When You Need Answers

Have you ever been unsure about a decision you need to make?

Have you ever found yourself looking at two or more options and thinking,

“I just don’t know what to do.”

 

I’ve found myself at crossroads like this time and time again in my life,

and here’s what I’ve slowly learned.

 

On my own, I am a waffling mess.

I can make lists of pros and cons about almost any tough choice.

I can change my mind more often than a traffic light moves from green to yellow to red.

 

However, when I give my options to God and ask Him to lead me,

something happens.

 

Suddenly, phone calls come from unexpected people affirming something they didn’t even know I was wrestling with internally.

I read something in the Bible that clarifies that I am on the right track.

I run into an old friend at the store and in the midst of our conversation something is said that speaks right into my place of questioning.

Eventually, I begin to feel no peace with one decision and lots of peace with the other one.

 

Sometimes I make a decision that totally goes against what my heart was hoping for; and along the way, I begin to wonder if I did the right thing.

I second-guess where I’m at and think, “Did I really follow God’s lead?”

And in my time of doubting, God steps in again and gently reminds me that, “Yes, I am where I need to be for this season of my life.”

He may do this by allowing me to share His love with someone who I never would have encountered had I not made the specific choice or

He may simply put someone in my path who acknowledges that my presence makes a difference.

 

 

I say all of that to say this:

When you turn to God with your questions and then trust Him to respond in whatever way He chooses,

He will answer.

 

It may be a quick answer like the time I was sitting in our back yard pouring my heart out to God about a tough decision and while I was praying my phone rang and it was someone who normally never calls me but was the only person in the world who could have spoken into that time of questioning with the answer I needed.

 

Or

 

It may be years before your answer comes.

 

If you wrap your mind just a little bit around God’s wisdom, you begin to realize that it’s not really the answers that we need.

 

It’s Him that we need.

 

So, in a way, I think life will always be filled with new questions and new decisions.

Why?

 

Because if we had all the answers, we wouldn’t need the One who has the power to answer them all.

 

When children are born, they need someone to feed them, teach them, love them, and guide them.

They are dependent on adults to carry them everywhere they go.

They have no voice to express their needs other than a cry.

 

What if our relationship with God was like this?

We cry out.

He answers.

 

I think it just might be that simple.

 

I think God longs to meet our every need and answer our next question.

 

So, today, if you find yourself unsure about something, try this.

Pour out everything to God.

The good, the bad, and the ugly.

 

Then, keep stepping forward in faith trusting God to send the right people, the right phone calls, the right Scriptures, and the right signs.

 

When you get your answer, continue walking faithfully with Him.

Remember though, that along the way new questions will arise,

but as you constantly turn to Him for the next answer, the next decision, the next step,

you will find yourself feeling a peace that passes earthly understanding.

Psalm 40:1-3

 

I waited patiently for the Lord;

he turned to me and heard my cry.

He lifted me out of the slimy pit,

out of the mud and mire;

he set my feet on a rock

and gave me a firm place to stand.

 He put a new song in my mouth,

a hymn of praise to our God.

Many will see and fear the Lord

and put their trust in him.