 |
| Search |
|
|
Listen to beautiful
music while you read!
|
|
Especially for the Unmarried
The will of God, and knowing how to follow it, can be a tricky kettle of fish for single young ladies. Many think that there is only one precise will of God for everyone, and they must follow it exactly. When I was younger, I was guilty of carrying around this kind of thinking. I agonized over decisions great and small, wondering how I could truly know what the will of God was for my life. And if something happened to come up, like an opportunity I was presented with last night, it could be even more tempting to wonder if God was leading in an unexpected way.
I'm thankful for my dad's teaching, especially in this area. He taught me about the character of God, and how He has revealed Himself to His children. I am far from understanding or applying even my limited knowledge perfectly, but every day I try to live in His will. I have learned that His will can include many things (just as there are many members but only one Body of Christ). There are many choices we must make in life. Often, one of these options is not “the” will of God over another. Both are good choices, providing that I pursue them in a manner that is in accordance with God’s Word: under the protection and in submission to my parents, and for His glory and not my own advancement.
I am a black-and-white person. I want to know that this is right, this is wrong, and there are no gray areas. If I am not at one extreme, it is tempting to swing to the other. Balance is not the natural tendency of my personality. My preference would be to know absolutely beyond the shadow of a doubt that x is the will of God for me and any other path would not be His will. Right and wrong. Black and white. If only life were so simple. When you look to the absolute authority of the Bible, you see something different. Yes there were times when God told a person to specifically go do something. We see this especially when God called prophets to preach His word. But the norm throughout Scripture is that each follower of God seeks to love God and please Him, exercising freedom of choice in precisely what he pursues. As long as he makes his choices within the guidelines of God's Word, he is honoring the Lord. But God doesn't always speak from Heaven and clearly direct each choice!
Last night I was offered a teaching position in China. It would be teaching in a public school for the 2005-06 year, and I could not come home for that entire ten-month period. I would have a house rent-free and a small salary, the chance to learn the language and minister to Chinese through friendship evangelism. Sounds like quite an adventure, does it not? I considered it...for about two seconds. Then I get an email from a leader at our church. "I heard about the chance to teach in China. Are you going to do it?!" It's the perfect opportunity, some would say. I've already been to China, I know what it is like to work there, I will have graduated and be free to move overseas. Isn't this my big chance to strike out on my own? Surely this could be “the” will of God for me! So why the hesitation? I pause…. My desire to give an intelligent answer battles against the simplicity of my decision. Hasn't my course already been set? Not all opportunities should be considered, no matter how much they appeal to our adventurous, dreaming spirits.
There are some things that I do know can and cannot be the will of God; this is one of them. I do not believe that it could ever be God's will for me to live on my own, independent of my family and/or husband. Certainly not in a foreign country. Certainly not under the very low security and little support this teaching position would provide. All those things aside, my parents and I had already confirmed that it was best for me to remain at home for the next couple years until I am married. Would I be doing more ministry in China than I do here? Say, more hours of it per week, impacting more people, and pleasing God more? I think not. Why does it seem more spiritual or successful to some people when one is doing something in another country, rather than at home under the safety of her father? Perhaps I will not impress as many people when I say that I will be not only in the States, but living at home. That matters little.
James 1:27 says “This is pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father, to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” This is my calling. Can I do it better in China than here? Of course not. “For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God, strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light” (Col. 1:9-12). This Lord? Who am I that such a wondrous life should be mine? This is my desire: to walk worthy of the Lord and please Him in all my ways. To bear fruit in my good works and most of all, to know God more.
Perhaps knowing the will of God is not so complicated after all.
© Copyright 2002-2008 by LAF/BeautifulWomanhood.org
Top of Page
Would you like to translate this article into another language? Click the banner below!
LAF Theme Articles | Reader Favorites | Lady Lydia Speaks | Feminism and Related Issues
Biblical Womanhood and Christian Living | Especially for the Unmarried
Homemaking and Other Practical Topics | Femininity & Modesty | Teach Your Children Well
Personal Testimonies | How to Get Back Home | The Foundations of Truth
Responsible Manhood | Hot Button Issues | About LAF
What Can We Do? | Comments and Letters
|
|
