What to Do When You Don't Know What to Do

READ: PSALM 32:8-11; PHILIPPIANS 4:6-7; 1 THESSALONIANS 5:16-18; JAMES 1:2-8

For as long as I could remember, I wanted to be a police officer. During my senior year, I was accepted into one of the best law enforcement programs in the country, but I was experiencing something I had never experienced about my future plans: doubt.

I had just finished my first summer working at a camp, and I saw God do some incredible things. Prior to camp, I barely believed that there was a God, let alone tried to live for Him, but after camp everything changed. Jesus had drastically changed my heart in those eight short weeks. I even felt like He was leading me to pursue ministry after high school! But that forced me to ask a difficult question: “What about my dreams of being a police officer?”

I was torn. Do I do what I’ve always wanted to do, or do I pursue something I know nothing about? I thought. What do you do when you don’t know what to do? For starters, I called my youth pastor and asked for his help. He advised, “Pray for wide-open doors or doors to be slammed in your face. If you think a door is open, walk through it. If you feel peace about it, keep walking.”

When we don’t know what to do, we can ask God for wisdom, guidance, and opportunities: open doors and closed doors (if you’re stubborn like me, you may also need doors to slam in your face). Most importantly, we can listen for answers. When I began to ask God for direction in this situation, I immediately realized that I was seeking MY plan for my career, not HIS plan. When I asked what His plan was, everything started to become clear.

In life, we are faced with challenging circumstances and difficult decisions all the time. In his letter to the early church, James confirms this almost immediately and tells us how to respond: with joy! James tells us that God uses these trials to strengthen our faith, and if we lack wisdom, we can ask God and He will give it to us generously! If we’ve put our trust in Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, His Holy Spirit is in us, providing a never-ending source of wisdom. God is waiting for us to ask for His guidance and direction. When I started to pray for HIS plan rather than MY plan, doors started opening and peace was flowing! • Hunter Taylor

• While God calls some of us into ministry careers, He also calls many of us to follow Him in different ways. How might the gospel shape the way we view the future and make decisions (Matthew 6:33)?

Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God—who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly—and it will be given to him. James 1:5 (CSB)