does God speak through movie quotes? this is the second time recently i've wondered that, so i'm starting to get a suspicion...
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apparently some genius sometime decided that by the wizened old age of late adolescence, one should know exactly how one wants to make a living for the rest of one's life, and exactly how one should go about achieving that goal. thus begins this process, and apparently i'm supposed to have any idea what i'm doing.
right.
actually, that's exactly what i have--a handful of ideas. that's about all. the purpose of a career is to support you. BUT at the same time, i can't get excited about going into a field that i feel approximately meh about. and things i'm passionate about--well, i really don't see that i would benefit much from having a degree in them. that is, i might benefit immensely, but my career may or may not.
now as a devoted Christ-follower, i of course want to do what He wants for me. He, being a loving Creator who knows me, often uses desires as a means of direction (i've been discovering this first-hand). to be honest, i don't think i've felt much in the way of direction so far. :/
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the challenge a couple Sundays ago was "will you follow after the heart of your King?" but what the heck is the heart of my King???? as it pertains to me, anyway??
"that, Detective, is the right question." (bonus points if you know the movie!)
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upon explaining this to Jerad, he says "i think you should go to YWAM. i can't imagine God not providing for you in a decision to devote six months of your life to Him. then that might direct your decision after that." i hadn't even told him i was thinking about this as an option, though he knows me well enough that he probably assumed that anyway. i think i gave him kind of an incredulous look. "at least pray about it." well i will. but . . . is this God's direction??? could it possibly be this clear???
i think i will just see what comes of my feeble framework of plans, and not worry.
V FOR VENDETTA SO GOOD
ReplyDeletedid i already give you my rant about figuring out what God wants? stop me if i have:
devoted Christians tend to ask what God wants of them. this is good.
they also tend to assume, when asking, that God has already decided on the specific details of that person's life path, and that if the person deviates from this perfect plan, they'll be forcing God to resort to plan B (or C, or D, and so on), and that these back-up plans are inferior to the perfect one.
that assumption is not good.
it is quite often the case, in the Biblical witness, that God's followers have specific roles to fulfill in specific ways. use donkey jaws to gather zero point six basquillion ephahs of flour, mix with oil, knead gently, walk around seven times, and -bam- God's will! serves 144,000.
HOWEVER, if we look specifically at epistolary thingies (which i would argue are somewhat more directly directed at the church) then we find many strong yet general *guidelines.* love people is the big umbrella, or the bottom layer of the pyramid, or the brush with which each of us must paint our own picture. the more specific we get in the NT, the more people debate: should women cover their heads? is it cool for me to have a slave if i treat it real good? CAN FIDO PLEASE COME TO HEAVEN PLEEEEEASE
anyway my punchline is this: what would you do if, having asked God what you *should* do, He responded with this question: "well, what do you WANT to do?"
Dogterom said it this way, and i loved it: "God wants us to become the kinds of people whom He can trust to do whatever we want."
i disbelieve that God is by default a micro-manager. i dobelieve that He sometimes has specific instructions (which He hasn't needed any begging from us, to dole out), but that in this age, where individual Christians are concerned, He cares far more about the way in which we do things, than about the things that are done.
example: going to school to learn how to make money is not one action. it is many basquillions of actions. each of those has potential to honor Him. for myself, i chose to go to VUSC because i wanted my questions about Christianity answered. notice: *I* wanted. was this a bad thing? nope. did i ask God what He wanted? well, not exactly, but i did in fact pursue what i wanted *partly so that* i could find out and then pursue what God wanted.
"what does God want me to do with my life?" is both too simple and not simple enough. it is too simple because the answer is neither linear nor small enough to fit into a single sentence or even a single paragraph. but, it is not simple enough because the answer is a single word: "Christlikeness." we *cannot* displease Him with our choices, if those choices exhibit and produce and come from and align with His kind of love.
so to sum up the itinerary for your life (imho),
Step 1: Love the LORD your God with all you heart soul mind and strength; love your neighbour as yourself.
Step 2: as you are doing step 1, do also whatever the eff you want.
oh p.s. the heart of your King, insofar as it concerns Christians, is quite easy to learn and quite difficult to master. but the difficulty lies not necessarily in the amount of effort it takes, but in the time it takes to do so. you will spend your whole life becoming more and more an exemplary Kingswoman.
Deletethis should encourage you rather than de-courage. pretty sure God won't hold it against you that you're at your own place along the path, and that you have your own pace, as well. i hear He's the kind and patient type, not resenting but delighting.
that definitely is encouraging.
ReplyDeletei do believe that God gave us free will for a reason. in this case, though, it's not so much that i'm worried i'll accidentally do something that God doesn't want, but more like:
"God, what do you want me to do with my life?"
"I want you to live it. duh!"
"well yeah, but i mean specifically."
"well, what do *you* want to do with your life?"
"I DON'T KNOW!!! aren't You supposed to be the One who knows me better than i know myself?"
"i do, but it's *your* decision."
"but isn't there a best choice that you know of?"
"if you are living for Me, I'll bless it, whatever you are doing."
"UGH!!!"
i think sometimes i wish God would just tell me what i'm supposed to do, just because it would be easier. but then again, i'd probably rebel because i like doing things my own way... whatever that is.
In about two weeks, I'll be changing my major. literally for the fifth time.
ReplyDeleteto undeclared.
I still have no idea what I am doing, yet I have a better sense of what I was *made* to do than I have ever had before.
God did not say, "Go do this thing over here."
He said something more along the lines of ,"go do these things, wherever you are."
And I have to constantly be reminded that no matter how badly I eff things up (which is a frequency I am trying to get in the Guinness Book of World Records), God is still using me. I can't eff up enough to stop Him.
He gave us free will and choices to make, and even if we have no idea what we're doing, we can choose to glorify Him and to Love people wherever life takes us.
I'm still struggling with the "what does God want me to do?" "do I relocate here to Japan? or do I get married?" "both?" "neither?" "which career is the 'right' one to pursue?" questions all the time, but we're working on it.