How Do I Get To Oz?

So many times when we are trying to figure out God's will for our lives, we feel like Dorothy asking the scarecrow how to get to Oz. We get no further in clarifying the decision that ought to be made than Dorothy got in her answer from the scarecrow. We pray, we ask advice from friends, we get the big yellow legal pad and make our list of pros and cons, and still we are left scratching our heads. Is there way to really know God's will?

This Sunday (September 12th) I'm beginning a series on Discovering God's Will. In my preparation for this series, I have personally discovered two truths that make a huge difference in how I view God's will for my life: 1) God loves me more than I can possibly understand, and wants me to know His will for my life even more than I want to know it, and 2) God's purpose in my life is to get me to do the things that I don't necessarily want to do in order to become the person I want to be. In other words, I may think that His will is not the best for me, but God, in his infinite wisdom, understands the entire context of my situation, knows the outcome of every decision, and ultimately wants to lead me to the place I really want and need to be.

Those two truths are incredibly freeing. God wants me to know His will more than I want to know it makes my struggle to discover His will less burdensome. And, the fact that whatever His will is for my life is the place that ultimately I want and need to go means that I can trust His leading even when it doesn't make sense. Life becomes easier with a guide like that. Sure beats the heck out asking the scarecrow!