Trusting God in the Unexpected

by Faith Schiller

Day 1: Why Doesn't God Tell Me Exactly What To Do?

Have you ever wondered what God wants you to do in a given situation? Maybe you’ve asked God to make it clear which job to take, what college to attend, or even who to spend your life with. Some of us are highly motivated to make the right decisions, while the rest of us just want to avoid making the wrong decision, especially when it comes to something that will impact the rest of our lives. But, all of this worry rests on the assumption that every decision has a wrong and a right. Most of us operate as if there is an incredibly detailed recipe for our lives, and it's our job to follow it step by step, right?

Since the very beginning, God invited humans into creative work by giving them choices, freedom, and personal agency. We see it when God invites humans to be fruitful and multiply, we see it when Adam names the animals, and we see it again when God tells the first humans they can eat from any tree in the garden except one. God intentionally designed humans with the capacity to make choices. Sometimes, the choices are right and wrong, but more often than not, our choices are simply options, and it's up to us to decide what we want.

God didn't create you to be a robot following a step-by-step instruction manual on how to live the perfect life. God created you to be unique, with preferences, styles, tastes, interests, and gifts. He invites you into the creative work of designing and building your own life by giving you choices and options, but He’s not trying to trick you into making a wrong choice. God gives us guides and guardrails for our lives, which we’ll talk about later, but for now, consider what an incredible gift choice actually is.

God loves that you prefer certain flavors of food and have a favorite color. God cares about your special interests and that you want one job more than another. God has given you a life filled with choices, most of which are up to you. It might feel overwhelming, but wouldn’t we instead design our own life recipe rather than have no options at all? Look at this short film called Season to Taste and reflect on the invitation God has given us to flavor our own lives.

Take a moment to watch this video, "Season to Taste":