The summer after my senior year of college, I remember sitting in a parking lot and staring out the window, lost in thought. I had two job offers in two different cities and I had no idea which one God wanted me to take. Everything seemed hazy and unclear.
It’s like that for most of us at some point, isn’t it? We reach a fork in the road and find ourselves unclear about which path to travel. While we may not know what to do, scripture points us to three principles that we can hold onto when we are in the midst of making decisions: We can cry out to God for discernment, God promises to faithfully lead us, and we will hear His voice and follow in His ways.
We Can Cry Out
The Psalms invite us to bring all our concerns to God, including our indecision. They offer us words to pray when our path seems dark:
Psalms 43:3 Send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling!
Psalms 25:5 Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.
Psalms 31:3 For you are my rock and my fortress; and for your name’s sake you lead me and guide me; you take me out of the net they have hidden for me, for you are my refuge. Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O LORD, faithful God.
God Promises to Lead Us
Isaiah assures us that God is faithfully leading, even when we cannot see:
And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left. – Isaiah 30:21
And I will lead the blind in a way that they do not know,
in paths that they have not known
I will guide them.
I will turn the darkness before them into light,
the rough places into level ground.
These are the things I do,
and I do not forsake them. – Isaiah 42:16And the LORD will guide you continually
and satisfy your desire in scorched places
and make your bones strong;
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water,
whose waters do not fail. – Isaiah 58:11
We Will Hear and Follow
In the midst of not knowing what to do, a great source of comfort for me has been Jesus’ teaching in John 10:
The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers. – John 10:4 – 5
The comfort of God’s faithful leading is matched by the promise that His sheep follow His guidance. Of course, each of us faces temptation and goes astray, but if we are truly seeking His paths, we can rest assured that we will hear and follow. He does not leave us to wander, but faithfully guides in a variety of ways.
I sat down with Christianity.com for a series of video interviews and the following one discusses the question, “How can I know what God’s plan is for my life?” For further reading, God’s Guidance: A Slow and Certain Light offers some helpful insights.
Christianity.com: How can I know what God’s plan is for my life? – Melissa Kruger from christianitydotcom2 on GodTube.
For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you. -2 Chronicles 20:12
