This past Sunday, my pastor preached a sermon on unanswered prayer. While discussing the reasons why some prayers go unanswered, one reason he gave (citing Kevin DeYoung's Just Do Something) was that, in some instances, God may not care about which decision we make.
Now, I dearly love and respect our pastors, but that particular bullet point gave me pause.* Something in my spirit was resisting.
I do think God cares about every detail of our lives. If the hairs on our heads are all numbered, if He notices when one in a billion sparrows falls to the ground (Luke 12), and all things work together for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28)—to me, that says God cares about the details.
I went through a season of struggling to decipher God's will. And I was presented with this idea that, if you make a wise choice with the intent to honor God, it doesn't always matter what you choose. But this kind of thinking led me into the darkest season of my life—in a relationship that was not honoring to God, needlessly spending money on finding a new place to live, pursuing continued education and a career that was not life-giving nor aligned with my personality and strengths, and in prolonged conflict with family. I was justifying all of these things because I was not technically disobeying Scripture in these decisions—at first. But making one small, independent misstep led to bigger and bigger wrong decisions.
I have since learned that I should not move forward without God's direction. If a decision seems unclear, I have found that God is not telling me, "Hey, go ahead and pick whatever you want." Instead, He is telling me, "Wait."
Now, maybe He doesn't care about what you eat for breakfast (though there can even be life-changing implications for whether you choose Fruit Loops or a whole grain slice of sugar-free peanut butter toast on the daily) . . . So even a decision as minor as that, to me, seems that it could be significant in God's plan for our lives. Ever heard of the Butterfly Effect? Maybe some of the struggles we experience now are because we didn't choose God's best back then.
Maybe He doesn't give us specific instructions for every decision we make—I do think He uses situations to develop wisdom in us—but I do tend to feel that there is a single path that is within His will, and when we try to live in continual communion with Him, He guides our decisions so that we are on the path that will best glorify Him. I also think that we should seek God's will and direction in every major decision. He's the One who knows what we don't (the future, the minds of others, our deepest needs, what will ultimately glorify Him), and therefore, He is the only One capable of directing our steps.
What do you think?
Photo by Caleb Jones on Unsplash.
*It is a very rare occasion that I disagree with something preached from the pulpit, and if it were something that I felt qualifies as essential doctrine, I would sit down and discuss it with the church leadership. This matter is simply of interest to me based on my personal experiences, and I thought it was worth starting a conversation about. I gave my pastor a head's up that I was writing this article out of respect and to avoid divisiveness. I also have not yet read Just Do Something, but plan to add it to my TBR list!
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