But I resist that innate wiring to follow God and I try to control my path. James wrote about our attempts to “control” our future.

Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.” How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.” Otherwise you are boasting about your own pretentious plans, and all such boasting is evil.

Indeed. I have no idea what my life could be like tomorrow. I know all too well how one phone call can change everything. But this post and the song by Tenth Avenue North is not about hopelessness. It is about realizing where hope is found.

I wrote about this simple and often overlooked fundamental of simply following Jesus in my book Stay: Lessons My Dogs Taught Me about Life, Loss, and Grace.

I think I falter because I make faith and trust entirely too complicated. Jesus didn’t say figure out every theological jot and tittle. (Note to spiritual hall monitors: there is an important place for that discipline. No e-mails please). Jesus didn’t say, “Go and clean up your act, and I will deem you a worthy follower.” He didn’t say, “Browbeat yourself and others into behaving better in order to earn the badge of righteousness.” He simply said,

“Follow me.”

Not once. Pretty regularly.

“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” (Matthew 4:19)

Jesus told him, “Follow me.” (Matthew 8:22)

[Jesus said,] “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24)

[Jesus answered,] “Come, follow me.” (Matthew 19:21)

Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.” (John 1:43)

[Jesus replied,] “Whoever serves me must follow me.” (John 12:26)

Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.” (John 21:22)

“Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. (Matthew 9:9)

In the immortal words of Forrest Gump, “I’m not a smart man.” But like Forrest I have a keen sense of the obvious. Jesus is saying to follow Him. That takes childlike trust on my part. The rest of it we will figure out together as I follow Him in complete trust.

Taken from Stay by Dave Burchett copyright © 2015. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.

Here comes the part that is difficult for most of us summed up in this lyric.

The message is that we truly find contented joy when we want what God wants and love what He loves. God doesn’t need more leaders. He needs more followers ready to follow His lead.