Posted on by jwlozano

One Step

There is something comforting about knowing you do not have to figure out the whole journey today.

After Jesus had been crucified, buried, and resurrected, He appeared to His disciples many times over the next forty days. Acts 1:3 tells us that He proved to them in many ways that He was truly alive and talked with them about the Kingdom of God.

Then came one final conversation.

Jesus told them,

“Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift He promised, as I told you before.” (Acts 1:4)

He was speaking about the Holy Spirit. A few verses later He told them they would receive power when the Holy Spirit came upon them and that they would be His witnesses everywhere.

But what stands out to me is what Jesus did not tell them.

He did not tell them when the Holy Spirit would come. He did not explain exactly what it would look like or how long they would have to wait.

He simply said, “Don’t leave Jerusalem.”

After giving them these instructions, Jesus was taken up into heaven. The Bible says the disciples strained to see Him as He rose.

Then suddenly two angels appeared.

“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven?” (Acts 1:11)

I love that question.

In other words, “Why are you still standing here? He already told you what to do.”

Last night I was reminded of this in a completely different setting.

I coach a junior high volleyball team. We have a few returning players, but we also have girls who are newer to our team and some who are newer to volleyball altogether. Last night we played a much more experienced team.

It was a rough game.

Afterward, my daughter was really upset. She’s a hard worker. She has a lot of energy, she hustles, and she takes the game seriously.

I asked her, “What upset you the most?”

She said, “I felt like I was working really hard and some people were just standing around.”

And if I’m being truthful, I understood what she meant. It wasn’t our best game.

But the more I thought about what she said, the more I realized how often I do the same thing in my own life.

I look around.

Why isn’t this person doing more? Why isn’t that person helping? Why aren’t they moving as quickly as I am?

And meanwhile, I’m spending so much time looking around that I can forget the only thing I actually have control over.

My next step.

Maybe that’s part of what I love about the angels’ question.

“Why are you standing here staring into heaven?”

Jesus had already given them instructions. They didn’t need to understand the entire plan. They simply needed to do what He had told them to do next.

Sometimes we get stuck because we’re looking around.

Other times we get stuck because we’re looking too far ahead.

Either way, we’re not moving.

Recently I’ve been planning a fun run fundraiser for a ministry I love in Guatemala. When I started, I had no idea what I was doing. There were permits, registration, insurance, shirts, volunteers, donations, and plenty of other details I hadn’t even thought about yet.

So instead of figuring out the entire event, I asked myself one question.

What’s the next step?

Choose a location.

That was it.

Then I could take the next step.

Maybe you’re trying to get your finances together. Maybe you’re trying to read your Bible more consistently, repair a relationship, get healthier, start something new, or finally do something God has been putting on your heart.

You don’t need the whole blueprint.

You just need the next step.

Back in 2021, I ran a marathon. Probably my first and my last. People have asked me how I managed to run 26.2 miles. The truth is, I didn’t run 26.2 miles all at once.

I took one step.

Then another.

Then another.

Somewhere around 50,000 steps later, I crossed the finish line. That’s how we get somewhere that once seemed impossible.

I recently read Stephen Furtick’s book Do the New You, and one idea really stayed with me. You don’t have to rush to become the finished version of yourself. Just do the next thing. Make the next right decision.

That’s exactly what the disciples did. Acts 1:12 says they returned to Jerusalem. That was their next step.

Then they gathered together in prayer. That was their next step.

Then they replaced Judas. That was their next step.

They didn’t know exactly what was coming. They simply obeyed the instruction they had already been given. Sometimes we’re asking God to reveal step twenty while we’re still standing at step one. Maybe today you’re waiting for clarity. Maybe you’re waiting until you feel ready.Maybe you’re looking around at what everyone else is doing, or not doing. Maybe you’re looking so far down the road that the distance feels impossible.

But let me encourage you: You don’t have to run the whole marathon today. You don’t have to fix the whole team. You don’t have to understand the whole plan.

Just ask:

What is my next step?

And then take it. One step. Then another. Then another.

That’s how we move toward the places God is leading us.

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Posted on by jwlozano

Faithful in the Little Things

This morning I was reading Luke 16, the parable of the shrewd manager. The story begins with a manager who is about to lose his job because he has been wasting his master’s resources. Knowing his time is running out, he takes action and begins settling accounts.

As Jesus explains the lesson, He makes a powerful statement:

“If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities.” (Luke 16:10)

For years, this has been something God has continually brought back to my attention.

Many of us have big dreams. We feel God has placed desires in our hearts, ministries we want to build, people we want to impact, opportunities we hope will come. But often, while we’re waiting, we spend more time complaining about what we don’t have than being faithful with what we do have.

Why would God trust us to speak to thousands if we aren’t preparing well to speak to twenty?

Why would He increase our income if we’re not managing the money we already have?

Why would He expand our influence if we’re not stewarding the opportunities right in front of us?

The truth is that preparation happens long before promotion.

Faithfulness looks like showing up to work on time. It looks like handling our responsibilities with integrity. It looks like being honest with our time, our finances, our relationships, and our commitments. It looks like serving wholeheartedly, even when nobody notices.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about this with my blog and with women’s ministry. Neither one is reaching the world right now, and that’s okay. My responsibility isn’t to make them bigger. My responsibility is to be faithful with what God has already placed in my hands.

God doesn’t ask us to be successful by the world’s standards. He asks us to be faithful.

So today, instead of focusing on what you wish you had, take inventory of what God has already entrusted to you. Are you stewarding it well?

Because often the little things we’re tempted to overlook are the very things God uses to prepare us for what’s next.

Posted on by jwlozano

Make it Enough

There’s a popular movie from the 90s, the best decade ever, with a scene where the main character’s mom sends him to the store. He looks at the money she gave him and complains that it isn’t enough for what she asked him to buy. She looks at him and simply says, “Make it enough.”

Have you ever felt like what you have just isn’t enough?

I was reading in Matthew 14:13 about when Jesus feeds the five thousand, and it led me to a simple but honest question.

I am not even talking about finances necessarily. Maybe you feel like you do not have enough time in the day to do the things you would like to do. Maybe you feel like you do not have enough energy to do the things you need to do. Or maybe you feel like you do not have the capacity to serve the way you want to serve. You are doing the best you can, you are doing what you can, but it still feels like it is not enough.

As I was reading this story, it really encouraged me. There were large crowds that had come out to see Jesus, and they were hungry. The disciples even encouraged Jesus to send the people away so they could go into the villages and find food for themselves. But Jesus responded in Matthew 14:16, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”

This story is told in all four Gospels. In one account, a disciple finds a little boy with a small lunch. In Matthew, when Jesus tells them to feed the people, they respond in Matthew 14:17, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.”

They were stating a fact. What they had was not enough.

And that is often where we stop. We see the facts, and we feel defeated.

But Jesus did not stop at the facts. He gave them instructions.

First, He said to bring what they had to Him. When we feel like we do not have enough, what we do have needs to be placed in Jesus’ hands. I think about waking up in the morning and saying, “Lord, I have things I want to do today. Maybe I did not sleep well, maybe I feel tired, but I give this day to You.”

Then Jesus had the people sit down on the grass. He created order. He made a plan.

If you feel like you do not have enough, that may be true, but it is not the end of the story. Look at what you do have and give it to the Lord, then take a moment to organize. What actually needs to be done today? Maybe instead of trying to do twenty things, you only need to focus on three. Jesus paused and brought structure before the miracle.

Finally, Jesus took the loaves and the fish, looked up to heaven, and blessed them. He gave thanks for what was already in His hands.

That is a reminder for us to thank God for what we do have and trust Him to make it enough.

Matthew 14:20 says, “They all ate and were satisfied, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained.”

Because the disciples were obedient in giving what they had to Jesus, it became more than enough.

If you are in a season where you feel like what you have is not enough, I want to encourage you to give it to Jesus.

He will make it enough.