Eschatology Today

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths." - Proverbs 3:5

I have been around long enough, especially in ministry, to know one of the most often asked questions--an excruciating question--is: How do I know God's will for my life? How do I make choices, especially those really big ones?

There is a lot of ink spilled on this one, and a lot of opinions. You know that. I'm sure you have gotten a different answer from everywhere you've searched. I bet most of those answers involved a lot of what I call interpretation of 'signs' -- dreams, interesting circumstantial happenings, an odd statement made by someone, feelings you have, etc. Did you ever stop to think it actually might be a lot more straightforward than that? Now, I did not say easy. I said straightforward. The gospel is straightforward, but it is not easy, and it is infinitely deep and complex.

Having thought about God's will a lot, and having examined Scripture to the best of my ability, here is what I think the Bible holds out to us in decision making. Making a decision is a reflection on three, just three, elements. The first is desire, or what we might call inclination. Ask yourself the question: given my options or the blank slate of my future (to your perspective that is), what do I want to do? What is my desire? Wait! Hold on! Are we to trust our desires? Don't they lead us astray more often than not? Indeed, if we are not walking closely with God. Here is the deal, folks. Desires are a reflection of what you worship. If you are worshiping God with your whole life, pursuing him in his strength, aligning yourself with him in all you do, your desires will be bathed in his will. Your desires are a reflection of your worship. Worship God, and you will desire what he desires. So, first thing: given a healthy spiritual life, what do you want to do? If the spiritual life is not right, then that is where you first begin.

Second thing, where are you gifted? Now, there are some people who think they rock at something they are a flop, but more often than not we do have a pretty good sense of where we excel. We do it well. Discerning people tell us so. Better yet, really picky people, hard to impress people, tell us so. You do it and it seems to bless people and honor God. You have strength in it and it comes 'naturally'. What are you good at? So, as you look at a decision you need to ask: do I have the ability to do it well? Is it an opportunity to employ my giftedness? That doesn't mean your gift(s) is fully matured, or that you are world class yet. It just means you should have a sense that you could take that road because you would be able to accomplish its purposes well. It means you would be using your gifts there. So far we have, then, inclination and ability as two crucial guideposts.

Finally, numero tres, opportunity -- where are the open doors. You can have all the desire in the world and all the ability in the world, but if God does not open a door, it is not his will. But, an open door is not an invitation if you don't have the ability to do well on the other side and certainly means little to you if you have no desire to go through it. That is where it is very important to recognize that all three elements have to come together: inclination, ability, and opportunity.

Illustration: a job. You, especially you seniors, are looking for something productive to do with your lives and something to put food on the table as well. Let me say it better: we should all be wanting to serve our God in a mission called gospel promotion in some capacity. But where? How? You need to look for a missional job. The first thing you are probably going to do is narrow the field by way of how your studies have prepared you and aligned you, and this inherently involves inclination and ability already. Now, you look for opportunities. In time opportunities will present themselves and then you narrow more by reflecting on your inclination and ability further. Then after interviews and such the field will narrow more as some doors will close and other remain open. By this time you have open doors and you are there because you think you are able to do any of the options. So now ask yourself the straightforward question: which door do I like the best? Again, assuming spiritual health (which you should have whatever the case may be) you can trust that desire to be bathed in Scripture, wisdom, and the work of the Holy Spirit -- then proceed. That's it.

Inclination, ability, and opportunity. Straightforward, but sometimes complex. Folks, it really boils down to the underlying assumption of your spiritual health. If you are walking closely with Jesus, what the writer of the Proverb calls acknowledging him in all your ways, He will make your paths straight -- that is, according to his perfect plan as he guides your life by his good hand. Put another way, the path is already laid out. Your job is to walk it with the right attitude and spirit. Your most important navigation point is Scripture. Your reason, traditions, experience, and affections will follow suit. Pursue Jesus with all your life, and then simply ask yourself the questions: what do I want, what am I good at, and what are the open doors before me?

Talk to me if you want to unpack it more. But, when I encountered that tripod of truth, it liberated me to the nth degree in making decisions for God's glory. I hope it serves you well, too.

- Pastor Jay