God and Decision Making II

As I have thought about my last post, I realize how much I come to God to tell me what to do because that will be the best outcome for me. So when He is not giving me direct guidance, I will then look for that guidance in circumstances and impressions. That starts to feel like I have to be a good detective to figure out how God is directing me. And I have a hard time understanding why God would want to tell me what to do in that convoluted manner.

It reminds me of people seeking counsel. Some people seek out those who they think are wise in order to be told what to do. Those who are happy to play that role will usually attract people who want their advice and direction. And these people can become dependent on them for their advice. But good counselors are trained not to operate in that way. They are trained to help clients to make their own decisions. The best counselors interact with their clients in ways that make them less and less dependent on needing their counsel. But these counselors will be frustrating for people who are coming to them to be told what to do.

I think we come to God to be told what to do. This makes sense to us because He is wise and all knowing, so He knows best what we should do. He is also Lord and we are supposed to obey Him. So a relationship where we come to Him to be told what to do, and then obey, seems spiritually correct.

But I am thinking more and more that most of the time God wants to play the role of the trained counselor and not tell us what to do. When Paul prays for the Colossians, he does not use language of listening and obeying, but rather growing in wisdom and understanding. ‘we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.’ Col 1:9-10

And in Romans 12:2 Paul writes to be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. This sounds more like becoming a godly decision maker than it sounds like hearing and obeying the voice of the Lord for every situation.

If it is true that most of the time God wants to be a good counselor, but we are looking to Him to tell us what to do, then we are not on the same page with God. This could lead to some poor decision making in His name. And it will also cause us to struggle with feeling like God is present in our lives. We might complain that God is not showing up when He is in fact showing up, but not in the way that we expect or want Him to.