Psalm 40:5 Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders you have done. The things you planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare.
I watched a movie today called "Sliding Doors" with Gwyneth Paltrow. The movie itself was nothing really to write home about - but the plot of the movie got me to thinking about something that has been plaguing my mind. The story begins with a woman who loses her job and as she leaves her office behind, she runs to catch the 'tube' (movie is based in England). In the one scenario, she misses the train - and then we rewind and see another scenario where she doesn't miss the train. In the path of her life where she catches the train, she meets a stranger and has a very casual conversation. She lets this man know that she lost her job and is headed home to her boyfriend. When she gets home she finds him in bed with another woman. She immediately leaves him and her life is played out where she again bumps into the stranger that she met on the train and they spend many happy days together enjoying each other's company and falling in love. In the other scenario, where she misses the train, she winds up getting mugged and going to the hospital and doesn't get home until after the woman with whom her boyfriend is sleeping with has left her apartment. Here her life plays out by being continually lied to and gets two part time jobs to support this guy who is cheating on her. A few months down the line, she does end up finding out that he was cheating on her and she leaves him, only to bump into the stranger she fell in love with in the other situation.
So in both scenarios, the end result was the same - she ended up with the new guy. When I look at all the different situations in life, the big ones and the small ones, the ones we fervently pray over and the ones we leave to our own best judgment, one question comes to mind: "Is this truly what God wanted for me?" When we hear people discuss parts of their life and they make the comment: "I feel this is where God is calling me" - how do they know? How can they be certain?
I took a Bible class not too long ago in hopes of getting a better understanding of this clarification of God's voice - discernment, if you will. While I felt like I wasn't getting anything that I didn't already know out of the class, I decided to raise my hand and ask - "What if I am wrong and that's not what God wanted me to do?" The answer that the leader of the class gave me was a good answer: "Do you not think, that our loving God, would guide you back to where He wanted you to be?" And while of course I do believe that to be true - how do you avoid the "months of working two jobs and living with a cheating liar" scenario? How can you be truly certain that it is God's voice you're hearing and not you're own? I know God has great things planned for us - the Bible tells us that - but Oh to have a burning bush.....
Would love to hear some stories on how you KNOW you've heard the voice of God:
