Somewhere in this great land of ours, there stands a man who has yet to leave his closet. He is a very spiritual man, but he is not in the closet because he has come to spend time with the Lord in prayer. No – he went in to get a shirt to wear that day. However, after a couple of hours he is still in his closet, because he has been waiting on God to clarify whether he should choose the navy and gray striped button down or the green polo shirt.
And somewhere else today, there is a woman sitting paralyzed at her kitchen table as the rest of the world hurries off to work or school. She stares back and forth between two boxes of cereal, unsure of whether God would have her eat Fruity Pebbles or Count Chocula this morning.
Does this sound silly to you?
Then what about this: somewhere, there is a man who has not taken a steady job to support his family, because he is still waiting for God to clearly tell him which career path he should take.
And somewhere else, there is a woman who is staying home on Sundays because she has not heard God’s voice telling her which of the many churches she has visited is the one her family should be attending.
And finally, there is a woman somewhere who has been waiting for three years for her boyfriend to propose to her, but he claims that he has yet to do it because he hasn’t felt a clear direction from God yet. And now she’s wondering whether her frustration is a sign from God that she needs to break off the relationship and find someone a little less “spiritual” and a little more decisive.
The will of God. For those who love God and desperately want to follow Him, the will of God can be a scary thing. After all, is there some path that God has for me, that requires me seeking Him every step of the way? And if I step off this path even slightly – like by choosing the green polo instead of the striped shirt – am I forever out of His will? Or worse – if I choose the wrong college, or the wrong husband, or the wrong job, am I doomed to settle for second best in life?
Or is there even such a thing as the wrong college, the wrong husband, the wrong job? Is it just all predetermined by the Lord, so that whatever I choose was what He wanted for me all along?
We’ve been looking at the book of Proverbs this summer, a book that is all about wisdom, and becoming a person who is able to make wise choices. If we are going to make wise choices, we need to know what the Bible means when it talks about God’s will. Most importantly, we need to know whether or not God has a specific will for our individual lives, a blueprint that we are supposed to be following. Should we be seeking Him for every decision that we make? And if we do, how will we know when He has spoken? And how long do we wait when we feel like He hasn’t spoken definitively? Does God really care whether I eat Fruity Pebbles or Count Chocula in the morning? Does he care who I marry? And how do we know which decisions He really cares about?
This Sunday, we’ll be looking at what Proverbs has to say about God’s will and decision making. I have no doubt that many of you are facing important decisions in your life, and are looking to God for wisdom so that you can make a good choice. This Sunday, I hope to bring some clarity from Proverbs to what it means to seek and follow God’s will for our lives.
To man belong the plans of the heart, but from the LORD comes the reply of the tongue. 2 All a man’s ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the LORD. 3 Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. 4 The LORD works out everything for his own ends– even the wicked for a day of disaster. (Proverbs 16:1-4)
and Trader Joes Natural toothpaste with Fluoride.
Write a comment