Right Lane, Wrong Way

I consider myself a good driver. You may not, but I wasn't really asking.

At least I consider myself a good driver when nobody's in the car with me. For some reason, the moment a passenger steps in the car, I suddenly rely on them for direction and I end up getting flustered and confused without much effort. I don't know why this happens, but it does. If nobody is in the car with me, I do fine. I just go along, follow directions, and I get where I'm going.

I'm going to tell two stories real quick, and, as the best stories often do, they involve road trips.

First, let me tell you the story of our romp in Dallas. My friends and I had gone to Shreveport to see Georgia play Texas A&M for the Independence Bowl (Dawgs won), but we got there a couple days early and decided to keep on moving down the road because...surprise...there's nothing to do in Shreveport except gamble and eat casino buffet food (which is fantastic).

So we're in Dallas driving around and we have no idea where we're going or why we're going there. Keep in mind, this was after we were nearly murdered at Dealey Plaza (things I have in common with JFK...sorta). So we're driving and, long story short, I end up accidentally turning into the wrong lane of traffic. I had somehow mistakenly turned one road early on a turn lane and ended up in the wrong lane. I still have no idea how that happened, to be honest. It was a scary couple of seconds, but we got back in the right lane of a divided highway no problem. I know Rylan, Andrew and Todd are still glad to be alive after that one.

My next story also involves Todd (although similar versions of this have happened with just about everyone I've driven around). We were on our way to see Garth Brooks in Nashville when we come up to a road where I'm not sure which direction I need to be going. Well Todd is holding the GPS, so he's supposed to be directing me. I ask him, "Which direction do I go?"

He says, "Go right."

I say again, "Todd. Which direction do I go! They're both right!"

He says again, "Go right!"

By this point, I'm furious and confused, just like any time someone gave me clothes at Christmas when I was a kid. I eventually grab the GPS out of Todd's hand and discover that I want to take the North exit for the interstate, not the South one, which was the question I needed answered in the first place...Todd. I would also be remiss if I didn't admit that Dana and Rylan were in the car with me for this trip, too, and can attest to the absurdity of that moment.

It gets worse, though. About a week or so later, a few of us are driving around in Memphis to see Georgia play UCF in the Liberty Bowl (I don't want to talk about it). This time, for whatever stupid reason, Todd was once again directing me where to go. Once again, we had the same absurd exchange. Once again, Andrew was witness to my frustrated driving. Sorry.

The reason I throw Todd under the bus is this. It was very clear very quick that I was in the wrong lane of traffic. I mean, it was painfully obvious. It's not normal to look ahead at a red light and see cars staring you down in the same lane, or at least it isn't unless you've been visiting Little Britain.

Then again, had I made the wrong turn onto the interstate and taken the route north instead of the route south, it could have taken a while before I realized I was going the wrong way. I have actually driven the wrong direction more than once before getting a few miles down the road and realizing that I had made a mistake.

No question plagues the mind of Christian young adults and college students today more than, "What is God's will for my life?" If we're being honest, many not as young adults would probably agree that they still struggle with this question, though maybe they're no longer in a place spiritually or emotionally where they feel like it's really appropriate to ask such a question.

The answer to God's will for our lives has two parts. First, there's the path often described as the "straight and narrow." Observe:

Matthew 7:13-14 (NLT)

¹³You can enter God's Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to Hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. ¹⁴ But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.

God clearly wants us to follow the road to life. God wants us to follow His commands and live according to His laws. While we may disagree on certain aspects of Scripture and what parts of the old and new covenant apply to us today, most of us who identify as Christians and actually intend to live by the Word of God have an idea of when we are following the wrong path. We can tell when we are living in a way that is contrary to God's love and His commands, right?

But we all know what people are really asking when they say, "What's God's will for my life?" Again, it first comes down to trusting in Christ and following Him, living by His commands and obeying His Word, but then it comes down to something more difficult to ascertain: what does God want me to do?

In that regard, the original question is a bit flawed. We put the onus back on God here by asking what He wants. Yes, it's good that we care about God's plan and that we seek out His will, but that's not what we really want. We want answers. We want God to just tell us what decisions to make.

Unfortunately, God gave us free will. The whole point is that we make our own decisions. Just like I blamed Todd for my near mistakes earlier simply because he was holding the GPS (which I still do blame you for), we put God in the potential blame seat. The real question we ought to be asking is "What should I do for you, God?" It's a subtle difference, but I thrive on subtle differences. When we ask what we should do for God, that puts the requirement back on us. Yes, we need God's leadership and guidance, but the responsibility to act is on us. The buck is back in our court, so to speak.

While it can be pretty obvious from a distance whether or not a decision is a good thing and keeps us on the "straight and narrow," it can be much less obvious when we are making good decisions but following the wrong path. Sometimes Christians make this mistake in dating and relationships. We think that just because someone is also a believer that it should work no matter what. I know a lot of great Christian women in this world, but I couldn't be married to most of them. To be even more specific, I could only be married to one of them: my wife. I love her, and she is a Christian, but there's more to our relationship than that one thing we share. While our faith is a vital point of agreement between us, that's not the only thing. She had to be the right woman, not just a good one. I had to be the right man, not just a good one.

We can do the same thing with our job or our college or any number of big or middle-sized decisions. We think that any move we make has to be the right move because we follow God. If it's not a sin, it's okay. As long as I'm not dealing drugs or selling children into third-world slavery, I'm doing okay. As long as I go to a Christian college as long as I'm working in ministry, I must be doing right.

It comes down to the difference between accuracy and correctness. Have you ever seen someone put a basketball through the wrong hoop during a game? I have, and it's both hilarious and depressing. They made an accurate shot, sure, but it was still wrong.

I have been in situations where I knew I was right where God wanted me and I was doing exactly what I should, and it was great. I have also been in situations where I was doing something that was morally good, but it wasn't really where God wanted me to be. How could I tell, you ask? Why, because that's kind of the premise of this post and it's taken me the better part of 1,000+ words to get there? Okay. Fine. I'll tell you.

But first, let me tell you what isn't the way to know. Some folks think that if they're happy, they must be in God's good graces. Some folks even think that if they see God moving and working, they must be where they're supposed to be. Now some people may take umbrage with what I'm about to say, but I still believe it to be true. Just because you are happy, and just because you see God work in someone's life, that doesn't mean you're following the right path.

After all, didn't God even use Jonah's storm to show His power to a group of sailors who eventually proclaimed Him as the one, true God? Clearly Jonah was going the wrong direction. He was intentionally going opposite the direction that God had called him to, yet God used that experience for His glory.

Just because we see God move in a situation, that doesn't always make it the right place for us to be. That just means that God won't waste our mistakes. Rather, He will still find a way to use them, even if the benefit is not what it could be with our full obedience.

Happiness isn't really enough of an indicator, either. After all, I'm sure folks on the Titanic were having a grand old time right up until they hit an iceberg.

No, what really tells us whether or not we are following God's designated path for our lives is peace. When we are living in full compliance with the life that God has prepared us for, both morally and directionally, there is peace.

Philippians 4:6-7 (NLT)

⁶Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. ⁷ Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

God's peace is the greatest indicator that we're following in the path that He has laid before us. If we are living without that peace, then we are probably either violating God's moral commands for the Christian life or we are following a path that is not what He made us for. God is the only perfect craftsman, and He made each and every one of us for a specific purpose. When we are fulfilling that purpose, we will know His peace.

Now that doesn't mean that everything wrong in life happens because we are outside of God's will. No. Not at all. In fact, it is quite the opposite. Sometimes, God will prepare us for the struggles in life through the path He has planned for us. Just as happiness and seeing God move are not automatically valid indicators that we are following God's plan, pain and suffering are not necessarily signs that we are living outside of God's will.

At the same time, God's path for us is rarely static. Instead, He has laid before most of us a fluid, dynamic path that will see shifts and changes in direction over time. A certain activity could be right for us one day and wrong the next, and God will let us know that. If we lose that peace, it may be God's way of alerting us to a bend in the road. We need to change direction to keep following the right road.

The truth is, God's will is complicated. If we could understand it, we would be God. The best we can do is follow the steps and listen for God's voice to deliver us in the right direction. His peace will guide us in the way that we should go, and it will surely do a far sight better than Todd.

Thanks, Todd.



BONUS THOUGHT:

I feel like this post would be incomplete without the addition of one more key passage. I had been debating on how exactly to include this piece of scripture, but I knew that it needed to be included one way or another. Essentially, it comes to this. For all of my long-windedness, God's Word pretty well sums up the idea of following God's path in just a few words; a few simple words (Go Dawgs...sorry; force of habit). In order to follow the path God has for us, we just have to...follow the path God has for us.

Proverbs 3:5-6 (NLT)

⁵Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
do not depend on your own understanding.
⁶ Seek his will in all you do,
and he will show you which path to take.

Well. Maybe next time I'll lead with that.