Guidance for the future
I have just had a phone conversation with my son Tom who is a first year student at the University of Chicago. He was contemplating his future and he was thinking that he would like to be a writer living in the beautiful Welsh countryside. He had a wonderful vacation/holiday there a few years ago with his brother James and some of my family. The weather was unusually warm and sunny and he enjoyed playing cricket on the beach with his uncle, brother and grandfather. His grandmother made sure that the food was amazing and his great aunt Diana added to the fun by ensuring that they played games such as “Town, country, river” in the evenings. This game requires you to think of a town, a country, and so on using a specified letter. Tom’s general knowledge is much better than mine so this game makes him feel clever and worthwhile!
Tom’s future dreams, which will no doubt change in a few weeks, are influenced by a few days of past happiness. It is easy to make decisions based on similar experiences. A friend of my parents was also in love with Wales. He probably also experienced idyllic summer holidays and he determined that his wife and children would move to a beautiful remote location in Wales. He was unable to be there for much of the time as he was working in London during the week. He joined them in this supposed paradise for the weekends. I met the wife and kids once when they lived near my family in Hampshire, in the south of England, prior to their move to Wales. I don’t remember her name, but the mother was very sociable and a people person like myself. At the time I was a student, training to be a teacher and she asked me to read some Bible stories to her young kids, the one time that I met her: perhaps I had mentioned my new found Christian faith to her. I remember reading the children’s Bible to her lovely, young sons in her garden which was pretty and typically English: roses and a very green lawn thanks to plenty of rain.
My mother continued to mention this family occasionally. They moved to Wales but their lifestyle was not the buzz of extended family, games and nice weather that are typical of a week’s summer vacation. The loneliness was intense and the last I heard was the terrible news that the bubbly, friendly wife and mother had committed suicide. The beautiful countryside was not enough.
Today when I was speaking with Tom I advised him always to prayerfully consider what direction he should take in life. It is easy to run after dreams and to pursue a fantasy that can end in disaster. I assured Tom that heaven would be perfect but until then it is important to pray and to seek Jesus’ lead. I suggested that he should do something worthwhile and that he should not limit his decisions to a certain location or pay package. Of course we need to earn money but it should not be the main determiner of what we do and neither should the beauty of the location be the deciding factor.
Proverbs 3:5-6 offers words of wisdom: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” As humans we are easily influenced by experiences that are foolish. It is not only teenagers contemplating their future who need to seek God’s path. We all need His guidance. We are inclined to follow our hearts but the Bible warns us that our hearts can’t be trusted: “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9)
The verses preceding verse 9 in this chapter in the book of Jeremiah illustrate the difference between the man or woman who trusts God and those who trust man for direction. I suggest that you read Jeremiah chapter 17 verses 5-9. The one depending on man’s guidance will be “like a bush in the wastelands”, whereas the person who trusts in the Lord is in a much safer place: “He will will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”
If we seek God’s direction for our lives through prayer, Bible study and speaking with Christians who are mature in their faith, we will be shown the right path. This might not look picturesque and it might not be very profitable, but if it is God’s will, it will be a place where we will “bear fruit” for we will be relying on Jesus. He will satisfy us even if life is hard. The woman I met briefly was “like a bush in the wastelands” as her husband followed his heart. I feel certain that he did not seek God’s direction or seek the opinion of his wife. May this sad situation remind us to seek Jesus’ wisdom rather than following our hearts. Our hearts are deceitful.
www.WomenRespond.com
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very, very true! Sometimes it’s hard t to give up our own “heart yearnings” and actually Trust Jesus to lead us. We have to want what He wants and even though it may go against all “common sense” we may find all our heart longings fulfilled!
Sian – this is so true and thought provoking. I remember hearing a preacher say that he had seen Christians pray and pray for something – wanting to be faithful to God’s will – then something would come along and they became secretive – not seeking God’s will, not inquiring of God, not coming to the pastor for guidance – depending on their own “wisdom” or “folly” — making a terrible decision and then life feel apart. They had made a decision without inquiring of God, maybe realizing it wasn’t God’s will- but depending on sinful fleshly desires. Desperation.
I don’t blame Tom for the dream. I also had a dream like that – it was packing up my car and coming to California – at 21 years of age. I had had the same wonderful experiences growning up visiting relatives and the beach. While I can not say it wasn’t God’s will leaving home, I thought my will was God’s will – and He had to watch my back every minute of the day! Because we are given a dream – a longing, many times we forget that God has given us that dream…but earthly reality never equals God’s dreams. Could it be dreams are a foretaste of heaven? If we remember that, it will enable us to live the Colossians 3 life, setting our minds on things above.