If God wants us to be doing His will, then why is finding His
will so difficult? The truth is that Gods will is often plain, simple and
readily available, but unfortunately we have made it seem complicated and hard
to find.
The will of God is not a road map, mysteriously hidden and waiting
to be discovered somewhere. Instead, it is a path that God wants us to walk
everyday and every moment of our life. The will of God is clearly given to us from
cover to cover in Scripture. It is not
intended to be found; it is intended to be read, studied, understood and simply
followed.
While we must submit in advance to Gods ultimate overruling
of our plans, we must not view God as a deterministic deity who has planned out
every single step we are supposed to take. Many spend countless hours praying
about and seeking those steps. Deep inside, they also worry about missing God’s
will. The truth is that in the issues for which we often seek guidance, namely:
which course or college should I join, what job or vocation should I take up
and whom should I marry, God has only given us the guiding principles. If equal
options remain after all those guiding principles have been carefully applied,
God in His graciousness has allowed us the freedom to make our own choices
based on our preferences. This freedom to choose actually empowers us to do
Gods will rather than grope blindly in the
dark hoping that we hit some cosmic bull’s eye called God’s will. While God
does give us the freedom to choose, He also wants us to be responsible for the
choices that we make, remembering that the choices that we make can have very
significant consequences, the ripples of which may even be felt on the shores
of eternity.
In every decision, we must pray to God for help, trust His
wisdom, and submit to what is already revealed in Scripture. The fact that God
never fails to fulfil His sovereign will should allow us to languish for some
supernatural intervention to jerk us out of slumber. We ought to keep moving
forward, one step at a time, based on the light that we have already received.
This process would involve serious study of the Scripture to find out what principles
apply to the decision at hand, seeking wise counsel, asking the opinion of
those who have walked these paths before, reflecting our thoughts with faithful
mentors and searching the World Wide Web. Good decisions are always the fruit
of homework done well. The earlier we do the homework, the better equipped we
are when the hour of decision falls upon us. Moving forward also helps us to
realise what is actually available out there in the market place. It cuts to
size our unrealistic expectations and enables us to operate in sync with the
ground realities of our times. As we prayerfully go about this process with all
sincerity, Gods will almost always becomes self evident – plain and simple.
When it comes to choosing a course, take up the course of
your liking, if you can get a seat. If not, opt for the next best choice. While
opting for a course, you should also consider the job prospects and whether the
anticipated job description fits your personality. Not everybody likes to be a
teacher. Not everybody likes to be an accountant. However, not everyone always gets
what he or she likes in life. So, we should be able to see courses or jobs that
are not to our liking as divinely ordered stepping stones to fulfilling some
higher calling in life, just as Joseph was being prepared in prison to occupy
the highest office in Egypt, Moses was being prepared in the wilderness to be
the meek leader of a mass exodus and David was being prepared in the pastures,
to be King of Israel. This is what it
means to submit to the outworking of Gods sovereign will in your life. Nothing
is wasted in the economy of God. Ultimately, from the eternal shores, when we will
look back at the paths that God in His sovereign will had allowed us to walk,
we will see the unfolding of a wondrous plan, far beyond what we could ever
have imagined or master minded in our own wisdom.
When it comes to deciding which school or college to join, take
into consideration the track record of the institution, the availability of
funds to pay for the fees, the distance from home or the availability of good
safe hostels, the opportunity for spiritual growth and fellowship, etc. In this
age of centralised allocation, we are often left with very few options to
choose from at the end of the process. If you missed out on getting into the
institution or course that you had very much longed for, don’t lose heart, for
God may have some better plans for you in this allocation.
As your college years come to an end, only if you are
fortunate enough to have multiple job offers in your kitty does the question of
choice come up. In such cases, along with the pay pack, perks and reputation of
the company as a good place to work, you must also consider the quality of life
that the job offers, opportunity for career advancement, environment for
serving with integrity and work-life balance ensuring availability for family
and ministry. We know that God desires all men and women to be saved and that
we have been commissioned to be disciple makers. As this is the already
revealed will of God in Scripture, we ought to ask how the choices we make with
regard to vocation, job, spouse, relocation, etc would enable us to better partner
with God in His redemptive programme.
If you are wondering whether God is calling you to full time
ministry, don’t wait. Remember that you already are a God commissioned witness
for Jesus Christ in your campus or your work place. Go ahead and start being
involved in the ministry right now in the campus where God has places you as a
student, or while you are still employed. That is your present mission field. Do
not get involved in ministry activities to the extent that your faithfulness to
academics or work is affected. During the holidays or by taking eligible leave,
go and work in the mission field of your choice. Get the feel of what it to be
out there. As you go about doing so, it will soon become evident to you and to
others who care for you, whether or not you should quit the job and make
yourself available for full time ministry.
When it comes to marriage, we must recognise that in this
fallen world, we will never feel completely fulfilled and getting married
and/or having children is not going to change that. If young people enter into
marriage believing that it is God’s central calling for their lives and that it
will fulfil their aching for relationship, then they are in for a big disillusionment
when they finally realize that marriage will not wholly fulfil their aching. Only
a deep personal and ongoing relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ is going to
be the ultimately satisfying relationship. Marriage and/or children may be part
of our lives, but God doesn’t set up marriage as the only option before us. We
may also choose to remain single and wholly devoted to the service of the Lord.
If you do plan to marry, work on your dream spouse concepts
so as to ensure that the bricks you use to construct your dream spouse image are
taken from the Scripture rather than from what is dished out or stereotyped by the
world, the media, culture or tradition.
Remember, romance will fade, the honeymoon will end and chemistry will one
day become history. Whomsoever you marry is not going to be an angel dropped
down from heaven, but a saved sinner, imperfect like you and me. However, just
because you are not going to get a perfect spouse, doesn’t mean that you should
compromise on what the Scripture values as important. Make an all out effort to
search and find those who best qualify. You may end up with just a handful and
they in turn, may not find you to be up to the mark. As we faithfully go about
the search process, doors will open and close, again making the choice almost self
evident – plain and simple. By that, I do not mean that you will be at peace.
All important decisions in life will be stressful. It is risky to move without
peace, but it can be equally risky/destructive to not move at all or wait for
peace in order to justify the fear that you have in making a decision. You will
have to trust God for the unknown future. Stepping out in faith need not be a
blind leap in the dark. It can be a prayerfully and carefully considered well
informed choice. Peace will come, as we slowly move forward in line with the
already revealed will of God in Scripture. God often calls us from pain to pain
to fulfil our calling in life. God will, often, if not always, involves consciously
choosing to take up the cross and follow him on the narrow road. Often, it is
not the lack of knowledge of the will of God, but not wanting to do the known
will of God that prevents us from proving that good and acceptable and perfect
will of God in our life.
Take heart, my dear brother, my dear sister...for Gods will
is often plain and simple and readily available.
Just do it!
