How Can I Be Certain I'm Following God's Plan?

Had we made a huge mistake? We’d prayed about this job opportunity. We’d sought wise counsel from a trusted friend. Then we prayed some more. It looked like this open door for a different job was an answer to prayer.

But after loading up the family and hauling everything we owned 700 miles to our new home, we never expected to face this.

The start-up company that offered my husband the job closed its doors. This turn of events hit hard, leaving us with the uncertainty of unemployment while providing for a new baby. It caused me to question: how could we have been so sure this was God’s will? If He really brought us here, why would this happen?

How Do I Know When I’m in God’s Will?

Trusting that our actions are in line with God’s will for us can be hard. Especially when doubt and fear try to work their way into our lives.

I can’t count the number of prayers offered up to God before we made the big decision to relocate to another state. Daily I sat before my Heavenly Father asking, seeking, and knocking on the door while waiting for some type of signal to point the way. Yet in between prayers I would contemplate, evaluate, and negotiate with God about the whole thing. I claimed to trust the Holy Spirit, but my actions told a different story.

When you ask the Holy Spirit to guide you, trust He will.

Sometimes we will not hear God’s audible voice offering the direction we seek. In the quiet waiting, it’s easy to let our minds wander into a whirlwind of questions and concerns. When this happens, we need to remember the moment we invited Jesus Christ into our lives. Because of His deep love for us, He sent the Holy Spirit to be our Comforter and Guide. John 16:13 says, “The Spirit will guide you into all truth.” So even if I don’t have a definite answer, I can trust that the Spirit in me provides what I need to make any decision with clarity and a steadfast heart.

Seeking God’s Will Doesn’t Need to Be Complicated

The more we tried to figure out the best choice for our family, the more confused we became. Through all the madness, we failed to see how the confusion affected our everyday lives. We had forgotten the truth of 1 Corinthians 14:33, “For God is not the author of confusion but of peace.”

God’s Word offers simple steps to follow for those who seek His will. “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus,” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).

Instead of making it complicated, let’s focus on the simplicity of God’s will.

Rejoice. Pray. Give thanks. These three actions will cast aside all the distraction of our runaway thoughts. When we bring our focus back to the simplicity of God’s will for us, we suddenly lose the urgency of having to decide right now. Our focus becomes how we live our lives for God, not how He answers our prayers.

If you’re in a place of confusion today over which path to take, allow the verses above to bring fresh peace to your situation. Trust in the Holy Spirit to open the right doors and close the wrong ones as you focus on the simplicity of God’s will.

He is faithful to guide as we keep our eyes on Him.

A portion of this devotion is an excerpt from an article by Kristine Brown, “How to Follow God’s Plan,” originally published on Crosswalk.com.

When Chaos Causes Me to Lose Focus

What do we do when chaos causes us to lose our focus?

“And Solomon, my son, learn to know the God of your ancestors intimately. Worship and serve him with your whole heart and a willing mind. For the Lord sees every heart and knows every plan and thought.” 1 Chronicles 28:9 NLT

I wrote it in my new planner, the one with all the space for goals, plans, and action steps.

I jotted it down on my desk calendar at work.

I scribbled it next to a little circle on my to-do list notepad.

And I still forgot to bring the ‘thank you’ card to work for my co-worker this week.

Actually, that’s not exactly accurate. When I got home from work on Friday, I found it tucked in the side of my bag. The card did make it to work, I just never took it out of my bag to give it to her. The task didn’t get done. (So much for the satisfaction of drawing a checkmark next to the item on my list.)

As a result, frustration came in like an overpowering wave. How could I be so forgetful?

How do we go from chaos to focus?

We’ve been in a busier-than-usual season at our house. The list of things that must get done keeps growing, and I find myself putting off everything until the weekend. There’s just one problem with scheduling everything on Saturday.

 Saturday comes, and I’m too tired to tackle the list.

 So another week passes, and next Saturday’s list is even longer. And so on. And so on.

In those times, I feel like chaos has taken over. My mind struggles to focus on just one thing, much less a never-ending list of things that have to be done this week. It’s hard to feel content when chaos surrounds us, but God gives encouraging direction in the story of David giving instruction to Solomon regarding building the temple.

David wanted to build a temple to hold the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant. But David wasn’t the man for the job. (To read more about that, visit a post I wrote for Encouragement for Today here.)

When God chose Solomon to complete the job, David shared this with his son as he commissioned him to begin the work God called him to do.

“And Solomon, my son, learn to know the God of your ancestors intimately. Worship and serve him with your whole heart and a willing mind. For the Lord sees every heart and knows every plan an thought.” 1 Chronicles 28:9 NLT 

As God’s children, we are commissioned and called to worship and serve Him. In this verse, we learn a valuable detail concerning these things. We are to worship and serve with a whole heart and a willing mind.

When I keep my whole heart and a willing mind, set on God, contentment will outshine the chaos.

Lord, I give you my whole heart and a willing mind.  

David continues on from there with a reminder that God knows our thoughts and plans. And thankfully, His plans for us are better than our own.

Can I admit something to you? This morning when I woke up and turned on my tablet to read my Bible app, I noticed something. In the midst of a chaotic week, I’d rushed through my morning routine and hadn’t finished a single day’s reading. Not. Even. One.

So I guess you could say I didn’t offer my whole heart or a willing mind this week. I forged my own plans. I let chaos rule instead of seeking contentment.

But David’s inspiring speech to Solomon gives us hope today. Putting God first in our hearts and minds will keep us focused on things that matter.

Has all the chaos going on in your world caused you to lose focus?

Let David’s words from Scripture renew your peace today. Begin fresh with a whole heart and willing mind Then allow yourself to just be as you sense unsurpassed contentment and regain focus.