What To Do?

Today’s guest post comes from Carley Evenson, one of an excellent class of students from Bethel Seminary who recently studied the intersection between faith, vocation and work.

I have been waiting for God to send me the pristine, professional and beautiful PowerPoint slideshow, with perfectly timed music in the background and an accompanying map of my life and His will for it, preferably quite detailed and specific. Silly me, apparently he does not work that way. My type-A planner-personality would like him to, but thankfully, God does not conform to my wishes. Rather, I strive to conform to his. Now, if I could just figure out what the specifics of those are….

“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.

And what does the Lord require of you?

To act justly and to love mercy

                                    and to walk humbly with your God.” – Micah 6:8

The first time I read that verse I thought, “Really? It’s that simple? There has got to be more that God wants from me!” And in a sense there is more to that- the development of a biblical worldview, careful consideration and prayer in decision making, seeking wise counsel of those who know you- all of these are wonderful things in discerning what God has called you to do. But simplicity- ponder that concept. God often chooses to operate in the simple and use the simple to do his work. He chooses the ill-prepared, the broken, the hurting, the outcast, and the simple. He does incredible, beyond amazing things in simple ways. Save humanity- how? A child born in truly, the simplest of places. It is people who complicate things. We agonize over every tiny decision, anxiety-filled, wondering if we are following God’s perfect will for our lives.

I would like to submit that God simply desires for us to cultivate a relationship with him, listen to his voice when he chooses to speak and operate in faith based on a scriptural worldview when he chooses to remain silent. Simple? Yes, but not quite. Embrace living in the tension of that.

You do not need to have your life figured out. Moses did not encounter God in the burning bush until he was forty years old. There are numerous biblical examples of people older than that. So relax. Don’t take on the pressure placed on you by culture, parents, relatives, and peers to be seen as “successful”. And don’t put that pressure on yourself. God speaks in the trials of life. God refines you through life; so relax. Live simply. Act justly. Love mercy. And walk humbly with your God.