God’s will is a little messy

If you grew up a Christian kid, I’m sure you’ve heard of God’s will. That God had a path for you and you have to use some crazy discerning and deciphering skills to figure out what His will can possibly be.

Growing up, I was led to believe there would always be a "right" path in front of me. That one path would be God’s will, and the others, well, weren’t.

And obviously, if things went wrong, you had chosen the way directly out of God’s will, and unfortunately for you, you were f’ed.

I’ve spent a lot of time being anxious about the magic of God’s will. I wondered long and hard about whether the decisions I make in the present will take me up the right ladder, or fall like a frantic loser down the chutes of life.

Here’s the truth— God’s will is messy as hell. It’s not easy, it rarely feels good, and most of the time, it’s gray and never perfectly wrapped in a bow.

If you’re spending your time living through complex and difficult seasons, wondering what you did wrong to end up on the "wrong side of God’s will," you’ve likely wasted your time.

The truth is, God is with you no matter what turn you take. Sometimes those turns can feel like you’re on a mountain top. You got it going on— things are easy, breezy — and you feel like you can do anything.

Other times, nothing makes sense. Your bank account is empty, you get laid off from a job, you have relational issues. You’re struggling to make sense of why nothing seems to add up or work out for you.

In all these moments, good, bad, and in between — God is using all of it to work it out for your good. And if we’re just patient enough to trust Him, in all of those moments, He will teach you something.

Life will always be complicated, and oftentimes, more complex than the situations you faced before.

But, God is with you. Always. Even when you mess up, even when you don’t know what to do, and especially when you don’t have all the answers.

Maybe all God is asking us to do is live presently and do our best. To make decisions that help us feel like we have to trust Him when things are messy.

To declare that we simply need Him.

Every great thing I’ve walked through has always been a little complicated. I’m currently navigating this as we walk through a season of financial tightness— watching a recession literally unfolding right before our eyes.

I don’t understand it.

But I’m learning to trust the very almost, inaudible voice of God as I look at the world around me and wonder how I am going to get through to the next step.

It’s almost like I can’t hear him sometimes, but then, in the loud chaos of all the anxiety and worry I want to hear, I hear Jesus telling me to trust Him, to lean in a bit more, to do my best with what I have in front of me, to know He’ll work it out.

So much easier said than done right? To trust that He can actually work it out?

But He can. And He will. And He’s done it before. And he’ll do it again.