By Kathryn Barney

“Every ounce of energy you invest in pursuing your goals will help you grow toward God’s plan for you . . . even if you end up somewhere you hadn’t counted on.” – Chip Gaines

Like Leslie teaches, God can’t steer a parked car. If I want Heavenly Father to guide me—if I want His help reaching the destination He has in mind—I have to be moving forward.

Every small action I take, every single step, brings the outcome I desire closer to me.

Lately, I’ve been working on building a new business. I’d love to say it’s been exciting and smooth... but more often than not, I feel completely overwhelmed. Honestly, I spend a lot of time feeling in over my head. Way over my head. Most days, I don’t know what I’m doing—sometimes, I don’t even know enough to know what I should be asking.

One day, in the middle of one of those spirals of doubt, I heard myself say, “I can’t do this.”

And almost immediately, this little truth dropped into my heart—so clearly it felt like Christ Himself was speaking:

“No, you can’t do this. But I can. Let me walk with you, and I will show you the way.”

That was the moment I realized: God doesn’t need me to be the expert. He just needs me to be the tool in His hand.

Since then, I’ve made it my goal to move forward every day—even if it’s just one small step. Some days I can give more time and energy; other days I can barely carve out five minutes. But I still try to do something, even if it’s tiny. That way, I stay in motion. I stay steerable.

And when discouragement creeps in, I remind myself that every single ounce of energy is creating an effect. The Lord will make up the difference.

Here are some of the things I do that help keep me aligned and moving forward:

• I begin each day with prayer and meditation, asking the Lord what He sees as the most important focus for that day. That quiet moment of connection helps me align with what matters most.

• I offer at least one gratitude-only prayer each day. I thank Him for everything—even the hard stuff—because gratitude opens my heart and mind to receive His inspiration and feel His light.

• I stick to a list of “daily rituals.” This includes the basics: scripture study, exercise, family care, and home maintenance. These are my essentials—things I commit to doing every day no matter how full my plate is. This keeps my priorities straight and prevents me from being swallowed by the chaos of business-building.

• And of course, I take the next prompted step. Even if it feels small. Even if it’s slower than I’d like. (And yes, I definitely prefer everything to be done yesterday!)

But here’s what keeps me going: I keep seeing God bring people, ideas, and resources into my life that I never would have known to seek out on my own. He is actively helping me build what I’ve only just begun to imagine.

So yes—my steps forward are causing things to happen.