Settling the Unsettled Issues

How long will you hesitate between two opinions? I Kings 18:21

This question has been on my mind since yesterday. Elijah is asking a question to the nation Israel in regards to whom they are choosing to worship. But the question is multi layered for me. For I know all too well the frustration that comes when issues are unsettled in my mind. James says it is like being driven by the waves and tossed. The tossing of our souls can be draining.
I have found it does not work to base my beliefs on any issue according to public opinion or my own emotions. It is too unsettling.

As a young Christian I really wanted to know how to live my Christian life. I wanted to know what I should and should not be doing. This entailed what I should believe, how I should act, where I should go, how I should dress, etc… I would have been more than happy to be given a list of does and don’ts on paper. But since that wasn’t an option I learned to watch people and listen. What they said and did became my basis for what I said and did. It felt safe. If it worked for them it would work for me. I need guidelines as a teenager and examples abounded within my church. Someone once told me to let God and His Word guide me in this area, but that seemed too hard. It was easier for me to just let people be my teachers.

What I did not realize as a teenager and continued to miss as an adult was that in looking to people to define my Christian life for me I was missing out on a necessary aspect of my relationship with God. It is His intent that I look to Him to give me direction and guidance in the daily decisions I must make. Those things I accept or reject in my life need to be based on what God says. Sometimes Scripture is very clear on an issue and sometimes we have basic principles to go by. But it is not always clear cut and there is much variety in the body of Christ. A former pastor of mine once said the Christian life is like a housing addition. Each house is built to code but then there is room for variety in the design and final look of the house.

That is what I was missing in my connection with God. When it comes to an issue that is not an absolute command in Scripture I need to be able to go to Him directly and allow Him to help me make up my mind.

Father, You have always been there waiting for me to turn to You, to ask You, to seek You, to follow You, to know You. I now do that! Amen.