Has your life gotten off course? Do you wake up in the morning feeling like you should be doing something different with your time, something more? Do you want to find your purpose and accomplish your dreams, but you just aren’t sure how to get started – or how to get started again?
Growing up, most of us have a clear mental image of how our future is going to unfold. We study and work toward that image, convinced we’ll eventually end up with the life we’ve envisioned. But, at some point along the way, many of us get off track. Things don’t go the way we thought they would. Circumstances throw up roadblocks and detours. Eventually, we realize that our vision isn’t lining up with our reality. We aren’t where we want to be.
When we’re staring down disappointment, unfulfilled potential and lack of direction, our minds inevitably turn to questions of purpose and significance. Even if we haven’t considered God’s will much in the past, we begin thinking about His plan for our lives and how it intersects with our daily to-do-lists. If we’ve always been cognizant of God’s will, we start wondering if we’ve missed it somehow.
Does God have a specific plan for your life and mine? Does he care if you’re a doctor, a rock star or a stay-athome parent? Does he care where you live and who you marry? Questions about the extent of God’s involvement in our daily decisions have been debated for centuries. They’re at the heart of the age-old discussion concerning the interplay between God’s sovereignty and our free will. While these questions are deeply nuanced and make for interesting theological conversation, suffice it to say that God does care about the details of your life – and he wants to be involved in those details.
God wants nothing more than for you to know his purpose for you and align yourself with it. When you do, he can bless you abundantly and direct you into the life he has in store. As Scripture explains: The Lord says, ‘I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.’ (Psalm 32:8)
If you are struggling with a lack of direction and purpose, rest assured that God has more in store for you than the life you are currently living. He wants to advise and guide you. He wants you to know his will.
What is God’s will? Simple: God’s will is the highest and best plan for your life. It is the direction you would choose if you could see things from His perspective. In your own understanding, you operate with limited information, but God already knows how your story plays out in its entirety. He has the master plan, and he wants to lead you down the best path to all that is in store for you.
You have a choice to make. You can either stumble through each day, filled with the stress and uncertainty that come with operating in your own power, or you can choose to invite God into your decisions and intentionally surrender your life to His will. Submitting to God’s will doesn’t mean things will be perfect. There will still be valleys, but they won’t be as low. And the peaks will be even higher. When you ask God to begin directing your steps, you will finally begin to experience the satisfaction of living the life you were created to live.
Nelson Searcy is the lead pastor of The Journey Church in Boca Raton. The 3 year old church meets at Boca Raton Community High School (I-95 and Glades Rd) each Sunday at 10:30 a.m. For more, visit www.Boca Journey.com. Author of 11 books, Searcy served for 10 years as a pastor in New York City before moving to South Florida.
