God doesn’t necessarily reveal His will for our lives all at once. Usually, it’s a process of discovery, and that’s okay.
Three years ago my wife and I were asked to teach school in Thailand. The opportunity excited us. We had met in Asia and both of us left a bit of our hearts there. But the question we wrestled with was whether it is actually God’s will for us to move back to Thailand, or whether it’s just our own selfish desire?
On one hand, it seemed ridiculous because we lived in Los Angeles and were heavily involved in ministry. Why would we leave? On the other hand, what if this request was God introducing a better opportunity for us?
Or what if we were just infatuated with Asia?
Other than getting married, this was the first major decision I had made in life. Move my family half-way across the world to teach school (which I had never done before)? We prayed about it for six months. One day we had a strong sense that no, we are supposed to stay in LA and continue in ministry there. The next day, we’d feel just as strongly (and peaceful) about moving.
It went back and forth like that for at least three months. A real turning point came, however, when we realized that our families both talked as if we would move. We didn’t even really know what we were going to do, but our families already expected us to move.
God never came through with lightning making it crystal clear that Asher and Teresa are supposed to move. We never received rhemas about crossing through the sea or anything. Not that we didn’t ask God for clarity or a special word from Scripture. What finally led us to move was the fact that God had presented this opportunity and nothing was standing in the way. We decided we should move forward and trust that if it isn’t God’s will He’ll close the door.
He never closed the door. In fact, He’s proven time and again that we are right where He wants us. We have never doubted or regretting the move, even though it has been quite difficult at times.
We’re back in a similar stage, today. Our term ends next year and we both feel like God is leading us to move on to something else. Partly because when we moved here we felt it would probably be temporarily. Two to three years, maybe. But we also just sense a nudge to take the next step in God’s will for our lives.
But what does that mean? What is God’s will for our lives? What is that one thing we were made for that God wants us to do? Is there one thing God wants us to do? If so, what’s the point of all these “side-roads”?
As I process decisions this time around, I think about the last time and what I learned through that experience (and the many smaller decisions I’ve faced since).
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Here are five truths I think we all need to remember as we seek God’s direction for our future.
The 1st Truth Is That God Creates Us with Unique Talents
I love sports. My wife couldn’t care less.
In High School I played baseball. Teammates called me “dashmaster,” as a nickname because I was the fastest guy on the team. My coach told me that with my speed, if I developed a good bunt I could make the pros.
I had a good bunt; but I didn’t pursue the pros.
My wife, on the other hand, has our two-year-old son telling her how to hold the bat. Her specialty is not baseball, but design. She has an eye for good design and it shows up throughout our home whether it’s through calligraphy on the chalkboard or stringed lights in our bedroom. When I put a picture on the wall, it looks awkward and unnerves everyone in the room. But she knows just how to create an atmosphere of peace and beauty. It’s amazing!
If you don’t have steady hands and a calm, collected personality, God probably won’t have you doing surgery on anybody’s brain any time soon. He creates us with unique talents and He will direct our future according to those talents.
The 2nd Truth Is That God Sets Us Up with Unique Experiences
None of us can choose our parents. And for our childhood years, we really don’t have much choice on where we live and whether we homeschool or attend school. Even in adulthood, we can’t control what happens to us.
God does.
Each experience in life is a part of the story God is writing with our lives. He shapes us through those experiences for the work He designed us to do. Never discount what feels like a waste of time.
The 3rd Truth Is That God Wants Us to Desire Something for Him
I think everyone of us struggle to know if we are just pursuing our own thing or if God is in it. The longer I live, though, and the more I study Scripture, I am becoming convinced that God wants to direct us through our desires, not away from them.
Take David when he faced Goliath. David wanted Goliath defeated, and God honored that desire.
Or Daniel, when he fasted and mourned for His people. Daniel wanted His people restored to their God and their home. God honored that desire and sent Gabriel to let Daniel know He heard his prayer.
Jesus tells us to hunger and thirst for righteousness. He led the woman at the well to Truth by telling her of water that will totally satisfy her thirst. The problem is not that we have desires, but on what the affection of our desires is.
If my desire for a meaningful blog with a wide readership and a successful book launch that gets it into the hands of many people comes from the affection of being popular and thought well of, then it is totally selfish and God will not honor it. Even if it happens, He will remove His presence from my life and writing.
But if, by the grace of God, my desire for these things comes from a longing that many people may come to know God deeper and experience His life and freedom more fully, it is absolutely honorable and I believe God will bless it.
We will always have to evaluate what the affection of our desire is, but I believe with all my heart that God wants us to desire. He wants us to desire something for Him.
Study the New Testament and the rewards offered to those who are faithful to Him. It’s okay to be motivated by those rewards. It’s okay to want. Part of God guiding our future is by putting certain wants (or “burdens) in our hearts.
The 4th Truth Is That God Has Redeemed Our Hearts, Minds, and Dreams
Part of the objection to paying attention to what you want is that we are fallen people and our hearts deceive us. So how do we know we aren’t just being selfish?
That’s half the truth. It is true that that’s our background—fallen, broken, selfish people with deceitful hearts. But that’s before Christ. For those of us who have submitted to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, we are now redeemed. Yes, we still need to continually evaluate our motives, but God has given us new hearts, new minds, and a new spirit that value and long for things close to His heart.
Don’t let Satan hold you back from dreaming and pursuing those dreams out of fear that you’re being selfish. God has redeemed you, and that dream is a result of that redemption.
The 5th Truth Is That God Is in Control
The 5th Truth Is That God Is in ControlI think our fears about the future come from a lie that we are somehow in control of making sure everything turns out right, and a doubt that God is good even when they don’t turn out right in our opinions. But as we process life decisions, we have got to remember that God is in control.
Based on the understanding of these five truths and a heart of faith in God, there are actions we can take as we seek God’s direction for our future.
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Pray for God’s Direction
God is looking at us from the end of our lives. It’s not as though He watched our birth and stood in the hospital room waving to us as we left, grew up, and went out into life. God stands at the end of our journey looking back toward us. He knows everything we’ll go through. When we come to a fork in the road, He knows which one we should take.
So as we process decisions in life, let’s communicate with God about it. He knows what we need to do or should do (or even what we want to do), and He is a good communicator. The first place to start when seeking God’s direction for our future is to pray.
Pursue Interests
God guides us through our talents, experiences and desires. You have an interest in something? Pursue it! God leads you through that.
Serve Outside Your Comfort Zone
While we pursue interests, we should also serve outside our comfort zone. It builds faith as we see God’s power work through us. It cultivates character in learning to truly serve and not just do what we enjoy doing. It broadens our perspective. Ultimately, though, it creates an awareness that life is not about us.
Trust in Closed Doors
I used to be scared of closed doors because it felt like that meant I had made the wrong decision—I had failed. But actually, I think it’s part of God’s guiding.
Sometimes we pray and pray, begging God for guidance and He’s standing there saying, “Nothing is holding you back. Go get it!” We’re just scared of bumping into something and it not working out.
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We’re scared of detours because they feel like failure, and we’re scared of failure because we believe approval is based on performance. Life is a journey and going through it involves obstacles we persevere through, detours that take us around danger, or barricades that tell us that’s not the way to go. Trust God to bring closed doors. It’s His mercy, not judgment.
Remember How God Guided in the Past
What I go back to time and again is remembering the last major decision and how God gave direction in that. It will probably be a little different this time, but as I remember how God did it before, I’m filled with faith, trust and confidence that God will indeed lead.
In Short
God doesn’t always reveal his will for our whole lives. Usually, it’s just one step at a time.
When you don’t know what to do next in life, trust God. Ask Him for direction. Obey Him. Move towards what makes sense to you and interests you, believing that if it’s not God’s will, He will close the door and that doesn’t mean you’ve failed.
Question: What is the biggest fear you face when uncertain about the future? Share in the comments here.
