What if I pursue the wrong job or go to the wrong college? What if I move when I was supposed to stay? What if I join the wrong church or marry the wrong person?
What if I accidentally alter God’s plan for my life?
I think many of us imagine the Christian life to be something like a tightrope walk. We’re perpetually in danger of falling from God’s will. Any sudden move or wrong turn could send us plummeting.
Even worse, we might fear God has serious consequences tucked behind certain doors if we choose to open them. We’re afraid he might punish us for making the wrong choice.
All of this stems from a desire to live our lives from God’s perspective rather than our own finite perspective. We want to know his entire blueprint for our lives, from cradle to grave. We want to peruse the pages of his special book, where each of our days is recorded in precise detail before even one comes to be (Ps. 139:16).
The Christian life is not a tightrope. Life is a very wide, forgiving road.
In short, we want to be omniscient—which, of course, we aren’t. It’s actually good news that God has given us finite minds and limited knowledge about our future, for it allows us to experience his mercy and his grace.
The Christian life is not a tightrope. Life is a very wide, forgiving road.
Plenty of Margin for Human Error
In modern English, we say something is forgiving if it allows for hiccups, errors, or mistakes. You might refer to a bicycle seat as forgiving if it prevents you from feeling every bump. People say black is a forgiving color because of the way it masks physical blemishes.
God’s will is also, in a sense, forgiving. As the psalmist prayed, “You gave a wide place for my steps under me, and my feet did not slip” (Ps. 18:36) and “I run in the path of your commands, for you have broadened my understanding” (Ps. 119:32, NIV). The Lord has not set us on a tightrope. He has given us a wide place to walk, a place where we take steps with confidence and our ankles are not in constant danger of buckling.
What keeps us on track is not our ability to read God’s mind, but his ability to shepherd us despite our feeble attempts.
We exercise Christian freedom in the wideness of his mercy (Gal. 5:1). We live in Christian wisdom under the watchful gaze of his grace. What keeps us on track is not our ability to read God’s mind, but his ability to shepherd us despite our feeble attempts. Our sins cannot derail his plans. Our poor decisions cannot alter our destination. In those moments, he has ordained his forgiveness to keep us on the path.
Yes, we all like sheep have gone astray (Isa. 53:6)—and sheep tend to wander if they’re not careful. Christ’s mercy and grace are not a license to sin or to pursue our own selfish desires. No, as the flock of God, we walk through the wide place following the Shepherd’s voice (John 10:27).
Bible + Community = Wise Choices
It’s amazing to me how many of the Christians who fret about God’s will for their life are the same ones who fail to read their Bibles and commit to a church. Of course they feel afraid! They’re not hearing the Shepherd’s voice in his Word. They’re isolating themselves from his flock (Prov. 18:1).
As we walk the wide way, the Shepherd continues to summon us to follow him as we read the Bible. As we seek to glorify God in our daily decisions, brothers and sisters in our churches help to keep us from going astray.
Do not fear, little sheep. There’s no decision you could make that could snatch you out of Christ’s omnipotent hand (John 10:27–29).
The Gospel Coalition