"And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, 'This is the way, walk in it,'
when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left." Isaiah 30:21
I wondered if this day would come. No big revealing. No struggle. No questions. I sat down with God this afternoon and I thought, "I'll just rest with Him today". I was super tempted to open my Bible at "random" and let my finger fall on a verse.
Please tell me you've done this. More times than I can count, mostly in my teen years, when I needed encouragement or an answer to a life question, I would find my Bible. I would let it fall open, then close my eyes, and let fate find a verse. I will admit if it fell on one that didn't work for me, I'd take my do-over. Occasionally this worked. I ended up being encouraged. Most the time it didn't work and I'd go get a snack or watch TV.
I think we can fall into that trap of approaching God like a big Magic 8 Ball. Oh, we wouldn't admit it, we'd call it something much more spiritual. We ask God for something, don't like His answer, so give it another whirl. Maybe ask a different way, or just go our own way.
I am going to a conference this Friday and I need to pick out which workshops I'll attend. I thought maybe God could show me which ones He has for me, during our hour (yes, I was trying to multitask). It felt more like I was picking from a menu. This one sounds good, but that sounds better. I wonder which one someone else will pick. I don't really need that one, and so on. Some sessions have several good choices, a couple sessions don't have anything that really stand out to me.
How do I know if it is God telling me which to choose, or is it my own desires taking over, or is the enemy distracting me? Is this all just randomness? Do the little things matter? Does He even care which workshop I attend?
So think of someone you know really well. You know how you can sometimes finish their sentences? You have inside jokes. You know what they are going to say when you bring up a certain topic. I think as we draw near to God, as we spend more time with Him. We start to understand His character. We can anticipate what would please Him, what He would say.
Remember when you were in Junior High and you wanted to have a sleep over. You knew exactly which parent to ask, because you knew what their answer would be. You knew because you'd spent your whole life living under the same roof with them.
I think this may be a glimpse of what it is like when we want to know God's will for us or for a decision we need to make. Oh, I think He will tell us specifically when we ask. But I also think that since we know His character, since we know Him, sometimes we just know the right decisions.
So tomorrow I will look over the catalog for the conference again and prayerfully circle the ones that draw my attention. I will trust my relationship with Him. I will ask Him to redirect my steps if I make the wrong choice. And then I'll close the catalog and spend more time with Him and not a brochure.
John Piper said, "The quest for guidance is the quest for holiness! Not in ecstatic heights but in spiritual depth."
As you ask, seek and knock, may He answer, be found and open the next door for you. As you know Him more, may you know His heart for you. And if you need to let your Bible flop open because you are just too weary to do anything else, may you be encouraged.
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