God’s Will, Our Choice

Often when we think of God’s will, we imagine a script with every scene, every line, and every movement written out ahead of time. But as we started to examine last week, it’s actually less like a script than we might think. God is relational, and so he invites us into the process of shaping and fulfilling his plans along with him. At any moment, he’s ready and willing for us to go on this journey with him if we’re only willing to join in.

This truth has some pretty profound impacts on how we understand and attempt to follow God’s will. This week, I’d like to talk about one of them. Specifically, I want to discuss our agency in the midst of following God’s will.

It may sound paradoxical to say that we get to make choices when we’re follow God’s plan for our lives. After all, wasn’t the whole point to give up control in the first place? Of course. But like most things, we find that when we give control of our lives over to God, he ends up giving it back to us in ways we never would have imagined.

Have you ever come to a major decision in your life and felt like God wasn’t helping you make it? You pray and pray and pray, but he never gives you an answer. The deadline is coming up, and you still haven’t heard a word from him. You’ve read scripture, weighed the pros and cons, asked your discerning friends for advice, and lost countless hours of sleep, but you still don’t feel like God is giving you a clear indication of which path forward is the one he has for you. Have you ever been there? Most of us have. And if you haven’t, you soon will. It can be terrifying, but it doesn’t have to be.

Here’s an idea: What if God isn’t giving you a clear answer because he doesn’t have one? What if God’s will is big enough, his wisdom profound enough, his love for us deep enough, that we can make the decision ourselves and still be in line with his will? What if either path has the potential to be God’s will as long as we travel that path with him?

I think that God sometimes gives us a choice along the journey with him. Not the choice of whether to follow his will or not, but literally the choice of which path we want to go down with him. If you’re trying to make a decision and it feels like more than one choice could be God’s will for your life, it very well could be the case.

This sort of thing doesn’t happen all the time, and it can only happen within the context of a person faithfully and dutifully following God’s will, but I believe that it does happen. Sometimes, God’s will for our lives can be accomplished more than one way, and so he gives us a choice. The options are different and have real, long-term effects on how our lives turn out, but they’re within the realm of God’s will no matter which one we choose because we’re following him and choosing to take that next step with him.

It’s important to note that even in this situation, we aren’t making the decision completely on our own. We’ve followed God’s guidance to a point where we’re given more than one good option. Only through following him do we even find ourselves positioned to make a choice that is good for us in the long run. God, not us, has set up a situation where we can’t make a wrong decision, and that’s a wonderful place to be. These moments are blessings from and rewards for being faithful followers, and in these moments, we get to experience a new way of journeying through life with him.

So how do we make those choices when they arise? Well, God gave us our minds for a reason. We can use them to make good, informed decisions when we’re focused on doing things his way. And as I’ve said before, our passions and preferences are God-given traits that help us understand his will for us, so we should be willing to listen to them for guidance when his answer is absent or unclear. These, too, are sources that we can use for discerning which way forward is best, as long as we never give in to the temptation of taking back total control of our lives.

It’s strange and mysterious, but it’s true: Only through giving up control of our lives to God can we gain any choice over our life journeys. When we trust him and choose to do things his way, he turns around and trusts to make decisions, too. If you’re asking God for direction and don’t hear his answer, don’t fret. It’s very possible that he’s giving you an opportunity to have some input on the plan, too.

So when that opportunity arises, step out. Use the intellect and passions God has given you to make the choice that’s right for you. And as you take that step, bring God along with you as your partner and guide, thanking him for the opportunity to forge this path of life together.

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Have I Missed Out on God's Will?

For most of us, it takes some time, some failures, and some persuasion to get to a point where we’re ready to stop trying to do things our way and follow God’s will. Once we get to that point, it’s natural to look back and wish that we had done things differently from the start. It’s natural even to wonder how life might have turned out had we been less stubborn. And we might even wonder: If I’ve been neglecting to follow God’s plan for this long, is it even possible for me to get back on track? How could I even start to make up for that lost time? Have I missed out on God’s will for my life?

Rather than bury the lead, I’m going to start off this article with the answer to the central question. And I want to be very clear on this: You have not missed out on God’s will for your life. God is not done with you. No matter where you find yourself in life, he has a plan for you, and if you’re committed to following it, you can and will reach that point.

So there you go. The question’s been answered, so the blog post is over, right?

If only it were that easy. Because as simple as it is to answer the question, it’s not so simple to actually believe it when you’re the one asking. Committing to following God’s will is a wonderful experience that should be celebrated, but it can be followed up by a good deal of guilt for not doing so sooner. Regret is something that’s difficult to overcome. And that’s why in this article, I’m going to try to spell out exactly why I believe you haven’t missed out on God’s will for your life, no matter how long it might have taken you to get onboard.

We have to start by understanding how God relates to us. Far too often, we think of God as a divine playwright. Back before time began, we think, he came up with a precise idea for how our lives are supposed to play out, and it’s our job to find the script and follow it to the letter. If we at any point stray from the script (which we all do), then we’re messing up God’s plan for our lives and making it harder and harder to get back on script. After a certain point, we’re so far from God’s design for our lives that there’s no way we’ll ever be able to get back, so there’s really no use in trying.

Does any of this sound familiar? Maybe none of us would explicitly say that we believe this sort of thing, but below the surface, this is the general sense we get from contemporary American Christianity. We have this rigid view of God and his relationship with us that basically leaves us on the brink of despair when we realize how far off course we all are. It’s enough to make one want to give up on the whole endeavor.

But the truth is that this isn’t sound theology. It doesn’t reflect the way God has related to his people throughout history, and it isn’t the way he relates to us, either. It’s a lie that holds us back from the amazing life that God has for us, and when we buy into it, we’re allowing ourselves to continue to miss out. It doesn’t have to be this way.

Because God isn’t a divine playwright waiting for us to get back on cue. He’s our partner in this journey of life, and he’s right beside us at every step, ready to show us where he wants us to go. We don’t serve a rigid, static, unsympathetic God; we serve a living, dynamic, loving God who wants nothing more than to do this life with us. That’s what the Holy Spirit does; he dwells inside of every follower of Christ, guiding them towards his perfect plan for them.

Relationality implies flexibility. We all know that when we work with other people, things don’t always go exactly the way we plan, and God knows that, too. But this sort of thing doesn’t throw God off the way it does us. When our plans go off track, we get frustrated and want to give up. God, on the other hand, is patient with us, and he’s prepared at every moment to draw us back. He sees possibilities that we could never imagine. In his infinite wisdom, he is able to bring about his purposes through us despite our imperfections.

In this way, God’s will for our lives really isn’t that different from his will for the world and history itself. We recognize that many of the things taking place in our world right now are not a part of God’s will, but we also know that in the long run, God is bending history itself back towards him and his perfect plan for the world. We can’t always see it in the day-to-day, but in the long run, God’s will is going to win out.

The same can be true in our own lives. Sure, we may look back on our stories and see a lot of things that weren’t a part of God’s plan, but that doesn’t have to be the final word. Because no matter how far you may think you’ve strayed, you are one decision away from moving back in the right direction. If you allow him, God can and will bend your story back towards his story. And there’s nothing better than being a part of God’s story.

I believe that God’s will is less like a script and more like a path. Life with God takes a lot of twists and turns, and there are times when you’ll come to a crossroads that shakes you to your core. But throughout the journey, you have the world’s best partner and guide, and if you’re listening to him, he’ll never lead you astray.

And by the way, the journey isn’t just about the destination. Like we’ve talked about before, God’s will is so much more than just the big decisions in life. It’s the everyday stuff, too. There is so much meaning, growth, and fulfillment to be found in the small steps along the journey to God’s ultimate, big-picture plan for your life, so never downplay the value of making one tiny decision that God calls you to make. You never know how what kind of impact it might have on your journey long-term.

Does all of this mean that looking back, you won’t find places where you could have done things differently? Of course not. Would your life have gone differently if you had made different decisions? Of course. And it’s perfectly natural to look back and wonder. But when we follow God’s will, we can look back on our lives and know that no matter what path we followed and where we ended up, we did it all with him by our side, and he led us exactly where he wanted us to go.

It doesn’t matter what situation you find yourself in. It doesn’t matter what you’ve done, how long you’ve resisted God’s will, or how long you think you have left to follow him. No matter who you are, God has a plan for you. That plan involves serving him, loving others, and finding fulfillment in his name. And if you truly commit to partnering with him and following his plan for you, you can follow his will and find that fulfillment.

If you’re tired of wondering whether or not you made the right decisions, if you’re tired of wishing you’d done things differently, if you’re tired of fearing that you’ve missed out on God’s will, I hope this is an encouragement to you. You don’t have to wonder anymore. God has a plan for your life, and you haven’t missed out on it. He’s ready and willing to partner with you on your life’s journey. All you have to do is stop wondering and start listening. Won’t you follow him?

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Thanks so much for reading my article this week! I wanted to let you know that I've launched a Patreon campaign to give you, my readers, an opportunity to support my work directly. I'm trying to get the blog to a place where it's self-sustaining. We're getting close, and every dollar counts! So if you've enjoyed reading this blog week after week and find it meaningful, I hope you'll consider pledging and helping make this site all that it can be. You can check out the campaign here. Thank you for your consideration, and I'll see you next week for another new blog post!

You Can Support the Blog

Today, I'm launching my Patreon campaign, an opportunity for you to support my writing financially through a small monthly pledge. I've been writing on this website for six years, and I've never tried to make money off of it through ads, sponsorships, or any other means. But the reality is that this sort of work isn’t free. I put a great deal of time, energy, and money into this website, and I think it’s gotten to a point where it can become self-sustaining.

This decision was brought about my a couple of major factors. First of all, I feel like the blog is in a really good place in terms of content and following. I think that it provides enough value to enough people for it it pay for itself. I could be wrong, but I have a lot of confidence in what I’ve created and in the people who support it. Also, I’m getting married soon, which has caused me to rethink my personal finances. While it’s not a big deal for me as a single person to pour lots of money into my writing hobby, it’ll be a different story once I have a family. I’d like to set the blog up for future success by getting it to a self-sustaining point now rather than having to worry about how I’m going to keep it going later.

Which is where you come in. If you enjoy reading my articles each week and feel like they enrich your life, I’d like to ask that you consider supporting my writing financially. I understand that that’s a lot to ask, and I don’t expect that everyone who reads on a regular basis will have the means to give. But it doesn't cost much to take part, and every bit counts. If you’re able and would like to help make this blog all that it can be so that it can be enjoyed by as many people as possible, I’d really appreciate your support.

I’ve created a couple of reward tiers to make it worth your while, and if you have other ideas for ways I can make being a patron the best experience possible, I’d love to hear them. I really want this to be a way for me to connect on an even deeper level with those of you who choose to lend their support.

So thank you for reading, thank you for your support thus far, and thank you for your consideration of this new way of getting involved. And to those who decide to give, I’d like to offer an extra-special thanks. It means the world to me that so many people have chosen to take part in this little project I started so long ago, and I am so excited to see where it goes! That’s all for now. I’ll see you Tuesday for our regularly-scheduled program.

Finding God's Will

Every Christian wants to follow God’s will, right? After wasting a lot of time trying to direct our lives on our own, we finally break down and come to the conclusion that we’re not fit to be in charge of our own destinies. Someone else has to do it. And there’s only one person qualified for the job: God.

This is a great place to be. Because once we’ve given up the prideful idea that we should be the ones calling the shots, we’re ready to finally and completely give in to God’s good, acceptable, and perfect will for us. There’s only one problem, though: We don’t always know exactly what God’s will is.

So what do you do when you’re ready to follow God’s plan for your life but you don’t know where to start? Here are a few things I’ve learned along the way. Maybe you’ll find them helpful, too.

Wanting to follow God’s will is the first step, and it’s a big one.

The first thing I tell anyone when they express concern over following God’s will is this: If you’re worrying about whether or not you’re following God’s will, you’re already on the right path. Believe it or not, simply wanting to do things God’s way is a big step, even for believers. Because as much as we talk about trusting the Lord and putting his will before our own ambitions, putting that into practice is not easy.

If you’ve humbled yourself before God, admitted that you’re not fit to run your own life, and chosen his path over your own idea for the way things should be, then you’re setting yourself up for success. You’re putting God first, and he’s going to honor that in time. Not only is he going to guide you, but he’s going to guide you to a life far better than anything you could have imagined on your own. Will it look the way you expected? No. But it’ll be so much better because you’ll be exactly where you’re supposed to be: in the center of God’s will.

God’s will for you starts with the short-term.

Far too often, we think that following God’s will means figuring out the big picture: career, family, vocation, and the like. And those things are very important. But they’re not where we begin. In order to understand and follow God’s will in those big things, we have to start small.

Beginning is as simple as asking God the question, “What are you calling me to do right now?” and then doing it. He uses different means to convict us (the Holy Spirit, his word, other people, and more), but if we earnestly ask him to speak to us, he will in some form. Maybe it’s adjusting your schedule to spend more time with him. Maybe it’s treating your loved ones better. Maybe it’s rethinking your priorities and putting first what God tells us to. Whatever it is, there’s always something that God is calling us to do, and if we’ll simply stop and listen, we’ll hear it.

The truth is that following God’s will in these everyday things has a far more lasting impact on our lives than simply asking for his advice on occasion when we make big decisions. Because it’s our small, daily habits that form us into who we are. And as we learn to hear and follow God’s voice in the seemingly small things on a day-by-day basis, we find that living in tune with his will becomes a part of our very selves. It’s natural.

Mind you, we always have to be intentional about choosing God’s will over our own. But over time, like any spiritual practice, it becomes less of a struggle as we allow God to shape us into who he created for us to be. And once we’ve mastered this daily practice, we’re much more prepared to make the big decisions God’s way.

Your talents and passions are hints of God’s will for you.

When it comes to those big decisions, there’s no clear-cut, one-size-fits-all way of knowing exactly what God wants us to do. It’s different for each person. But there are some things that we can do to make understanding God’s will in the midst of those decisions easier.

Getting into the habit of listening for God’s will and following it is a good start, but what then? My suggestion is to evaluate a couple of things. First of all, what gifts has God given you? What is it that you’re good at and that makes you feel the most alive? These natural talents aren’t there simply for our enjoyment or personal gain. God gives them to us so that we can use them for his purposes. They’re a part of his calling on our lives.

Which leads to the next thing to consider: How can I use my gifts to serve others? My favorite definition of vocation is “the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” Because when you get down to it, that’s what we’re each called to do. We’re supposed to love others and serve God with everything we have. And in the process, we get to experience a sense of fulfillment and purpose that we can’t get anywhere else. What could possibly be better than that?

That’s why I think the best way to begin discerning God’s big-picture will for your life is to simply start serving God and others with the gifts he’s given you. God can use anyone and any gift for his glory, whether it’s music, math, muscles, or something else. And as you serve, you’ll learn what works for you and what doesn’t. Maybe you start off thinking you’ll enjoy one thing but soon find out that it isn’t for you. That’s alright; God understands, and he appreciates the effort. Try something else until you find your niche. Your place. Your calling.

At the end of the day, it comes down to this: God blesses those who earnestly seek him. Only through a daily relationship with him and a practice of serving others in his name will you be able to discern his perfect will for you. It’s a lot of work, but it’s more than worth it. Because I can tell you from personal experience that there is nothing better than living for God. There’s no better place to be than right where he wants you. He knows what’s best for us, and he wants what’s best for us if we’ll only follow him.

So if you want fulfillment, if you want peace, if you want to know that you’re doing exactly what you were made to do, follow him. In the small things and the big things, follow him. Even when it’s scary and doesn’t make a lot of sense, follow him. Even if it isn’t how you pictured your life going, follow him. Because he loves you, and he’ll never lead you astray. Follow him.

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Hey, thanks for being a reader of the blog! I wanted to let you know that this Thursday, I'll be launching a campaign to give you a chance to support this website financially through a small monthly pledge. If you enjoy these articles each week and want to help make it the best it can be, I hope you'll consider participating in this new way. You can get a preview of the campaign here and check back in a couple of days to pledge your support. I appreciate you taking the time to check it out and hope you have a great week!

You Aren't In Charge of Your Life

When I came up with the title of this article, I nearly changed it because I thought it might be too off-putting. I don’t want it to be misinterpreted. This isn’t some thinkpiece claiming that no one is responsible for their actions because it’s all someone else’s fault. And it isn’t a defeatist manifesto that’s going to tell you that our lives are pre-determined, so there’s no point in trying to change them. No, this article is something else. But to be honest, I’m still not sure that it’s going to be any less off-putting.

My central argument this week is simply this: We are not qualified to be in charge of our own lives.

As a recovering control freak myself, I can understand why some people may not like a statement like that. It’s scary, frustrating, and maybe even downright offensive at first. But it’s true, and if you stick with me, I hope you’ll see why.

We all like to think we’re in control. Like we’re the masters of our own destiny. Like we can change things if we want to. Growing up, we’re told, “You can be anything you want to be!” And we choose to believe it. Because at the end of the day, we don’t want anyone or anything else dictating what we do. We want to be our own bosses.

And this sort of attitude is praised in our culture. We idolize rugged, independent types who pave their own paths. We love hearing success stories of entrepreneurs who do whatever it takes to work for themselves. We buy into the American dream that anyone can choose to be anything if they’ll just put their minds to it and work hard. But what if this quest for independence and control is actually misguided?

After all, for every success story, there are at least a dozen that start the same way but end in failure. The truth is that our own judgment isn’t always the best, and when we try too hard to maintain control, we often get ourselves into some bad situations. Even the smartest among us can become blinded by passion to achieve a goal and end up losing everything in the pursuit.

We’re pretty good at declaring what we want, but we’re not so good at discerning whether or not those things are actually good for us. We set our sights on our desires and chase after them with little regard for our long-term wellbeing or the good of those around us. In all honesty, our success rate at choosing the things that are best for us is pretty low.

I’m sorry if this sounds pessimistic. I’m not trying to be. It’s just a reality of our fallen state. Our minds are wonderful gifts from God, but they’re also imperfect. And I think that if we each reflect on our own experiences with trying to make big life decisions on our own, we can agree that we don’t always make the best choices.

Which is why we’re not supposed to be making these sorts of decisions ourselves. We were never made to be in charge of our own lives because we aren’t qualified to be. We’re imperfect, and we make imperfect decisions that put is in bad spots and hurt those around us. Not all of the time, mind you, but enough of the time that we shouldn’t be the ones calling the shots.

The truth is that there’s only one person qualified to be in charge of our lives, and that’s God. He has a 100% success rate when it comes to making the right decisions. He sees the big picture. And he knows exactly what’s right for us even when we can’t see it. He alone has the right to set the path for our lives.

And if we recognize this, why wouldn’t we want to put God in charge? What could possibly hold us back from following his will for us other than our own pride? In reality, that’s the biggest thing standing between us and the perfect plan God has for us. We don’t like to give up control. But once we’re willing to recognize our own inadequacy and humble ourselves, we come to the conclusion that submitting to God’s will is the best thing we could do. Because he has the best in mind for us, even if it isn’t necessarily what we expect.

I’m not saying we shouldn’t encourage people to pursue their dreams or tell kids that they can be anything they put their minds to. We should. But we have to do so within the context of God’s will. Because left to our own devices, we get distracted and choose to chase after things that aren’t right for us. Things that aren’t good for us. Things that are outside of God’s plan for us. And that’s when we really get into trouble.

So let’s do ourselves a favor and just admit that we don’t need to be in charge. When we give control over to God, we’re taking the first step towards the wonderful life that he has in store for us. Of course, there’s a lot more to it than that. Once you’re ready to follow God’s will, you have to actually figure out what that is, and we’ll get into that next week. But if you find yourself ready to give up on blazing your own path and follow God’s, then congratulations! You’re well on your way.

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Special note: Next week, I'll be debuting an opportunity for you, my readers, to support this blog financially with a small monthly pledge. If you enjoy reading these posts each week and feel that they add value to your life, I hope you'll consider supporting my writing in this new way. Plus, you'll get special rewards if you decide to sign up! If you'd like a preview of what to expect, you can see a demo here. I appreciate your consideration, and as always, thank you for reading, sharing, and offering feedback week after week. It means the world to me. I'll see you next week.