Our family was contemplating a move! There would be a new city, new schools, new friends, and new jobs. Change screamed at us from all aspects of this choice. Some of the transitions we could embrace heartily and with anticipation. Others would be more difficult.
Being God’s children, we knew he had a plan for our lives. Did it include this move, this change? We were having a hard time figuring that out. Was this an opportunity from the hand of God? If it was, then we did not want to miss what he had in store for us. Could we know his will for our lives for sure?
As I prayed and pleaded with God to reveal his will, I saw an old verse in a new way.
“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).
As I pondered these verses, I saw that if I know nothing else of God’s will, I do know these three things. I was to be joyful, prayerful, and thankful! I realized that the perplexity of my wondering had all but stopped these things in my life. I hadn’t been joyful; I had been fearful and anxious. I prayed, but as God seemed silent on the matter, my prayers were dwindling. And thankful! The attitude of gratitude had been hard to maintain as I worried about making the right choice.
I had a decision to make. I could continue to stew about what God’s will was, or I could embrace what I already knew was his will straight from his Word.
Over time, the path before us straightened out and the way became clear. God showed me that he was more interested in my internal state than in my external location. Once I gained his perspective, peace settled into my soul. He opened and closed the right doors.