I created this thread because I have been in the middle of pursuing something that is difficult for me but has a great reward if I accomplish it. The problem is I don't know if I ever will. When does one stop trying to force things and just say okay you know what, whatever your will is it shall be done. And if someone does this and stops trying so hard each day but goes with the flow, is this so wrong?
For instance I have no actual marketable skills so I have been trying to teach myself computer programming, and in the beginning I put in a lot of hard work, but it got to the point where I felt burnt out. So I just sort of said your will be done father, and well I haven't programmed in weeks. I guess the question is, is this the better route to go than tiring myself out each day trying to learn something difficult for me? I feel happier when I just go with the flow than trying to use brute force to change my life. I figure that if it is meant to be I will learn it and naturally start up programming again. I'm not sure if this is right or not though.
I guess my question is, do you have to struggle and use all the will power you have to accomplish what you want in life? Or can you achieve what you want by letting things occur naturally at their own rate and pace? This is something i'm struggling with.
God gave us a brain and He expects us to use it to make our life decisions. The Scripture says, "Do not be like a horse or a mule that needs to be led around with a bit and bridle." Many try to be guided by God as if He has a spiritual bit and bridle to force us in the way He wants us to go. Proverbs says, "Man may plan his way, but God guides his steps." This means that we are free to plan what we want to do in our lives, but when we look back over each stage of our life, we see the guiding of God in the maze of decisions that we have made. It is a mystery how when we make our own decisions, God guides us at the same time. People who sit on the couch and do nothing, saying that they are waiting for God to guide them do and will achieve nothing. The rudder of a boat will only guide it when the boat is travelling forward. In the same way, we decide what we want, take the initiative, and God then guides us through open and closed doors.
I wanted to do a university degree, so I went and applied and was accepted. Then on an impulse I applied for teacher training as well. There was only one city I could do both at the same time in a specialised course and it was not in the city I was living in at the time. So I had to go and live in that city. One event followed another and after four years I got my first teaching position in another city. Events followed one another, and part of it was that I met my wife and we got married. At the same time I became redundant, and got another teaching job in yet another city. I never wanted to come to Auckland, but circumstances happened that I was offered a teaching job here, so we relocated. I decided to do an MA, and recently a MDiv. I didn't ask God much about these things. I just went and did them. But looking back, I can see clearly how I was guided by God. After all these events, I have ended up being the senior elder in my church, something that would not have happened unless I had made all my previous decisions.
If I had sat on my acre in the city I was living in before going to university, I would not have two university degrees, a teaching diploma, a retirement job in a community organisation helping people, learned three musical instruments, and gained a responsible position in my church. I would not have had 26 years of happy marriage with a wonderful adult daughter. None of the things I did was easy, and I nearly killed myself spending 15 months doing an update of a 17th Century English play as my MA thesis.
I basically planned my own way without spending much time asking or waiting on God for guidance. I just accepted the Proverbs reference and planned my way and trusted God to guide my steps. I feel quite peaceful and confident that what has happened between the age of 19 and now at 70, that I could not have chosen a better way to live my life. I have done my best to seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness throughout those years, and even though I have had failures, shortcomings and setbacks, all the things that are important to me have been added to my life.
I think that we sweat too much about guidance, and we would be much happier if we decided to have the confidence to make our own decisions and trusted God to do the guiding bit.
