God's Will

"How can I say I trust God but then get mad when things don't go as I plan."


This saying has become a mantra of mine over the last couple months. I can't really say what is going on but I have been battling some things that I really wish would have been different.  There have been many times in my life when I relied heavily on God to direct me in the way He wanted me to go. I would pray almost constantly for Him to show me His will.

Sometimes, I thought I knew what was going to happen because things had come easily. As they say, everything was falling into place. Only in the end, the whole situation turned out to be not what I wanted.


Knowing Gods will is one of the hardest thing for Christians to be able figure out. What job to take? Who to marry? What college? What career? When to have kids? All of these questions plus more are things we wish God would plainly tell us.  When I was in college I switched majors from youth ministry to accounting because of how I felt rather what I thought God really wanted.  Things got tough for me, so I bailed on God's plan.  While I sometimes see this as a setback, God still used me in the business world and I learned valuable life skills I use in my ministry.


I know that God uses everything we do, even when we stray, to bring Him glory but He never says that we are going to like everything that He wants us to do.  No matter how much we pray or hope or dream, He might be taking us in a different direction.  Now, remember the Bible does tell us that God wants to give us the desires of our heart but sometimes our desires are more selfish than we like to think.


So how can we deal when God's will doesn't match up with our own?

1. Keep praying.  Whatever decision, keep praying for your specific desire and also God's will.
2. Be Prepared for any outcome.  Remember that just because you pray for something, it doesn't mean that God is going to make it happen.  If you say that God's will can be done, then let it be done.  This isn't easy but it is necessary.
3. Check your motives.  Why do you want what you want?  Is it for selfish reasons or because you really feel that it is God's will.

I know that God has great things planned for me, my family, my church, my ministry and everything else I am involved in.  I need to remember that God doesn't measure success the same way that I do.  No matter the outcome, God is still God.