I thought it was a great question and was honored that he
was interested in my thoughts on the subject of divine guidance. I began with a
practical first step, “Seek godly advisors who love you and want God’s best for
you, and that starts with your parents. Did you talk to your mom and dad about
the direction you’re considering?” To which he replied, “I did. They said to
call you.”
So I went on to my next piece of great wisdom: “God is more
concerned with your character than your job. He is more interested in kind of
husband you will be than the person you will marry. His primary directive is to
love your neighbor wherever you live. You find this kind of clear direction in
God’s Word.”
His response was, “Ok, but that still doesn’t tell me if the
voices in my head telling me to move to a different state and look for a new
career are from God or not.”
While I do indeed believe our character and remaining
obedient to God in the basic commands to love Him and our neighbor are central
to God’s will for us, I also believe He leads us in very specific ways as well.
God didn’t call Abraham and then say, “Just wander in whatever direction you
want as long as you have faith and love.” He said, “Leave your father’s house
and go to the land I will show you.”
I asked that young man what he really wanted, what were the
deepest desires of his heart? “I want to be good husband and father,” he
replied, “and I want to leave this place.”
Those kinds of desires are from God. The desire to love, to
serve, and to make the world a better place are from God. Desires that are
essentially selfish are never from God. Desires that seem neither good nor bad
are sometimes difficult to discern whether they come from our own hearts or
from God. That’s where faith comes in. God may or may not be leading in a
certain direction, but when we feel he is leading in a certain direction, after much prayer
and seeking godly counsel, it’s time to take a step of faith. Why would we
think that the God who requires faith to be saved would not require faith to
follow his specific guidance? As the writer of Hebrews says, “Now faith is
being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” (Hebrews
11:1) (NIV) We can be certain of God’s love and presence when we are unsure of
His specific direction. Faith requires taking a step when the way ahead is
dark.
Do we hear God perfectly every time? No. But, the beautiful
thing about God is that he is fully capable of bringing correction to our
direction.
