When You Wish God Would Tell You What To Do
“I wish God would just tell me what to do.”
“What are you wanting to teach me right now through all of this?”
“Should I say yes to this or this?
“Do we stay or go?”
We pray for a sign, a scripture, something to give us clarity at a crossroads. Can’t God just tell us what to do? If God told nothing to become something in the Genesis creation story, perhaps he has, as Saint Augustine a Christian philosopher calls it, a “divine imperative” for us as well.
When you wish God would tell you what to do, perhaps one of these divine imperatives will speak to your heart and help you rest or take the next step with clarity.
Let there be light.
We long for light to see what surrounds and to reveal what lies ahead. The darkness of my doubts and worries cast shadow on the joys of my everyday life. What if’s and what will be’s crowd my mind as I contemplate how our family is changing, how my body is aging, and why so many are suffering incessantly in this season.
The first divine imperative God gives in Genesis 1:3 is, “Let there be light”, and immediately scripture says there was light. Before that command, there was simply darkness. An expanse of nothing, yet it’s worth noting even in the darkness the Spirit of God hovered near.
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness.” (Genesis 1:1-4 ESV)
So I wonder today, what area of your life is hidden in the shadows of doubt and darkness that needs the light of God to shine upon it? Is there a sin that needs confessing, a relationship that needs forgiving, or an issue that needs surrendering? Perhaps it’s simply a corner of confusion that needs clarity, so that you can faithfully discern the way forward?
>> Pray this divine imperative over your life this week and allow the light of Truth to shine brightly, assured that God is there even in the dark.
Go.
Recently, prayers for God to help our family discern whether to stay or to go have dominated our evening hours and morning meditation. My husband and I desire to know God’s heart for the next steps in our family. Our hearts have wrestled through some difficult decisions while waiting on the heart of God to help make the timing clear. Perhaps you can relate.
I tend to think about Abraham during moments like this, when God called him after he felt settled and comfortable in his home town to pick up and go somewhere else.
“Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.” (Genesis 12:1)
Yes, God may be leading us somewhere else geographically, but many times he may simply be calling us out of the comfortable into surrender. Usually it is something different, scary, and uncertain. I’ve experienced this call several times in my life. Despite his provision and faithfulness, the new remains unsettling to say the least.
Is God asking you to go? Is he asking you to say goodbye to the familiar? Good news. If He is calling you to something new, it will be worth it.
>> Listen if God is telling you to go this week and know that God will be with you as you make the next move.
Be still.
This season has gifted me moments on the shore, looking at water and reflecting on the timely reminders of God’s steadfast love washing up in waves. Life has also rocked me lately with unexpected challenges mentally and physically. So much so, that I’ve felt an unsteadiness in my spirit as I plead with God to still the fears in my heart.
I feel tired, and I’m seeking calm.
My mind drifts to the passage of scripture where the disciples are in the boat with Jesus as a massive storm threatens to consume them. The disciples, filled with fear, cried out to the Lord questioning his delay in answering their pleas.
“And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he [Jesus] was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” (Mark 4:37–41)
Jesus commands in this divine imperative for the storm to “be still”. Immediately there was calm, yes, but do you also notice that the disciples were filled with great fear at the authority of the living God?Where in your life do you need to exchange your fear of circumstances and health for the awe and wonder at the Almighty God who is in control of all things? I can think of a few areas for me. And I’m wondering what calm I can take with me this week as I remember in the midst of uneasy, that God is capable of providing calm.
>> Pray for God to whisper this divine imperative over the great storms in your life and watch as he gives you a still heart in the waiting.
Love Me.
“And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment.” (Matthew 22:37–38)
We see how God spoke divine imperatives to nature and saints in scripture, and they obeyed immediately (well, most of the time). Then the commandment placed above all others is given in this passage above where God commands our greatest affections to be centered upon him.
With so many vying desires in this life, it’s amazing God knew how difficult it would be to place the whole of our love on him first. He also doesn’t forget our mind here. You hear this regularly around here, but the order matters.
It’s not that we can’t love other things, even his gifts, but not before him. I wonder what attending to this divine imperative this week looks like for you. Are there created things receiving your affections, your time, your money over him? Have you noticed your thoughts dwelling on promises of the world over the Word?
>> Ask God to show you what you can say no to this week, so that you can pursue a love of him more fully with your heart, soul, and mind.
Love them.
“And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37–38)
Gulp. The divine imperatives keep coming. The order of our affections matter because we know that we cannot love others well if our desires are not centered on God’s love. We literally counterfeit love for others when it’s not an overflow of our love for God. We need God’s help to do it.
I’m aware how often I misplace the order here. I love others so that I can receive the love I desire in return and when I’m hurt, offended, or frustrated I blame God. But, God doesn’t promise to meet all of our needs through others, He calls us to love them and to find our greatest needs met through his love.
The command to love our neighbors, including our enemies, is astounding, but possible. So, who is your enemy?
In our attempt to live holy, righteous lives, sometimes we get stuck on placing the blame on others so that it excuses us out of loving them. But, God still commands love both for the neighbor who returns the favor and the one who throws insults.
>> Pray God would infuse your heart with a supernatural ability to love others and watch as it keeps your heart open to receive the love of God in fuller measure.
