This message discusses the common thread of waiting on God’s will in three areas of our lives: decision-making, fear, and need.
Making major decisions can be stressful, but seeking guidance from scripture, counsel, and signs from God can help.
God promises to guide us if we seek His wisdom. Seeking counsel from others who have been in similar situations can provide guidance, even from those who do not believe in God. Signs from God, such as open or closed doors or breadcrumbs on a path, can help guide us towards the correct path.
Ultimately, seeking to do God’s will in all circumstances can ensure that we are aligned with His plans for us. The speaker shares a personal experience of making a decision about two job opportunities, and how seeking God’s will and receiving a sign helped guide them towards the correct path.
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We put our trust in God. We are told to have faith and believe. This can sound very simple when it comes as advice from someone else, but can seem very daunting if you are the one doing the waiting.
This article is the first in a 3 part series where we are going to talk about 3 ways we find ourselves Waiting on God.
Let’s review the areas we plan to discuss.
- When making a decision – Waiting on God to know what we should decide.
- Waiting out of fear – Waiting to act when we are afraid. In other words, Waiting on God for the greenlight.
- Waiting on a need – When we find ourselves Waiting on God for a resolution or an answer to a prayer.
What I will share across all of these messages is that there is a common thread in each of these circumstances – God’s Will. We will go more into that a bit later.
In each of these articles, I’d also like to share a personal experience on what waiting on God looked like for me.
In this article, we are going to talk a bit about Waiting on God to help us know what we should decide. Here are some examples of decisions we may need to make.
Should I leave this job or should I stay? Should I move to a new town or should I not? Should I stay in this relationship or should I go? Should I buy this house or that house?
Often these types of decisions are wrought with stress because of the nature of them being such life altering choices. We don’t want to make the wrong decision. Right? We can sincerely desire to make the right decision and it can be challenging at times as to how to incorporate our faith within our decision process.
I’d like to give you an example from my walk with God.
In recent years, I was working at a job I really enjoyed. I was paid well and company had a great culture. I enjoyed the people I worked with and there were many opportunities to grow. I saw myself working there for a long time, but my work did not align with my passions. Out of the blue I had 2 new job opportunities that seemed like dream jobs. One was a job moving into one of the largest companies in the world making more compensation than I would have ever had in my career. Another was a job in a small company that had a mission very aligned with my passions and my career goals.
Both of these new jobs would have been a move upwards – either a huge jump in compensation or a move to working on a mission that my heart feels truly passionate about.
One decision I needed to make was should I stay where I was or should I go. I reasoned that either of these decisions seemed to be aligned to an answer to a prayer, so I decided without much stress that either job was indeed a blessing. Once I made the decision that either of these opportunities would allow me to grow, the next decision was which job should I aim for – an absurd amount of compensation or being passionate about my day to day work.
I did not know what the correct answer was, but what I would learn is that if I seek to do God’s will at each and every step, I will be guided to the correct path. More on what happened in a bit.
I did not know what the correct answer was, but what I would learn is that if I seek to do God’s will at each and every step, I will be guided to the correct path.
So let’s dive into some ways you can navigate making a decision while Waiting on God. Let’s discuss 4 ways.
#1 Pray for those who stand against you
Scripture includes numerous references to the promise of guidance. God has promised us that if we seek His guidance it will be given.
If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.
-- James 1:5
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. -- Proverbs 3:5
