God Speaks - Again

Recently, God has been extremely gracious to me and allowed me to receive specific instruction related to questions I've been pondering. Over and over, He has reiterated points through various devotions, scripture passages, and words from friends. Like I've said in previous posts, I have always wanted God to write His will for me in the sky, so you can imagine how thankful and awestruck I am to actually hear from Him in this unmistakable way. The most recent theme of His communication is God's will. I wrote about this yesterday and today's devotions were on the same topic (my additions are enclosed in brackets):

"I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of" (John 10:10).
"Many of us have misconceptions about God's will and that we must have it all figured out before making any decisions. Or we think of God's will as a tight and narrow path. If we miss a step, we're off the path and out of His will. We expect God has a Plan A for our lives, and if we don't choose what He wants for us, then we're forever stuck in Plan B.

But consider what this viewpoint teaches about God's heart. It teaches that even if we really want to follow him - even when we seek His will above all else - if we don't 'get it right' and figure out His will, then He'll punish us with a 'less-than-best' life path. Behind that way of thinking is the idea that God is out to hide good things from us. And that's nowhere close to who God is - He loves for us to experience good things. He wants us to have real, true life. [Psalm 84:11 "No good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly."]

Instead of understanding God's will as a tight and narrow path, a better way is to picture an open field. Imagine God saying to you, 'Here are the boundaries for the field, the guidelines you can follow to keep you from pain and hurt. But you have complete freedom to run, jump, and play everywhere in between.'

Above all, God wants us to follow the guidelines He has given us in His Word. He wants us to seek Him for direction about our decisions, but sometimes His direction isn't black and white. In those times, He gives us the freedom to choose.

Don't feel pressured to get everything right and never detour from Plan A. When God doesn't seem to be communicating His preference in a situation and you're living a life honoring to Him, go ahead and make a decision. Choose what you think is best and what interests you most. It's true that there are times when God has a specific direction He wants you to go. And as you walk closely with Him, He'll guide you in those decisions. If you do head in a direction that He didn't intend, He will intervene if He needs to. Otherwise, just stay between the boundaries He has set up, and run!" (Journey, March 19) [Heb. 12:1-2 "Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith."]