Sometimes you don’t know which way to turn.
And it seems like the God of the universe, who knows everything and exists outside of time and space, would be happy to tell you.
Indeed, he says,
“I will instruct you and teach you
in the way you should go;
I will guide you with My eye.”Psalm 32:8 NKJV
and
Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying,
“This is the way, walk in it,”
Whenever you turn to the right hand
Or whenever you turn to the left.Isaiah 30:21 NKJV
And yet. AND YET!
It is still often difficult to discern which way we should go.
Why is this?
The Sovereignty of God
A great portion of my 2025 has been exploring this. What are the mechanisms available to us as believers for discernment? I have written about this a lot on this blog.
One thing I find very odd is that you can be praying, pleading for the voice of the Lord in one area of your life, while in a completely unrelated area, he is speaking loud and clear. Even sending prophets to confirm the word to you!
And I say, “Yes, thank you, Lord, but what about this matter?”
It’s almost like he is showing me that he is…sovereign.
And that is the word that I have grappled with as well. What does it mean to serve and love and be in relationship with a sovereign God?
The definition of sovereign is the adjective sovereign, meaning: “of the most exalted kind: supreme” or the noun sovereign, “one possessing or held to possess supreme political power or sovereignty”
So it has to do with ultimate power and independence, which is the truth about God: he has absolute power and independence.
And yet, he chooses to give us free will to disobey him. And also to make our own decisions. This tension of free will and God’s sovereignty is where the scriptures get muddled up for me, and life is lived. How much is too much free will?
A lot of the time, I find my prayer being like the title of this post, “God, just tell me what to do!” And I sense the Holy Spirit, always gently, saying, “That’s not how this works.” Then he throws in this very comforting and very mind-boggling truth:
I am with you either way.
How Lord? The choices are so different! Path A and Path B are divergent. What if I choose the wrong one?
There is no wrong path.
Which, now, I begin to wonder if I’m talking to Yoda or God. But if you think about it, it’s true. It’s that sovereignty thing again. If he’s above time, space, and wholly independent, then whatever we do doesn’t matter, right? Now I’m slipping into nihilism.
So, it does matter?
Yes.
Because even if things go “wrong,” God can still redeem them. And also, if something is broken beyond repair, he has one last ace up his sleeve: he is with you, and he gives beauty for ashes.
And that is where my heart has come to rest. On the truth that God is with me. And maybe that is what I need to focus on instead of the path. I’ve written before how sometimes God just wants us to wait on him, but this often means letting go of the matter and resting in the truth that he is…sovereign.
How do you deal with forks in your road?
Dear Jesus,
You are our Sovereign Savior.
And yet you gave it all up to face the cross.
You even asked God if there was another way,
But taught us to say
“Not my will, but your will be done.”
Lord, teach us to follow God’s will when we can’t discern it.
Order our steps to fall in line with what you want for us.
In Jesus name,
Amen