Do You Know Where You Are Going?

By Pastor Steve VanAmburg

Confessions are good.  I must confess that I’ve found myself driving down the road and I didn’t know where I was.  Can you relate to that?  One time in Athens, GA, I had lost my bearings and pulled into a convenience store to ask for directions.  There was a really sweet young lady that gave me directions that went something like this.  “You drive down the road a

bit and turn right at the big oak tree.”  Do you know how many oak trees there are in Athens?  I didn’t find the right spot and I remained lost.

       On another occasion when I was living in Alabama, I was set to meet up with a printer at his place of business which was in rural Alabama.  The directions went something like this.  “You go into the town of Morris, go over the railroad tracks, turn left, and after the second pond on the right you turn in there.  Oh, by the way they took out the railroad tracks many years ago.”  Well, I did find the missing railroad tracks, but there were a lot more than two ponds.  Those directions were trickier, but I didn’t find my printer.

Sometimes in life we get lost or we wonder what God wants us to do.  Many years ago, when I was in college preparing for ministry, someone shared Isaiah 30:21 “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’” (NIV)  Through the years, I’ve never heard an audible voice from God, but I have heard God’s Holy Spirit speaking to my heart and mind about decisions that I should make.  Sometimes I have a perfect peace about a situation and sometimes the Holy Spirit makes me uncomfortable with a particular decision.  On one occasion when I was debating on whether I should take a particular church God gave me a particular scripture in Philippians 2: “¹⁹ I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered when I receive news about you.” (NIV)  As a young pastor, I could always relate to Timothy.  God gave me the answer I needed.

During my college years, I had the privilege of teaching a Sunday School class on “Knowing The Will Of God” by K. Blaine Smith.  I learned a lot from that book.  I learned things like God doesn’t hide his will but wants to reveal his will.  I learned about complex decisions, etc., etc.  You see, God reveals His will through the Scriptures, through wise counsel, through the Holy Spirit speaking to our hearts, through opening and closing doors, etc.

Are you struggling with a particular decision?  Are you wondering what you should do.  Proverbs 3:5 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; ⁶ In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.”(NKJV)  So you can trust God with your heart.  You can trust God to be faithful.  You can trust God to reveal His will at just the right time.  God loves you.  Don’t stress life’s decisions.  Just trust Him and He will direct your path.