Dear JimBob,
“Say you have a large decision and you have to choose between two things; let's just say two jobs and both jobs are equally as good. How do you know or even choose which job? I hear God saying ‘trust me’ but I have no idea what I'm supposed to trust Him with.”
Facing Choices
Dear Facing,
Making choices is tough. Personally, if I were God, (and for the record, the world is much better off with me not being God), when my followers asked me for directions, I would be very clear and specific about the answer. I’m a firm believer that God should always appear in a glowing light and speak audibly so that there is never any misunderstanding. Sadly, God doesn’t tend to work that way. That’s not to say that God doesn’t give us direction; it’s just that he’s not as clear as some of us would like him to be; hence the difficulty in making choices between multiple good options.
I was tempted to wax eloquently about the whole idea of free will and the sovereignty of God, but thought better of it. Instead, regarding making choices, let me offer the following as my top five guidelines for making choices that are in line with the will of God:
1) Know enough of God’s word so that you can discern what is or is not God’s general will. If one of the jobs you mentioned entails lying, embezzling, taking clients to strip clubs, neglecting your family, or anything that is contrary to a healthy walk with God, then it’s very unlikely God is calling you to do it. And don’t pull out the lame argument that those who work in the underground church lie in order to be able to preach the gospel. You know what I mean.
2) Pray and listen to the Spirit. I believe the Spirit still speaks to us today IF we’re listening, Of course, listening (or more to the point, hearing) is contingent on keeping our lives free of sins that tend to clog up the communication mechanism between us and God. While you’re praying, ask others to pray for you.
3) Ask yourself, “Does one choice glorify God more than another?” Sometimes we know God’s will between two options, but we refuse to obey because the choice we would like God to rubber stamp is the one that tends to fit our self-centered agenda.
4) The drop of oil in the 5 gallon bucket test. If you put a drop of oil in a 5 gallon bucket of water and swirl the water around, the drop of oil will spin to the bottom. However, given enough time, the oil will to rise to the surface. I’ve discovered that often, God is calling us to an action that we just cannot get out of our minds. We swirl the thought away and try to ignore it, but it keeps coming back time and time again. Of course, psychotics who bomb subways have been known to justify their actions by declaring that God told them through a light socket to do it. IF you faithfully work through guidelines 1-3, that usually circumvents hearing a voice through a light socket.
5) Open and closed doors. Sometimes we are so invested in a choice that it’s difficult to separate our own agenda from what might be God’s. In those times, IF I’ve been faithful with 1-4, I’ve often prayed that God would open the doors I need to go through and close the ones I keep trying to pry open.
Before I leave this happy little topic, I want to address the last line of your question. You said, “I hear God saying ‘trust me’ but I have no idea what I'm supposed to trust Him with.” Let me offer this as a suggestion: Four years ago, I had seven different ministry paths I could have followed. I utilized all of the above and slowly whittled the list down to 3. I called a friend of mine about my dilemma (like you, I wanted to make the right choice), and he said, “Maybe God has opened the cafeteria of heaven for you and is simply saying, ‘Jim, Choose one. I’ll help you bloom where you’re planted.’” Of course, if you lean toward the predestination side of things, your head is spinning around right now and about to explode. However, for me, those words spoke great comfort into my heart. The world wasn’t going to evaporate if I chose to do A instead of B. God would still be God. I would still be his child, and if I was living to give him glory, he would ultimately be pleased with me. What mattered most was would I trust him to go with me, to walk with me, to struggle with me, to triumph with me no matter which choice (of the three good, prayed over, godly choices) I made?
So, if you genuinely go through the above five and still have multiple choices, don’t sweat it. Take a path and trust that God will walk it with you.
Jim
PS: OH, by the way, #6 on my list is to usually avoid the easy path. J
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