I’ve recently had several conversations with various people about finding God’s will for their lives.  For some it was the, “I’m graduating in May and I don’t know what to do with my life!”.  For others, it was difficult situations that left them feeling like they couldn’t possibly know which decision would make things better.

I remember the feeling of being a senior in high school and hoping that somehow, I would choose the right college…the one God wanted me to choose…it seemed so mysterious, bordering on impossible to really know.  I made it easier on myself by only auditioning at one school…I had been taking french horn lessons with the professor at the Crane School of Music (SUNY Potsdam) during my senoir year, so I just did what seemed obvious, and planned to go to Potsdam State.  I had that tiny thought in the back of my mind, “Am  I missing it?  Should I be looking into different options?”  I went on a missions trip that summer, and one of the other girls on my team was going to Wheaton College.  I came home, two weeks before I was supposed to leave for Potsdam, and told my parents…”I think maybe I should go to Wheaton College instead.”  My mom was a little frustrated, to say the least, and through a series of conversations, quelled the new thought and set my path straight again.  It had been a very spiritual atmosphere on that trip, and I thought that God was answering that tiny thought that had been in the back of my mind with this other option.  Because we all were in a spiritual frame of mind, I thought it just might be God.

I am of the belief at this stage of my life, that it isn’t as hard as I once thought it to be…this hearing from God thing.  As He has opened my eyes to the facet of His sovereignty, I have slowly been able to relax, and trust that He is leading me.  The Scripture that says…”The steps of a righteous man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way.  Thought he fall, he will not be cast down, for the Lord upholds him with His hand.”( Ps 37:23,24) has taken on new meaning for me.  I used to think, that if I was righteous…doing everything just right, that He would speak to me and order my every move whenever I had a question.  Now, I see that I am righteous, all the time, because of the work of the cross, so this verse is always about me.  And, because I am righteous,  the steps I take are indeed ordered by God and part of His plan.  With my old way of thinking, if the path I chose led me into nasty things, I would automatically assume that I had missed His leading.  Now, I look at that second part of that Scripture and realize that sometimes the steps He has me take will cause me to fall, but not to fret.  The path NEVER leads me outside of His hand.  That is my peace.  The pressure is off.  As long as I am surrendered to my Daddy, and not willfully choosing my own way…doing my best to submit my plans to Him, I have full confidence that I am in the middle of His will for me.  My steps are ordered by a sovereign God, and if I am headed for destruction, He will make a donkey talk if He has to, to stop me in my tracks.

He is the Good Shepherd.  I am His sheep.  He is the Architect of my life, and I know that my steps are part of His master plan.