Disappointment and Guidance

Have you been counseled to pray before making a decision?  In praying, do you expect God to give you clear direction on what to do?  Friends, there’s something good here, but don’t fall into the trap of loving the wrong thing.  If you pray about decisions and ask God for wisdom, he’ll give you something you might not have expected.

Again, my comments will follow the pattern I explained in a previous post.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
And he will make straight your paths (Prov 3:5-6, ESV).

Command: Trust God, not yourself.

Consequence: Straight paths.

Our meager expectation: Fervent prayers give clear direction from God for any decision.

God’s unbelievable reward: himself.  Those who seek God will find him.  “Trust in the Lord” and “do not lean on your own understanding” could be summarized as “fear the Lord,” which is the first step on the path of wisdom (Prov 1:7).  The path of wisdom leads to God himself (Prov 2:5-8).  So when God promises to “make straight your paths,” he offers to remove any obstacles that keep you from him.  He’ll make himself available.  He’ll loosen your yoke and lighten your burden.  He will be your God.

Echoes: To give a picture of this straight path, God spoke to the fathers by the prophets at many times and in many ways (Gen 15:1, 37:5, Ex 3:2, Jdg 20:18, 23, etc.).  But the essence of the reward is not about communication from God.  If you expect God to speak clearly every time you ask for help, you will be disappointed.

“Anvil and Hammer” by fauxto_digit (2008), shared under a Creative Commons Attribution license

Essence: Jesus cried out to God and was forsaken (Matt 27:46) so we who seek would find him (Matt 7:7-11).  Sometimes God doesn’t give what we ask (2 Cor 12:7-8) so we might learn to ask for more of him instead (2 Cor 12:9-10).  When we ask God to draw us closer to him, he will never say “No” (Jas 4:8).  Raymond Ortlund describes this process: “Wisdom is the gospel of Christ reshaping us for royalty, as God places us on his anvil and we trust him enough to stay there until his work is done.”[1]