We have all probably been there. We are faced with a decision and one path seems like the “rational” choice, and yet after prayerful consideration, we believe that God is leading us in the other direction. It may not make sense to us, let alone to our friends or family, and yet we feel compelled to pursue this path of uncertainty. We may not see beyond the next step, and we definitely do not know what the end result will be, but we sense that this is the way the Holy Spirit desires us to go.
In these situations, I often find myself wondering why God doesn’t reveal more. Of course, He has been gracious to reveal as much as He has through His Word, but at times, it appears that following Him would be easier if we had a clearer sense of where He was leading. Perhaps if we could see what He was orchestrating, we would more confidently pursue it. Perhaps if we knew what the plan was, our hearts would be more inclined towards it. If we understood more, wouldn’t we follow better?
While all of this sounds good, I’ve come to believe that one of the reasons God may choose not to reveal all He has planned is because we would be tempted to follow the plan, rather than Him. If we had a greater sense of the work He was doing in and through us, we might become so focused on what He will accomplish, that we would neglect to bring glory to the One whose accomplishment it is. If we understood how the pieces fit together, we might think we could complete the puzzle without Him. In other words, sometimes God may call us to the path of least assurance because if we do not have confidence in the circumstance, it may cause us to increase our dependency on Him.
Of course, just because something is uncertain is by no means a clear indication that this is the path a Christian should pursue. We should dedicate our decisions to prayer, seek wise counsel and dive deep into His Word. At the same time, we mustn’t be afraid if the path that we are to walk is not completely revealed. It is enough to know the One who leads us, and to place our assurance not on the road that we see, but on the One who leads the way.
