God Wills you to Have a Pink Car

---

By Chaz Oswald, USA

At the crossroads in life, we are faced with a decision that will alter, direct, and shape our future. I recall my junior year of high school as one such crossroad. Graduation was creeping closer and I was stressed out and frustrated. It was time to begin the decision-making process with regards to the selection of a college or university. Overwhelmed with a plethora of choices, I sought counsel from close friends. The phrase consistently uttered from each individual was simply, “Seek God’s will for your life.”

After listening to the advice of my friends, I remember feeling even more confused! I was lost. Yes, I needed to seek God’s will, but how would I discover His will for my life? Or what if I made the wrong decision and missed His will altogether?

That’s when I stumbled upon Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope” (ESV). We often interpret this verse to mean that God has planned every aspect of our life, down to the college we are to attend, the flavor of gum we chew tomorrow, and the color of our next car. In a sense, we take this verse literally and believe that God has this plan for our life and if we aren’t on this tiny little dot, we are not in God’s will. Hence, we fear that we will choose the wrong school or marry the wrong person.

However, God’s will isn’t this little dot that we have to somehow magically discover. I can tell you exactly what God’s will for your life is. He wills you to have faith in Jesus and be His servant; He wills you to love others; He wills you to love Him; He wills you to do what is morally just; and He wills you to be truthful. God’s will is not so much about what job you take or what school you attend, as it is about who you are and who you are becoming as a follower of Christ.

God has placed in each of us a passion—a passion to serve Him. And that passion can be fulfilled whether you are a pastor or a politician—as long as you are using that position to follow Christ and “His will” for your life. The passion God plants in you is tailored to the specific gifts and inclinations in your heart. If you are gifted in music, someway, somehow, God wants you to use that gift for Him. This of course can be played out by either volunteering in your church’s youth group or by working in a record company. That’s one reason why following God’s will is so exciting—because we are serving Him by doing what we love!

It was with this understanding of God’s will for my life that I was able to seek a direction, based on biblical standards and the gifts God has entrusted to me, to choose a school that I would enjoy and that would challenge me to grow as a disciple of Jesus.

As you face crossroads in your life, remember that it’s not about the color of your car, but about how you use that car to serve God. His will is to see you mature and blossom in your faith through the experiences, challenges, and choices you face.