Discernment… in a loud world

Knowing Where to Turn

There is a great struggle in my life as I look to the future. It confronts me from many directions. Am I financially prepared, do I know my true passion, am I gifted to follow that passion, is there an opportunity that I am both qualified for and that wants me? I have people in my life, good and close friends, that perplex me. They are dealing with the same problems but in different ways. Are any of these ways, right?

Proverbs 16:9 says “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.” It comes down to knowing God’s will for my future. This is the crux of the problem. I have a very sketchy records for understanding God’s will in my life. I am going to use the word “failure” here as the antithesis of my perception of success. My vision for the future is clouded by a lack of knowledge. So, my view of success and failure share this same shortsightedness.

In 1 Corinthians 2:14 the bible says “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.” It also says in Acts “And he said, ‘The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear a voice from his mouth”  The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit, but God appoints us to know his will, to hear His voice. The challenge seems to be moving from the natural world we are used to, into the Spiritual world in which God speaks.

I could point out many instances where I worked diligently through prayer and council to understand and follow God’s will only to face failure (see above). Now I could assume that because of my attempted faithfulness they were not a failure, I just didn’t see the win. I am afraid that that is a massive assumption that may only serve the purpose of making me feel better concerning my “failure”.  They could, in truth, be a failure. Or… it could have been the will of God that these opportunities were to plant a seed for future success in someone else’s life. I would guess this was communicated to me in Proverbs when the Lord said “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand” Not my purpose but his. I am not forwarding my plans on earth, but His plans.

So, my quandary, my consternation, my confusion, lies in understanding the unknown. I fall back on Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”  That future may be eternity with Him, not necessarily to prosper here on earth.

I have to avoid falling back on my understanding of success and rely on God’s even when I don’t know what His is. John 6:63 tells me “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.”

I struggle with this a great deal. In the shadows of my mind I know that God will not allow me to fail if I am faithful. That I do not have to know implicitly what he wants me to do. I just need to be obedient to the task before me.

That will have to be enough for now….

Proverbs 16:3

Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established