Grounding Excitement
Looking forward to something without needing it to be certain.
Is there something coming that you keep replaying in advance? The new job, the trip, the answer you are almost sure will be yes. Excitement is one of the better feelings and one of the least steady. Somewhere behind the planning sits a quieter question you would rather not ask: what if it does not happen?
A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.
Proverbs 16:9
This proverb sets two things side by side without turning them against each other. A person plans. That is simply what a heart does, and the verse states it as fact, not as fault. Then it adds the part we do not control: the LORD directeth his steps. The proverb does not ask you to stop making plans. It tells you who has the final say over where they land.
That is worth having when you are excited. Excitement runs ahead and builds a whole future out of one hoped-for detail, so a delay or a no can feel like the ground giving way. This verse lets you look forward with your whole heart and still hold the thing open, because the outcome was never resting on your planning. You can be glad now, in advance, without needing a guarantee first.
Today, tell God about the thing you are excited about before you tell anyone else. Say plainly what you are hoping for, then add one line: “And if the answer is different, You are still directing my steps.”
I can make the plan and still not be the one steering.
Proverbs 16:9