And the Stops Too

"The LORD makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him." — Psalm 37:23
 
Have you ever wondered why God allowed something to stop you in your tracks?
 
There’s a story about Dr. Arthur Pierson, a great preacher and theologian, who found himself alone in the study of George Muller, that legendary man of faith who built orphanages through prayer alone. Pierson decided to look through Muller’s personal Bible. When he came to Psalm 37:23, which says that the steps of a godly man are ordered by the Lord, he noticed something Muller had written in the margin: “And the stops too.”
 
That simple phrase changes everything.
 
We love the idea of God ordering our steps. We want movement, progress, forward motion. We want God guiding us from point A to point B. But what about when He brings us to a standstill? What about when the door closes, the opportunity disappears, or the path suddenly ends?
 
Those stops are ordered too.
 
"Be still, and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10).
 
Sometimes we are more concerned about motion and activity than we are about trusting God in the middle of a pause. We think something has gone wrong when life grinds to a halt. But maybe the stop is exactly what God intended. Maybe the delay is part of the design.
 
God is in charge of your steps and your stops. The detours that frustrate you, the delays that confuse you, the doors that close in your face, they are all under His sovereign control. Nothing has gone wrong. The stop is ordered just as much as the step.
 
Rest in that today.