Had we made a huge mistake? We’d prayed about this job opportunity. We’d sought wise counsel from a trusted friend. Then we prayed some more. It looked like this open door for a different job was an answer to prayer.
But after loading up the family and hauling everything we owned 700 miles to our new home, we never expected to face this.
The start-up company that offered my husband the job closed its doors. This turn of events hit hard, leaving us with the uncertainty of unemployment while providing for a new baby. It caused me to question: how could we have been so sure this was God’s will? If He really brought us here, why would this happen?
How Do I Know When I’m in God’s Will?
Trusting that our actions are in line with God’s will for us can be hard. Especially when doubt and fear try to work their way into our lives.
I can’t count the number of prayers offered up to God before we made the big decision to relocate to another state. Daily I sat before my Heavenly Father asking, seeking, and knocking on the door while waiting for some type of signal to point the way. Yet in between prayers I would contemplate, evaluate, and negotiate with God about the whole thing. I claimed to trust the Holy Spirit, but my actions told a different story.
When you ask the Holy Spirit to guide you, trust He will.
Sometimes we will not hear God’s audible voice offering the direction we seek. In the quiet waiting, it’s easy to let our minds wander into a whirlwind of questions and concerns. When this happens, we need to remember the moment we invited Jesus Christ into our lives. Because of His deep love for us, He sent the Holy Spirit to be our Comforter and Guide. John 16:13 says, “The Spirit will guide you into all truth.” So even if I don’t have a definite answer, I can trust that the Spirit in me provides what I need to make any decision with clarity and a steadfast heart.
Seeking God’s Will Doesn’t Need to Be Complicated
The more we tried to figure out the best choice for our family, the more confused we became. Through all the madness, we failed to see how the confusion affected our everyday lives. We had forgotten the truth of 1 Corinthians 14:33, “For God is not the author of confusion but of peace.”
God’s Word offers simple steps to follow for those who seek His will. “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus,” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).
Instead of making it complicated, let’s focus on the simplicity of God’s will.
Rejoice. Pray. Give thanks. These three actions will cast aside all the distraction of our runaway thoughts. When we bring our focus back to the simplicity of God’s will for us, we suddenly lose the urgency of having to decide right now. Our focus becomes how we live our lives for God, not how He answers our prayers.
If you’re in a place of confusion today over which path to take, allow the verses above to bring fresh peace to your situation. Trust in the Holy Spirit to open the right doors and close the wrong ones as you focus on the simplicity of God’s will.
He is faithful to guide as we keep our eyes on Him.
A portion of this devotion is an excerpt from an article by Kristine Brown, “How to Follow God’s Plan,” originally published on Crosswalk.com.