Food for Thought: How Do We Know God’s Will for Us?

German physicist Georg Christoph Lichtenberg (1742-1799) once said, "Never undertake anything for which you wouldn't have the courage to ask the blessing of heaven.” Antiquary, 15 March 2009 (UTC)

The above quote made me wonder how many of us go about our lives thinking we are in charge. We decide what we are going to do. We make plans, move forward and assume things will go well. What if we consulted God first and ask His blessing? If nothing else, it would cause us to have to think about whether what we have planned is really something that deserves His blessing. We may not always know for sure what God wants us to do or where he wants us to be. But somehow, once we stop to consider the alternatives and ask for God’s help, we will be amazed how the right doors seem to open––not always the doors we had planned on. The interesting thing is that once we realize that God really is on our side and knows what is best for us, he leads us in the right direction. When we plunge ahead on our own, and things don’t seem to work out quite the way we had hoped, it might be because we have not given God a chance to weigh in.

Like any good parent, God allows us to make our own mistakes in order for us to learn. The sooner we acknowledge that He has a plan for us, the better. If we follow His lead, our lives will start to feel like they are on the right track. I know this from personal experience.

My husband and I were living in the Boston area. We had only planned to work there for about three years. One thing led to another, and we stayed another three years. Things were going well, and it seemed like we would be staying there even longer, but things suddenly changed, and we realized that it might be God’s will that we go back to the Midwest. We began to realize that we needed to return permanently to be near family. The interesting thing is that, almost immediately, things fell into place. That summer we spent several days with my husband’s sister just before she died suddenly. Shortly after that my mother needed help and I was there to help her. I was also there when she died a few months later. We felt like we were exactly where we were supposed to be.

“The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.” Proverbs 16:9 83