Following Maps

Where is the Lord leading you?

If you were to ask me that question, I'd have two answers: first, "I have no earthly clue," and second, "wherever he chooses." 

Discerning God's will for our lives isn't easy. A lot of the time, it can feel impossible—how am I supposed to know the mind of God, after all? No man can do that. 

But when we're at a crossroads, there are some things we do know. We know that God is powerful, that we are helpless, and that God works for the benefit of his children. 

 

"He's got the whole world in his hands," goes the popular Sunday School song. 

It's true. The Earth, in all its rocky glory and splendor, is held by the hands of God. It's a big weight to hold—the circumference of the Earth is roughly 25,000 miles, and it weighs 6.6 x 10²¹ tons. I find it difficult to wrap my mind around that measurement, but I know one thing: it's heavy. 

But God's more than strong enough to carry the Earth. He's also got the delicacy required to keep everything on the Earth stable and healthy—after all, "in him all things hold together." (Colossians 1:17) Every fragile little petal of the flower in your front yard is held together by the fingers of God, the one who made it. 

You might be wondering what God's going to do with your life. We don't quite know the specifics of what that answer is. 

But we do know that God is powerful, and that he's controlling every single little thing impacting your decision—from the financial circumstances to the weather to the thoughts in your heart that impact your desires. 

God is holding all of them. And he's making them work together to achieve his holy purpose. 

 

We know that God is powerful. 

We also know that we are helpless. 

When you're making a big decision, it's easy to get overwhelmed. To start thinking about all the things you need to do in order to ensure success, and to wonder if you're going to be able to do it at all. 

I'm not going to tell you that you just need to not feel that way. Because it's far too easy to slap a Band-aid of "don't worry, be happy" on the problem, and call it fixed. 

The truth of the matter is that we are overwhelmed. Making decisions that can change the course of your future feel paralyzing, because it feels like we're being given a responsibility that it isn't our responsibility to carry. 

We are too weak to control the flow of our lives. So when we try to do just that, we come face-to-face with that weakness. 

What's the solution? Well, don't try to bear the burden of your choice alone. Pray about it. Give it up to your heavenly Father for him to shoulder the weight of, because he's certainly strong enough to carry it. And, he wants to help us—he's told us plainly that we're helpless and that we need to depend on him for everything, and he loves us so, so much. 

An infant is helpless to live by their own power. Fortunately, we don't have to.

 

Romans 8:28 says, "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."

This verse is a popular one. And for very good reason; it's extremely comforting to think that God's going to make sure our lives end well, no matter what happens along the way.

However, there are a lot of roadblocks along the way. And if you expect that life's going to be all sunshine and cherry blossoms, then you've got a sharp wake up call coming for you. 

Trials are going to come. When you're making decisions, don't base your decision entirely on what's going to be easier for you. Yes, God works the lives of his children out for good—but that doesn't mean it's going to be easy along the way!

God sends each of us our unique struggles. This verse promises us that the struggles are going to end well, for God's children. It tells us the ending, but not every step along the way. 

To get those steps, we've got to carefully consider our own unique situation, and pray about it. We have to make our decision. We can't just sail through life with no cares, but we don't have to be plagued with worry every day either. 

Fortunately, we do have someone we can talk to to take our worries away. And, what's more, he's promised to give us wisdom when we're considering choices like these. 

James 1:5 says, "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him." That's a pretty powerful promise. There's no "if"s or "but"s or "possibly"s about it—God gives wisdom, and he gives it generously. 

And he gives it to all. 

I, for one, think that's amazing. Why do I need to worry that I'm going to make the wrong decision? God knows what's right—and he's going to give me the wisdom I need to know what's right too. 

That doesn't mean that my decisions are always going to be right, or that it's going to be easy. We're helpless, remember. And our minds are tainted by sin so that we're guaranteed to fail once or twice. 

But God's got us under his control. And he's going to make sure that, no matter what path we take, we're going to come to good. 

We may not fully see where the map leads, but we know that it leads us well.