It would be so easy if someone could just tell me what to do. If they did, though, probably I wouldn’t like being told what to do, right?
Making decisions and trying to figure out what God wants me to do is quite a process. At times, it’s frustrating and discouraging. Asking for help making decisions (I liked how Neil put it: from a spiritually sensitive person) doesn’t even always guarantee good advice!
When my husband and I were still dating, as we considered marriage, we submitted to the advice of our parents and pastor. We got the thumbs up from everyone, and then, a couple of weeks later, the associate pastor who was over our college/young adults group told us he thought we were making a mistake.
What to do? We put everything on hold, went back and prayed (all green lights – no red), went back to parents and pastor and asked again. In the end, we went ahead with our plans, but learned something. Someone we know and trust may give us advice that’s not right on the money. Their motives may be out of line, or they may even be telling us what God wanted them to, in order for us to really make sure we had heard correctly.
We’ve stuck to that pattern of making big decisions in our lives – pray, ask advice of parents and mentors – and God has always honored the process. I’m reminded today to check my own motives when someone asks me for advice…
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