This devotion is from EEW Magazine Online founder Dianna Hobbs’ “Your Daily Cup of Inspiration” blog. For more great encouragement like this, visit her official blog here.

I wear a pedometer on my wrist most days to track my steps. I have a daily step goal I try to meet, and my step tracker lets me know how I’m doing. Since my ministroke led to seizures and a life-threatening medical crisis that set me back quite a bit last year, I have been serious about building up my strength. I find that getting up and moving daily helps me to accomplish this.

One thing I love about my fitness watch is, whenever I reach my step goal for the day, it vibrates, and a trophy appears on the screen. That virtual award makes me feel so accomplished and productive each time I see it. Though I don’t always reach my step goals, I still view every step as a blessing. After all, when I was in intensive care and paralyzed on my left side, doctors honestly didn’t know when or if I’d be able to take another step without help.

God is good. Amen?

Yesterday, I wasn’t wearing my tracker, and I didn’t notice that I’d forgotten to put it on until after I was halfway through a walking workout. I wiped sweat from my brow and sighed when I realized my device hadn’t logged all those steps. For a minute, I was bummed about it. But then I had a thought: Not having a step counter didn’t make those steps count any less. Besides, I don’t work out to get an award; I do it because I know it’s the right thing to do. The work is its own reward.

Even though I didn’t receive any acknowledgement for remaining disciplined and doing my part to improve my health and build my strength, lack of acknowledgement didn’t in any way diminish my achievement yesterday.

Now, if you can take this lesson I learned by forgetting to wear my step tracker during exercise, and apply it to your life, you’ll feel so much better on your journey. You’ll be a lot less disappointed when you don’t receive acknowledgement, rewards, validation or evidence to confirm that you’re doing great, your efforts matter, and every single step you take is a step in the right direction.

“You can’t see it yet, but the steps of faith you have already taken are about to yield a mighty harvest. You will produce fruit. God will reward you!”

— Dianna Hobbs

Sometimes, your steps don’t seem to be yielding any real fruit, but you have to know that the Lord is with you, and your steps are ordered by Him (Psalm 37:23). At the right time, if you keep on stepping and going forward, you will see Him move on your behalf.

In Joshua 3, Israel’s Levitical priests had to take steps of faith to lead the Israelites across the Jordan River. The priests were instructed to carry the Ark of the Covenant, symbolic of God’s presence, with them, and go before the people. Once the priests got to the edge of the Jordan, they were then told to step into the river.

For a moment, think about the fact that nothing miraculous seemed to be happening as they took steps toward the Jordan River. But every step they took in obedience to God’s word was leading up to a miracle despite them not having any tangible evidence for a little while. The priests had to walk by faith and not by sight, just as their forefather Abraham did (Hebrews 11:8) and just as you and I must.

Here’s the good news in the text: After the priests got to the river and their feet touched the river’s edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing and piled up in a heap. The people crossed over on dry land, and the priests who were carrying the Ark of the Covenant stood in middle of the Jordan on dry land too – just as God had promised them.

To reiterate, their steps of obedience before the miracle manifested were crucial, and so are yours. So then, the lesson for today is, keep on walking by faith. Keep believing God. Keep confessing His promises. Keep refusing to doubt despite delay. Keep on praising God for your breakthrough. And always, keep reminding yourself that God is faithful to His word. He will show up every time.

Imagine yourself being the Levitical priests at the water’s edge – just one step away from a breakthrough! God wants you to know that you’re so close to the manifestation of your victory. Be assured, He will reward your faith just as He promised.

To remind you of this truth, I’m stirring Hebrews 10:23 GNT – one of my absolute favorite Bible verses –into your cup of inspiration, which says, “Let us hold on firmly to the hope we profess, because we can trust God to keep his promise.”

As you drink down the contents of your cup, continue honoring God with your steps of faith. Let nothing stop you – not discouragement or anything else. Again, you’re one step away from a breakthrough.