POST 44: What If God Wants You to Make a Different Choice?
POST 44
What If God Wants You to Make a Different Choice?
“Did you get the big envelope or the little envelope?”
This was a question high school seniors asked one another every spring when they heard from the colleges to which they had applied. There was no email, so all our communication with schools was by paper. If a school sent a little envelope, it was usually a single sheet of paper telling us we hadn’t been admitted. If a school sent a big envelope, it meant we had been admitted and needed to complete a batch of paperwork.
As a senior, I (Kara) remember the Thursday I came home to check the mail after school. One of my closest friends had come with me because we had heard that my top choice school had mailed out its notices.
I opened the mailbox with trepidation.
It was the big envelope.
I remember ripping open the envelope to confirm it was a yes and then hugging my friend.
While that was a joyful afternoon, figuring out which school I would attend was not easy. The “big envelope” university was by far the most prestigious of my options—a “big deal” school. It made sense, and it was where my dad wanted me to go.
But my parents are divorced, and my mom wanted me to go to a different school.
A handful of church leaders I respected preferred a third school close to home that allowed me to stay involved in church even as a college student.
I couldn’t make up my mind. I prayed a lot but couldn’t tell where God was leading me. And the adults closest to me brought more confusion than clarity.
I struggled for over a month with what to do. But eventually, as I prayed more, I felt the most peace about going to the “big envelope” university. Not only did it make sense but it also felt like it was what God desired.
But I had gotten to the point that I was willing to go to the less big-deal school if it seemed like that was what God wanted.
Choosing God’s Better Story
In one story in the Gospel of Luke, immediately after describing the suffering that awaits him in the future, Jesus gives a warning to his followers: “All who want to come after me must say no to themselves, take up their cross daily, and follow me” (9:23). Eventually, Jesus illustrated both this verse and the cost of discipleship by dying on a literal cross for all of us.
Sometimes being part of God’s story seems easier. You and I get to make the choices most others would.
But sometimes being part of God’s story means we say no when everyone else is saying yes. Following in the way of Jesus means we renounce other paths, allegiances, lords, and idols. We choose what’s counterintuitive to others but makes sense as we think about God’s story and the part God wants us to play in it.
Maybe you choose to help your mom and stepdad by babysitting your younger sister instead of going out with friends on Saturday afternoon.
Perhaps you make the choice to have lunch with the new kid at school instead of your close friends.
Or in my case, you ponder a less big-deal college or job because it feels like that may be what God wants. You’re willing to toss aside the “big envelope” for the better story God has for you.
READING GOD’S WORD
Jesus said to everyone, “All who want to come after me must say no to themselves, take up their cross daily, and follow me.” (Luke 9:23)
REFLECT AND RESPOND
Journaling Questions
As you approach decisions about your current and future purpose, how do you try to sense which path God wants you to take?
Whether it’s big decisions about your future or smaller decisions about how you spend your time this afternoon, when have you felt it was right to go with the “big envelope” path—the one that made the most sense and seemed most logical?
When have you felt led to not take the “big envelope” path because you felt like God had something better—and different—for you?
Pray This Prayer
God, some days I feel torn between doing what’s easiest at the moment and doing what you most want me to do. When I hit those forks in the road, please help me to know what you want me to do. Then by your grace, please give me the strength and courage I need to make that choice—especially when it’s difficult and different from what most everyone else would do. In Jesus’ name, amen.
SOMETHING TO TRY
Focus on one decision you’re trying to make right now. Reflect on different options you’re considering. Ask God to give you the most peace about the path that God would want you to take. As you feel more peace about a certain path, continue to prayerfully hold that before the Lord. If it continues to feel right, then maybe that’s the path you should take!
THE TAKEAWAY
Choosing God’s path is sometimes hard, but it’s always holy.