Praying God's Wisdom: Making the Right Choice

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In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps. Proverbs 16:9

 We all face important decisions in life that we want to get right. That might look like research, or asking for advice from those who have walked the path before us, or devoting ourselves to prayer and seeking God’s will. My family has been in the midst of these a lot lately with my husband beginning a new job and my youngest purchasing his first house. When I was younger, both in life and faith, I used to agonize over these situations. I wanted to get it right. I wanted to obey God, but how was I to know what that looked like? Two or more options seemed equally good and honorable, there were pros and cons to everything, how do I know whether it’s God’s will to get a latte or a peppermint mocha? Just kidding, I rarely agonize over those choices these days (clearly the oat milk latte is the better choice). But when it comes to what job to take, what house to buy, which insurance plan to choose, how are we to know what God wants us to pick?

 Today’s verse gives me a TON of peace about this. Yes, we research, we pray, we choose, but in the long run, it’s God who directs and decides everything. We can’t mess it up. Read that again:

WE CAN’T MESS IT UP

God is ultimately in control of it all. He knew before we ever got to the situation what we would choose and He has put together His plans accordingly. Perhaps He influenced our choice, perhaps he arranged things around us, only He knows, but what I know is that I can trust Him implicitly to sort it all out. It’s not on me to figure out the perfect choice at every fork in the road. I just need to trust that He’ll guide me and use whatever I encounter.

 Now, that’s not to say that we should just throw a dart at every decision and randomly fumble our way through life trusting that God will work it out in the end. No, there’s lots of instruction in the Bible that shows us we are to seek wise counsel and make our decisions carefully. Earlier in this chapter we read, “Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.” (Proverbs 16:3 NIV). When we commit ourselves, our plans, our families, our lives to God, He will put us where we are supposed to be, when we are supposed to be there. Facing a difficult choice? Go to God first. Before you seek counsel. Before you ask ChatGPT. Before you throw that dart. Go. To. God. His Word tells us that we can trust Him to guide and direct us, to show us what we should do. Will there be a star shining directly above the option we are to choose or a burning bush with a voice telling us what to do? Probably not, but you never know… Really, though, we will probably know we did the right thing after the fact like Moses. What, you don’t know that story? Well, in Exodus chapter 3, God did appear to Moses in a burning bush, a sight that so intrigued him that he had to go investigate it. God told Moses that he had seen the misery of His people and was sending Moses to go to Pharoah and set them free. Here’s the kicker – the sign God gave to Moses to prove it wouldn’t appear until after Moses had done what God told him to.

And God said, "I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain." [Exodus 3:12 NIV]

 Gideon got to set out a fleece not once, but twice, to prove that he was hearing God right, but Moses didn’t get to have his calling confirmed until after he had walked in it. Now, to be fair, he did have the burning, talking bush as a pretty convincing sign, but based on the rest of the conversation that wasn’t totally a selling point for Moses. I can’t help but wonder how often this is the case for us as well. There’s no flashing arrow pointing to the button we’re supposed to click on the page, but we make the best choice we can and then, when we look back later, we get to see how God put everything together perfectly. How many times have you had that happen? You did the best you could, but you would never say you had incontrovertible direction in it, and then when you reflect on the situation months or years later you are amazed at how God used things and arranged them for your good and His glory.

Here’s the Thing: We commit our decision to the Lord, we seek wise counsel, and then we do the best we can and leave it in God’s hands. Really, can we do more than that? Should we?