Wait and...
[I laughed out loud after I typed this. I have many friends trying to figure out what to do with their lives right now. From 18 to 68 and every age in between, I know a woman who feels a little lost. A little indecisive. A little scared, wondering what to do and how to do it and how to know what is the right thing to do. You are not alone.]
Anyway, so I was texting this ONE friend yesterday, and our conversation went like this:
Me: "Hey, what about your life plan?"
Her: "Still up in the air. I have nothing figured out."
(How many of us would say the same thing?)
So I started digging. I love the articles in my Woman's Study Bible, so I found one on page 1553 entitled God's Will that says,
"The Bible teaches that realizing God's will is the result of habitually conforming your thinking and behavior to God's Word over a lifetime....The Christian who has ongoing fellowship with the Lord through His Word comes to decisions equipped with a biblically-informed way of thinking. Knowing God's will at major decision points is much easier if you are seeking God's will every day in Bible reading and prayer." (Italics and bold words are my edits.)
Okay. Take a deep breath and read that aloud.
So what normally happens is that all is decently fine with life and then BOOM we find ourselves smack up against something huge: job change, relationship status update, cross-country move, or even just coming to the end of one season of life and having no idea what the next season should look like. So we, knowing God has the answer, ask, "God, what should I do?" We wait.
And wait.
And we think, "Why isn't God answering me? I really need to know what to do!"
We're seeking an answer when what we needed to seek was the face of God.
There's so much more to your life than this one thing. No matter how big that one thing is today, God sees your entire life, spread out before Him, and He knows you don't just need Him for this one thing. You need Him. Period. You need Him in order to love others, to find joy, to live in peace, to give patience, and to cross your final finish line in victory. You need heaping helpings of His Spirit to get you through traffic and sleepless nights and uncertainty about tomorrow.
God looks at your one thing that you brought to the table and sweetly says, "I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you," (Psalm 32:8, bold words mine).
God doesn't give out advice on one thing. In fact, He's not really the advice-giving kind of God.
He's more along the lines of the, "I am God and I alone know you and what is best for you," God. He wants your life plan to be His life plan. And that involves everything: brain, heart, soul, actions, habits, beliefs, relationships, and more, all coming into line with God's Word. D.A. Carson said, "God is less interested in answering our questions than in other things: securing our allegiance, establishing our faith, nurturing a desire for holiness" (How Long, O Lord?" Reflections on Suffering and Evil, page 219).
Most people never wanted this much commitment; they just wanted His advice in the one thing.
But what we need is God, period. All of Him. And that comes from the habit of being in His Word, understanding what it means, and walking in obedience.
So we commit to seeking God through His Word. Every morning. Not just 10 minutes of "Jesus Calling," (and girls I LOVE "Jesus Calling,") but all the time you can set aside in quiet, focused Bible Study. No special knowledge needed. Just dwell in His Word. (My "how to study the Bible" blogs are here and here.)
As you're developing the habit of knowing God through the Bible, do these other things in prayer:
- Thank Him for the answer that will come and it will be for your lifelong best.
- Praise Him because He is almighty and all-powerful and all-knowing and loves you.
- Confess your impatience, your lack of obedience, your selfishness, and your pride. The closer you get to God, the more realistically you see yourself.
- Practice saying yes to the things God is already calling you to do: love that weird kid you usually avoid. Give generously to that girl that needs it. Spend your free time helping someone in need.
- Go ahead and say yes before you even know what you're saying yes to. THIS IS THE SCARIEST STEP. Lots of times we line up our three options and ask God which we should do; He may say, "None." Or He tells you to go down the road you never wanted to walk in the first place. But if you're really seeking HIM and not just seeking His answer, this is a necessary step.
- Practice wisdom. As your brain and heart gets full of God and His will, get in the habit of living that way. Filter good and bad advice. Believe that you have every tool you need to hear and obey God through the Spirit. [You will likely find some amazing advice from these quotes.]
And then you wait and watch.
Habakkuk put it this way: "I will climb up to my watchtower and stand at my guard post. There I will wait to see what the Lord says," (Hab. 2:1).
Sinclair Ferguson put it this way: "God's guidance will require patience on our part. His leading is not usually a direct assurance, a revelation, but His sovereign controlling of the circumstances of our lives, with the Word of God as our rule. It is therefore, inevitable that the unfolding of His purposes will take time--sometimes a very long time," (Discovering God's Will).
A songwriter put it this way: "I wait for the Lord; I wait and put my hope in His word," (Psalm 130:5).
I am praying these scriptures for you and cannot wait to see where He leads you. It's going to be awesome.
Leslie
@leslienotebook
myleslienotebook@gmail.com
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