Thy Will Be Done
We’re on our way to visit out of state family and I had some time in the passenger seat. My wife asked me “how hard is it for you to ask God’s will be done?” Honestly, I had to answer that it is a lot harder than I wished it would be.
I think I can break up my decision situations into at least 3 types. The first type are those situations where you make a decision without much thought - what do you want for dinner? Do you want to watch the Chiefs blow it or something else (you might be able to guess what happened yesterday)? Do we take the scenic route through the mountains to visit family or the more direct highway route? These types of questions for me, fall in the first type.
The second type of situation is a little weightier than the first type but not life changing. What should I get my wife for Christmas? What class should I tentatively plan to take next semester? Do we hire an electrician to add a new circuit or live with a full circuit? (You see, 15 amp was a lot when our house was built compared to today’s plug-in gizmo world)…
Then there are the bigger situations. These fall under the type 3. These are ones like should I pursue a different job? Should I volunteer to be a big brother? Should I run for the school board? Should we move to be closer to elderly parents (or adult children)?
In the past, I have always prayed for guidance for the bigger decisions and made decisions without much reflection for the other two types. In fact, prior to retiring, I managed a staff and had to make many decisions and plans daily. I would guess, in retrospect, I’ve had a higher-than-average success in the outcomes of those decisions.
But this question has me rethinking my old, comfortable, decision-making process. Here are a few passages that I considered when I reflected more on her question:
“The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord. All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirit. Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established. The Lord has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble.” - Proverbs 16:1-4 ESV
“For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.” - Galatians 1:10 ESV
“And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for “‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, “‘For we are indeed his offspring.’” - Acts 17:26-28 ESV
This is where I realized that it’s not the decision but the path I used to get to the decision process that needed the direction of God. God has a plan for me and the more I’m willing and eager to submit to that plan, the decisions will come easier and easier. It’s a matter of making my heart more receptive and willing to what God wants me to do.
