This is a topic I feel very strongly about mainly because it has been the story of my life. It is kind of dishearting when coming across people who know exactly what they are doing with their life right down to the core. They know where they will live, who they will marry, and so on and so on, or at some least they think they do. I’m not saying it’s sinful to know what you want to do in life, because I find that to actually be a gift to know God’s will. However, it is sinful when you try to schedule everything in your life all around yourself, leaving detail in your life up to you and leaving out the one who created you. I think we have become a society where putting ourselves first is our main priority. I believe it is not our job to decide everything about our lives, in fact we should leave it up to God. Here are a few reasons why leaving decisions up to God is that best thing that we can do.
1. It can all go tumbling down.
When it’s all up to me, I always fail and fall hard, especially when all I am thinking about is myself. I am weak by myself and I do not know what is best for me. Sometimes just because it sounds good and the world says its fine, doesn’t mean that the Lord is going to allow you to take that path.
Isaiah 58:8-9 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."
2. God says so Himself.
The creator of all things promises to give you what is best for you! Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that to them that love God all things work together for good, even to them that are called according to his purpose.” God has this beautiful plan for your life. It’s so much better and brighter than anything you can imagine, if you’d only follow it. Do not look at what others are doing because God is not always calling you to do what they are doing. Do not look at what others have or do not have, because he has provided you sufficiently with what he is calling you to do with your life. This is where jealously can slowly creep in and eat you alive. I beg you to stay away from that and know that God loves you just as much as anyone and has a plan specialized for you.
Proverbs 19:21 "Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand."
3. What if you choose wrong?
The more we rely on ourselves, the more this world falls apart. Figuratively speaking, everyone has a specific role and when you do not play it, things can go wrong. Instead of trying to decide for yourself what you want to do, give it to God. Do not react on your own. Prayer is a huge part of the Christian faith that seems to slip our minds more than we would like just because it is so intimate. However, when we give God our time and hand over our hearts to the Lord, we can be full of joy because we know He will make the right decisions. When we choose on our own, we are asking for failure and sometimes regret towards what could have been.
Proverbs 16:3 "Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established."
4. It can be dissatisfying.
Making all the money in the world does not make you happy.
The same goes to trying to choose a path of “happiness”. Sometimes these things
can leave a huge void in your heart and you cannot seem to find what is empty.
You were given extraordinary talents, different from anyone else! God gave them
to you and He expects you to use them.
Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope."
Sometimes it’s okay to just go with where the wind takes you. My best advice is to dig into God’s word, find the things you enjoy, and figure out if you are making the people around you happy. Being a sophomore in college without direction can be nerve-wracking, but I know for a fact that I am on a path set out just for me. At the end, I’ll be at a place where I will forever be satisfied.
