Okay, so first below is some context for what I have to say later. This is from my daily devotional.
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The Columbia space shuttle’s guidance system kicks in when you’re in motion. That means you’ve got to get off the launching pad! Are you stuck in the same spot praying “Lord, I won’t make a move until I hear from You,” while He’s saying, “You’ll hear from Me once you’ve done what I’ve already put before you to do?” Sometimes we know what God wants, but we don’t like it. So we pray hoping He’ll change His mind and rubber-stamp what we desire.
The Bible says, “By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going” (Heb 11:8 NIV). When you follow God you’ll go out not knowing as much as you’d like to. Counselors, study groups, committees, business plans and projections notwithstanding, there comes a time when you have to move in the direction God is pointing. Will you have unanswered questions and unspoken concerns? Absolutely. Just like your car’s headlights don’t shine round the next corner or over the next hill, God will give you direction on an ‘as need to know’ basis. That’s why Paul writes: “We walk by faith, not by sight” (2Co 5:7). Actually, it’s the only way to go! It keeps you close to God, dependent on Him, and helps you remember Who the credit for all your successes belongs to. And by the way, God’s guidance system usually takes a lifetime to learn.
God guides us by closing one door then opening another. Abraham didn’t know where he was going, but he knew he couldn’t stay where he was – and that’s enough to create movement in the right direction. Knowing you can’t stay where you are is often the starting point of God’s guidance. And it usually begins with an inward stirring and restlessness in your soul. Seasons have beginnings and endings. When a season is over, you sense it’s time to move!
“They headed north [to]…Bithynia, but again the Spirit…said no. So instead they went on through Mysia province to the city of Troas. That night Paul had a vision. In his dream he saw a man over in Macedonia, Greece, pleading with him, ‘Come over here and help us.’ Well, that settled it. We would go to Macedonia, for we could only conclude that God was sending us to preach the Good News there” (Acts 16:7-10 TLB). Notice, when God kept Paul from going into Asia, Paul didn’t stay there praying and asking “why?” – he just kept moving. For Paul, trying something and it not working out was no big deal. He believed that his gift to God was his willing heart and his mobility, and that God’s gift to him was that He would always guide him to where he needed to be. What God prevents, denies, or keeps us away from, is as much divine guidance as what He permits and opens up to us. Every door that didn’t open, every opportunity you didn’t get, every call that didn’t come, is as much God’s guidance as those that did. Think about it!
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Now that you have that context, let me share my story.
I’ve been feeling God leading me towards a field where I am working much more closely with others in my life – something more towards the field of psychology or ministry. I still don’t know exactly where he is leading me – at least that is what I have been telling myself. I’m just lying to myself though. I know that he is leading me towards a different path.
Sally and I had a long talk out at one of the forest preserves the other day. I think it was very beneficial for the both of us. At one point we talked about a big decision that Sally has to make in her life. Her friends have given her some good advice on the subject and I believe they all agree with each other too, but Sally is still uncertain about what she should do.
I’ve never been one to want to offer suggestions for anything really big in someone’s life. I have my opinions, yes, for sure. And I have opinions in Sally’s case too, but I don’t feel like it is my place to tell her. I can tell her what I think is right and best, but that is still only what “I think.” Instead, I like to help people draw out the answers that God gives them. As we talked, things became clear to me as Sally described these occasional moments when she wasn’t distracted or busy with life when she had these feelings of knowing the action that she needed to take. I became inspired in that moment to ask: “Well do you ever get those kinds of feelings telling you to do the opposite or take a different action?” The answer was of course no. This made me really start to think about how we consume our minds with thoughts and reasons for both sides. But then there are these moments when we truly forget about all of the well ifs and what ifs and let God speak through. I call these the Wow moments. Those moments when your mind is clear, you’re thinking about the situation, and something just hits you - the puzzle pieces suddenly fit. These moments may come rarely, but they are consistent in the direction that they direct us towards.
For me, often the Wow moments come as I am driving along in my car listening to music, praising God, and thinking about my future or while I am just relaxing outside. In these moments, I get a “Wow, is God really actually calling me to go into a ministry field.” A deep gutting (but in a good way) feeling comes over me. But then the what ifs and well ifs start to set in and it scares me terribly. Well if I go into another field that means three more years of college, maybe more school after that. I have built up so much already around Biology and I do really enjoy it too. I have already been regionally recognized by multiple organizations for my work. I have so many friends who won’t understand my choice for change. I stood up this spring at an awards banquet as I had a plaque handed to me and the presenter joked about how people change their majors a lot during their Junior year. Then I would start to doubt things further about changing my major. I think about all my faults and shortcomings. I start to dwell over the responsibilities. I start to fear the unknowns. And just like that… What happened to my Wow moment? Maybe it was just me, maybe it wasn’t really God talking, besides how could he really be asking me to do something so crazy?
Our fears hold us back from so many things. Remember the story of how Jesus calms the storm? It was always one of my favorites as a child. Jesus is asleep in the boat as the group crosses the sea. Suddenly, a huge storm came upon them and began to fill the ship with water. The people come and wake Him up - pleading to Him. Then Jesus calms the storm. Mark 4:40 – “And he said to them, Why are you so fearful? how is it that you have no faith?” Isn’t that just like all of us? We are sailing along and Jesus is right here in the boat next to us and yet STILL when something big comes up we fear we are going to drown.
What dumb things to think. But the Wow moments are there trying to work through. Come now, you know where they come from. And who are we to doubt God’s works? God has built up this radiant, bizarre love inside of me. I can’t really explain it, but I know that I am being led to use that gift and give it back in a big way. I know the direction that he is leading me. Even if I don’t know which road to take, I can still walk in that direction. I know that he can build me up for whatever task he has set out before me.
God will guide us. We are so afraid of the unknown, yet it is one of the very things that can draw us closer to Him. Let God manage the unknowns. Just act upon what bits and pieces of wisdom he allocates to you. And goodness, when God gives you a piece of the puzzle, don’t turn it over in your hand. Like me, do you get such a clear picture and then turn around and doubt it. Do you ever pick up a puzzle piece, stare at it, and ponder over which side is the top? Have you ever tried to put together a puzzle upside down? It’s pretty hard to match up the blank brown pieces. And even if you do, what picture do you have when it’s finished?
Gather up your pieces, turn them all right side up, and start trying to fit them together. Even though you don’t have a box cover to refer back to, after awhile you will start to recognize a picture and the pieces will fit more easily. There will still be holes and gaps, but you will have a direction to go on. Just like a puzzle, when we choose to follow God’s will, we start by connecting together the corners and edges. They may not seem like much at first, nor seem like important parts of the image, but they act as the corner stones and boundaries within which the image will unveil itself in greater detail over time.
Thanks Sally because our talk also helped me see where God is leading me. I hope it was helpful for you too and will help others here who are facing big decisions in their lives.
Oh yes, and I would certainly like to invite anyone reading this to have a one-on-one talk about whatever you are trying to work through most in your life right now - whether you just want a listening ear or want some direction. It’s something I’ve been feeling led to do for a long time. Just give me a call or drop me a note and let me know.
The Bible says, “By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going” (Heb 11:8 NIV). When you follow God you’ll go out not knowing as much as you’d like to. Counselors, study groups, committees, business plans and projections notwithstanding, there comes a time when you have to move in the direction God is pointing. Will you have unanswered questions and unspoken concerns? Absolutely. Just like your car’s headlights don’t shine round the next corner or over the next hill, God will give you direction on an ‘as need to know’ basis. That’s why Paul writes: “We walk by faith, not by sight” (2Co 5:7). Actually, it’s the only way to go! It keeps you close to God, dependent on Him, and helps you remember Who the credit for all your successes belongs to. And by the way, God’s guidance system usually takes a lifetime to learn.
God guides us by closing one door then opening another. Abraham didn’t know where he was going, but he knew he couldn’t stay where he was – and that’s enough to create movement in the right direction. Knowing you can’t stay where you are is often the starting point of God’s guidance. And it usually begins with an inward stirring and restlessness in your soul. Seasons have beginnings and endings. When a season is over, you sense it’s time to move!
“They headed north [to]…Bithynia, but again the Spirit…said no. So instead they went on through Mysia province to the city of Troas. That night Paul had a vision. In his dream he saw a man over in Macedonia, Greece, pleading with him, ‘Come over here and help us.’ Well, that settled it. We would go to Macedonia, for we could only conclude that God was sending us to preach the Good News there” (Acts 16:7-10 TLB). Notice, when God kept Paul from going into Asia, Paul didn’t stay there praying and asking “why?” – he just kept moving. For Paul, trying something and it not working out was no big deal. He believed that his gift to God was his willing heart and his mobility, and that God’s gift to him was that He would always guide him to where he needed to be. What God prevents, denies, or keeps us away from, is as much divine guidance as what He permits and opens up to us. Every door that didn’t open, every opportunity you didn’t get, every call that didn’t come, is as much God’s guidance as those that did. Think about it!
--------------------------
Now that you have that context, let me share my story.
I’ve been feeling God leading me towards a field where I am working much more closely with others in my life – something more towards the field of psychology or ministry. I still don’t know exactly where he is leading me – at least that is what I have been telling myself. I’m just lying to myself though. I know that he is leading me towards a different path.
Sally and I had a long talk out at one of the forest preserves the other day. I think it was very beneficial for the both of us. At one point we talked about a big decision that Sally has to make in her life. Her friends have given her some good advice on the subject and I believe they all agree with each other too, but Sally is still uncertain about what she should do.
I’ve never been one to want to offer suggestions for anything really big in someone’s life. I have my opinions, yes, for sure. And I have opinions in Sally’s case too, but I don’t feel like it is my place to tell her. I can tell her what I think is right and best, but that is still only what “I think.” Instead, I like to help people draw out the answers that God gives them. As we talked, things became clear to me as Sally described these occasional moments when she wasn’t distracted or busy with life when she had these feelings of knowing the action that she needed to take. I became inspired in that moment to ask: “Well do you ever get those kinds of feelings telling you to do the opposite or take a different action?” The answer was of course no. This made me really start to think about how we consume our minds with thoughts and reasons for both sides. But then there are these moments when we truly forget about all of the well ifs and what ifs and let God speak through. I call these the Wow moments. Those moments when your mind is clear, you’re thinking about the situation, and something just hits you - the puzzle pieces suddenly fit. These moments may come rarely, but they are consistent in the direction that they direct us towards.
For me, often the Wow moments come as I am driving along in my car listening to music, praising God, and thinking about my future or while I am just relaxing outside. In these moments, I get a “Wow, is God really actually calling me to go into a ministry field.” A deep gutting (but in a good way) feeling comes over me. But then the what ifs and well ifs start to set in and it scares me terribly. Well if I go into another field that means three more years of college, maybe more school after that. I have built up so much already around Biology and I do really enjoy it too. I have already been regionally recognized by multiple organizations for my work. I have so many friends who won’t understand my choice for change. I stood up this spring at an awards banquet as I had a plaque handed to me and the presenter joked about how people change their majors a lot during their Junior year. Then I would start to doubt things further about changing my major. I think about all my faults and shortcomings. I start to dwell over the responsibilities. I start to fear the unknowns. And just like that… What happened to my Wow moment? Maybe it was just me, maybe it wasn’t really God talking, besides how could he really be asking me to do something so crazy?
Our fears hold us back from so many things. Remember the story of how Jesus calms the storm? It was always one of my favorites as a child. Jesus is asleep in the boat as the group crosses the sea. Suddenly, a huge storm came upon them and began to fill the ship with water. The people come and wake Him up - pleading to Him. Then Jesus calms the storm. Mark 4:40 – “And he said to them, Why are you so fearful? how is it that you have no faith?” Isn’t that just like all of us? We are sailing along and Jesus is right here in the boat next to us and yet STILL when something big comes up we fear we are going to drown.
What dumb things to think. But the Wow moments are there trying to work through. Come now, you know where they come from. And who are we to doubt God’s works? God has built up this radiant, bizarre love inside of me. I can’t really explain it, but I know that I am being led to use that gift and give it back in a big way. I know the direction that he is leading me. Even if I don’t know which road to take, I can still walk in that direction. I know that he can build me up for whatever task he has set out before me.
God will guide us. We are so afraid of the unknown, yet it is one of the very things that can draw us closer to Him. Let God manage the unknowns. Just act upon what bits and pieces of wisdom he allocates to you. And goodness, when God gives you a piece of the puzzle, don’t turn it over in your hand. Like me, do you get such a clear picture and then turn around and doubt it. Do you ever pick up a puzzle piece, stare at it, and ponder over which side is the top? Have you ever tried to put together a puzzle upside down? It’s pretty hard to match up the blank brown pieces. And even if you do, what picture do you have when it’s finished?
Gather up your pieces, turn them all right side up, and start trying to fit them together. Even though you don’t have a box cover to refer back to, after awhile you will start to recognize a picture and the pieces will fit more easily. There will still be holes and gaps, but you will have a direction to go on. Just like a puzzle, when we choose to follow God’s will, we start by connecting together the corners and edges. They may not seem like much at first, nor seem like important parts of the image, but they act as the corner stones and boundaries within which the image will unveil itself in greater detail over time.
Thanks Sally because our talk also helped me see where God is leading me. I hope it was helpful for you too and will help others here who are facing big decisions in their lives.
Oh yes, and I would certainly like to invite anyone reading this to have a one-on-one talk about whatever you are trying to work through most in your life right now - whether you just want a listening ear or want some direction. It’s something I’ve been feeling led to do for a long time. Just give me a call or drop me a note and let me know.
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