua into someone who knows how to walk with Him. Joshua is learning who God is. He is learning what faithfulness requires. He is being grounded in God’s Word before he knows most of what lies ahead.

That is where the bigger idea began to take shape for me: We want God to show us the road. God is far more interested in teaching us how to walk with Him on it.

If my only goal is to get the map, every unanswered question feels like a problem.

But if the goal is learning to walk with God, then uncertainty becomes a place where relationship matters.

God’s Word May Not Give Us the Specific Answer We Are Looking For, but It Shows Us How to Walk

That does not mean God leaves us to sort everything out by ourselves. As believers, we have also been given the Holy Spirit. Jesus spoke about the Spirit teaching His followers and reminding them of what He had said. The Spirit convicts us, gives wisdom, and helps us discern how to live faithfully.

Sometimes clarity comes while we pray. At other times, conviction grows slowly. We begin to see that something needs to change or recognize that a direction we were considering does not sit well with what God has already shown us.

This is also where humility matters. A strong feeling is not automatically the Holy Spirit. An open door does not always mean God is saying yes, and a closed door does not always mean no.

We can be remarkably good at giving spiritual names to things we already wanted to do.

That is why our impressions still need to be tested against Scripture, God’s character, wisdom, and sometimes the counsel of mature believers.

The Spirit who inspired Scripture is not going to guide us in a way that contradicts it.

So this is not a choice between the Word or the Spirit. The Spirit helps us understand and live what God has revealed while also guiding us through situations Scripture does not address by name.

We may not get a detailed map. But we are not walking alone, and we are not walking without guidance.

Joshua’s Assignment Was Joshua’s Assignment

There is another distinction we need to make. Joshua received a specific commission from God. We need to be careful not to treat every personal decision we make as though it carries the same kind of divine authorization.

Joshua knew God had specifically told him to lead Israel across the Jordan. I usually do not receive that kind of direct revelation when choosing between two jobs.

Sometimes I wish I did.

But I am not left with nothing.

I know something about God’s character. I have His Word. I have His Spirit. I can pray, seek wisdom, examine my motives, and listen to godly counsel. Over time, walking with God changes the person making the decision.

And maybe that is part of what we miss. We keep asking God where every road goes.

God keeps teaching us how to become people who know how to walk with Him.

Then God Returns Joshua to His Presence

In verse 9, God tells Joshua again:

“Have I not commanded you to be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

Now the shape of the whole conversation becomes clearer. God started by telling Joshua, “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you.” Then He gave Joshua his responsibility and brought him back to His Word.

Now God brings him right back to the same truth:

“The LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

God’s presence surrounds the whole conversation.

Joshua’s strength and courage begin and end with God.

God never tells Joshua that everything ahead will be easy. It will not be.

There will be battles. There will be failure. Joshua will face situations he has never encountered before. God does not promise him an easy road. He promises to be with him on it. That is a very different kind of security.

We usually want security from knowing what is going to happen. Joshua is given security in knowing who is going with him.

Maybe I Have Been Asking for the Wrong Thing

I still want the map. I would like that officially noted. A laminated five-year plan from God would solve several organizational problems in my life.

But Joshua 1 has made me wonder whether I sometimes get so focused on knowing where God is taking me that I miss what He is teaching me while I am walking with Him.

Maybe the question is not always, “Lord, what happens next?”

Sometimes I may need to ask what He has already shown me about Himself, what His Word has already made clear, and what He has actually placed in front of me today. Then I can pray for the Spirit’s guidance and trust God with the part I still cannot see.

Those things may not tell me what is around the bend. They bring me back into relationship with the One who can see it. That is what God did with Joshua. He did not begin by giving Joshua the whole plan.

He gave Joshua Himself.

I will be with you. I will not fail you. I will not abandon you.

Maybe that is why we do not always get the map we want. God is not simply trying to get us from one point to another. He is teaching us how to walk with Him in relationship. And when we cannot see the whole road, that may be exactly what we need most.

Join me this week as we look at courage—not as confidence in ourselves, but as learning to trust God and keep walking when we cannot see what comes next.

With Hope in Him,