“Sometimes the smallest step in the right direction ends up being the biggest step of your life.”
How much would faith be worth if you were already certain you would acquire what you were believing for? Faith is built around believing for the yet to be seen. In Proverbs 3:5-6 it says
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.”
So many times in my life i can recall a time when I didn’t know what to do and I sought after God’s direction. Some of the times He let me know exactly what I needed to do, where I needed to go, what I needed to say. However some other times, He was much more vague.
Now when I say vague don’t get me wrong, I don’t mean confusion because there is no confusion in God. [see 1 Corinthians 14:13] When I say vague I mean, less specific; the definition of vague being, not definitely established, determined, confirmed, or known;uncertain. The Lord is definitely our guide, in the verse above He promised to direct us if we allow!
So He promised to give us direction, however what He did not promise is to give us direct direction. The word “direct” as a verb is simply just the root word of direction. It means to manage or guide by advice, helpful information, instruction. Although, direct as an adjective means straightforward; frank; candid: the direct remarks of a forthright individual.absolute; exact.
Sometimes when we are going through a trial we want God to tell us exactly what to do, what decisions to make, if our problems will or won’t work out like we hope they will. The hard truth to all this is:
God doesn’t always do that.
God promised to guide us to give us direction for our life. He promised to help us and take care of us. He never promised that He would be specific. I’m not saying that He is never straight to the point because sometimes He is and sometimes He is but you have to seek Him thoroughly first. However, sometimes God is silent. Sometimes He is sort of vague, He gives you just enough to know He’s moving but not enough details to know where to or when. God does this at times for many reasons but a common reason is because it’s through the uncertainty that we learn to trust him. It’s when He is vague that we learn to believe in Him. God won’t always give you all the answers; He didn’t promise us direct direction.
Perhaps you are feeling discouraged today (I know the feeling) the feeling when you’ve prayed and prayed and prayed some more and you feel like you still don’t know what to do. In High school an older math teacher of mine once told me something I’ll never forget (Ahh, nothing like good ole’ geometry). You see, she didn’t allow anyone to answer a question with “I don’t know”; you had to have an answer. Anyway, she was drilling someone once again who had answered her question with those three forbidden words and offered this as advice:
“If you’d stop focusing so much on what you don’t know and start focusing on what you do know, maybe you would get somewhere!”
That really stuck with me.. not so much for math…(sorry Mrs. Greg!)..but it’s helped me a lot in life! Bottom line, there will be a lot of times in life when you feel you have no idea what you are doing. Many times you may find yourself wondering what is going to happen in the situations you face. But the key is to not be consumed by those questions. Switch your focus; fix your eyes on what you are certain of.
“It’s through the uncertainty that we learn to trust him. It’s when He is vague that we learn to believe in Him. God won’t always give you all the answers; He didn’t promise us direct direction.”
Praise Him on the path of your uncertainty because for one thing you are certain, God is in control! Below you will find some truths that help you stomp all over the seed of fear that tries to come with uncertainty:
God is in control-
“There are many plans in a man’s heart,
Nevertheless the Lord’s counsel—that will stand.” Proverbs 19:21 [NKJV]
God loves you-
“Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38
God cares for you-
“Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” 1 Peter 5:7 [KJV]
God has your best interest in mind-
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28 [KJV]
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11 [KJV]
God gives you peace–
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Phillipians 4:6-7 [NKJV]
So, praise him on the path of your uncertainty because of one thing you are certain, God is in control!