If you’re a Christian, you’ve probably asked this before:
“What’s God’s will for my life?“
When you decide to follow Jesus and surrender your life to Him,
It begs the question: now what?
What does that mean for my life?
Like me, you might be asking for some specific things you have to choose between.
Should I pursue this job, or that job,
This opportunity or that opportunity,
The list goes on.
The reality is that God rarely opens up the heavens to tell us the specifics of most decisions.
But He does tell us that…
He is with us (Matthew 28:20, Deuteronomy 4:29; Proverbs 8:17; Jeremiah 29:13)
He will guide us (John 14:26, John 16:13, James 1:5-6, Proverbs 3:5-6, Psalm 119:105, Psalm 37:23-24)
And that His plan will come to pass (Philippians 1:6, Psalm 57:2, Isaiah 14:24, Proverbs 16:9)
In summary:
God promises that when you seek Him and His will, He will guide you and that nothing you choose with good intentions and heart towards Him will ruin the plan He has for you.
And so for the times God isn’t clear: it’s ok to simply make a choice.
Sometimes that means choosing left,
Sometimes that means choosing right,
Sometimes that means waiting.
And that’s ok.
God is bigger than the decisions we make,
And you can trust Him,
Even when you don’t have clear direction.
Focusing On What We Do Know
I wrote another blog post titled “Trust God, Even When You Don’t Know the Details” based off of one of my favorite quotes:
“Don’t abandon what you know,
For that which you don’t know.”
When I don’t know what decision God wants me to make,
I find it helpful to reflect back on the things I do know He wants me to do.
And, another quote that I think reflects this perfectly says:
“We are all knowledgeable beyond our level of obedience.”
None of us is perfect, and therefore, we all have shortcomings from the clear things taught in God’s Word.
The Bible doesn’t tell you what job to take, or person to marry, or where to move,
But the Bible does tell you to:
Love others as yourself,
Give sacrificially,
Work hard in all you do as unto the Lord,
Stay sexually pure,
Stay in Christian fellowship,
Pray,
Fast,
And the list goes on…
In fewer words: repent of sin, love others as God does, and “be holy as He is Holy”.
It’s a pretty high standard of clear things we ought to do in life.
So, when you’re unsure of some decisions or direction that God hasn’t made clear,
Sometimes it’s good to reflect on the things He has made clear.
What things in Scripture has God made absolutely clear,
That you’re currently not doing?
I think sometimes God wants us to make a decision of faith without clear direction,
But I think He also sometimes uses the lack of clarity to point us to the things He has made clear.
So, instead of focusing on the things you don’t know,
How about you take a few minutes to reflect on the things you do know,
They might help you see what next thing you need to do.
Because sometimes God wants you to simply wait, and to keep doing the things you do know are His will.
Your Next Step In Life
It’s easy to get caught up in the thinking/wondering what God wants you to do, so here are two simple questions to get you going:
1. Are there any areas of your life (big decisions, small decisions, basic commands of scripture, etc) that you know God wants you do to?
2. What are you going to do about it?
I hope you’re able to move forward with confidence and excitement knowing that God has a beautiful plan to make you more like Him and share His love with others.
It won’t always be how you would want it to go, but God promises to use everything
The difficult, the easy,
The painful, the fun,
The simple, the complex,
And everything in between
For your good and to glorify Him.
So, go out and keep following Jesus.