For those
of you who may be unaware, I am a very big fan of books. I love to crack open
the pages of a brand new book and dive into the mind of an author. I'm
fascinated by some people's ability to so clearly articulate certain ideas, and
others' ability to creatively shape new worlds. I believe there is an
intimidatingly large wealth of knowledge out there and that books are the
doorways into it. One book that I have been particularly influenced by lately
was written by Johnnie Moore and is very appropriately titled What Am I
Supposed to Do With My Life? I'll
give you one guess what it's about.
In the
book, Moore tells a story in order to illustrate the ways in which we tend to
over complicate and mysticize God and His intentions for us. It goes something like
this, although I am paraphrasing:
A man has
been praying for some time, asking God to provide direction in his life.
Particularly, he is unsure about a girl he is considering pursuing. The two
have been talking for a while and the man is unsure whether or not to ask her
out. Finally, after spending a considerable amount of time waiting on God to
give him instruction, the man once more comes to God and asks Him to reveal His
will. While sitting at a café table, he tells God that if He will make a small
white dog walk around the corner of the café, His will would be understood and
the man would know that he should ask the girl out. Otherwise, he would know
that it is not in God’s will for them. Having prayed this, the man sits up,
crosses his arms, and begins to wait.
Ten
minutes go by, and no dog appears, but the man is determined to wait patiently
for God to show himself. He orders another coffee and waits. Another fifteen
minutes pass and the man begins to feel discouraged, but he continues waiting
nonetheless. Finally, after almost an hour of waiting the man seems to have
received his answer from God. But just before he gets up to leave, he hears an
unbelievable yet unmistakable sound: barking. He stops packing up his things
and turns his gaze to the corner of the building where a small dog being walked
by it’s owner has just come around the corner. A small, black dog.
Comical
as it may seem, this is a mostly accurate depiction of what many of us tend to
expect when we set out to “wait on God”. While our intentions may be good, our
view of God and His will for us is distorted and confused. The reality is that
God does not often work through mysterious symbols and signs that cannot be
recognized as His work. Now hear me clearly when I say that I am not denying
that God does sometimes choose to reveal himself in various ways, and not often
in ways that we expect. But in scripture, anytime God does choose to work in
these ways it is always unmistakable. Whether as a pillar of fire, a burning
bush, or through some other means, God is very clear on the occasions when he
reveals himself supernaturally. So why then do we sit around and wonder at the
symbols, signs, and feelings that we think might be God speaking to us? Does He
not promise to guide us and direct us if we seek Him earnestly?
The truth
is that God HAS revealed himself, and he HAS provided us with guidance and
direction. Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a
lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” As a teenager, the struggle to find God’s
will for my life is one that I am all to familiar with. But why has it been so
hard? I believe it’s because, until reading through this book, I had never
heard a simple, clear, and concise explanation of how to go about living for
Christ. I had heard all the vague semi-helpful advice like “do everything for
His glory” or “pray and wait on His direction” but these things never seemed to
help. As well intended and valid as they may be, foggy tidbits like these are
less than helpful. Moore, however, managed to summarize his approach in a
refreshingly straightforward manner. I want to emphasize here that I am only
presenting the summary here, and I highly recommend reading the entire book which
can be found here.
That
being said, Moore’s ideas are summarized with three words: obedience, wisdom, trust.
It’s a sort of flow-chart thought process when it comes to decision making.
First and most importantly, we are always called to obey God. Scripture
contains a lot of clear cut direction from God and in these instances we do not
have to wonder what God wants us to do. Is it God’s will for me to pursue a
relationship with this really cute girl who doesn’t know Christ? No. No it is
not God’s will for you to do that (2 Corinthians 6:14). Should I disregard my
parents advice for my future and live my life however I want? Also no. God has
commanded that we honor our mother and father. Where He commands, we obey.
There
are, however, many instances in which scripture does not seem to give a clear
yes or no answer through any command or direction. Should I take this job
offer? Should I go to this college or that one? Should I even go to college? Do
I follow what my parents want, or what I feel God is calling me to? Scripture
doesn’t give us a list of acceptable colleges, churches or jobs. Decisions like
these, while important, aren’t always directly addressed. Enter the “wisdom” stage
in the decision flow-chart. Scripture promises that those who ask God for
wisdom will receive it (James 1:5-8). So when we find ourselves in these types
of situations, we should first ask God to give us wisdom and discernment,
second turn to His word and recognize it as His gift of knowledge and wisdom
concerning all things, and third put that wisdom and knowledge into action by
making the best decisions we can.
Lastly,
trust is essential in all these situations. Whether we are obeying God’s
commands, or putting Godly wisdom and discernment into action, at the end of
the day we have to stop and trust that the sovereign God of the universe is not
absent from us and our decisions. He has promised to work it all out for good
and He will do just that. We cannot surprise or confound God by making some
choice that He wasn’t prepared to handle. He is in control and we can and
should allow that to put our stressed our little minds to rest. Obey His
commands, put Godly wisdom into practice, and ultimately trust in Him to make
the best of it all. God is not watching from a distance and hoping that we fail.
He is present and active. Trust in Him.
Also
here is a song by Beautiful Eulogy that seems appropriate for a discussion like
this one. Enjoy.
"But I say the mark of a
mature man / is the one who reads God's word and understands / and allows THAT
to govern his decisions and his prospective plans"
