God Makes It Known

Do you ever feel like some things in your life should change, but you don't know what? Maybe you know what, but you don't know how or when.

Then at other times, you know exactly what to do and how to do it. That's a good feeling because you stop worrying. That's when for me it feels like there's something larger and much more knowledgeable in charge. I've learned that this something is God. When I feel His guidance, I also feel assured.

This feeling isn't new. It's one that has been recorded for centuries. It's the feeling of love, but not just human love or affection. The assurance we feel at these times is actually God with us. It's much more than a good feeling, as necessary as that is. It's guidance and revelation. He shows what we need to do in every circumstance, even in one that's threatening or difficult.

There's a verse in the Bible about God taking care of us. It's reassuring. It says, "He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel" (Psalms 103:7). I love those words: "He made known his ways . . ." because they are also a promise that He is making known the way to you, to me, to anyone who is seeking Him. One person may feel directed by specific messages. Someone else may think of exactly the right idea at the right time. Others may feel His guidance constantly and persistently.

You can't outline just how God is going to help you out, but there is one thing that will aid you in hearing God's messages. That's your prayer to Him. Quiet prayer prepares us to listen to God, hear Him, and then to follow His directing.

I had specific proof of this in college. By the time I was at my third university, I had tons of credits-in a degree I was no longer interested in. And each university required me to take the same basic courses over again. When my advisor told me this was the case once more, I was upset.

That night I went home to pray. I simply asked God to guide me to know what to do and how to do it. My thoughts became quiet. And it grew very clear to me how I could assemble all my credits into a useful degree. I felt certain that this clarity of thought was the result of guidance from God. I felt calm and comforted.

The next day I went to my advisor to discuss some of the ideas that had come to me. He agreed that it would all work out. Then he said, "There's one English class that you haven't taken at this college. But since you're already enrolled in my American Authors course, and since I've already seen your papers, I'm going to waive this for you, and you can graduate in December." That's exactly what happened. It was great how it worked out.

But the best part was this: the feeling that God was guiding me never left me after that meeting. In fact, it grew stronger as graduation got closer. And it led me into the field I'm now in. I felt I was fulfilling God's plans for me, rather than just getting a degree. It wasn't that my advisor and I contrived something to help me graduate. God had enabled me to see the way I should go and to follow it. The answers came to me when I turned to God with the goal of doing what he wanted instead of just figuring everything out by myself.

Mary Baker Eddy, who founded the Christian Science Church, showed that there is a Science behind God's directing that anyone can turn to, which shows us how to listen for, hear, and follow Him. Through studying the teachings of Christ Jesus, she found how to heal through prayer, in a sure way. She wrote in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, "When we wait patiently on God and seek Truth righteously, He directs our path" (p. 254).

To me, that's another way of saying, "He makes known His ways . . . ."

And thine ears shall hear

a word behind thee, saying,

This is the way, walk ye in it,

when ye turn to the right hand,

and when ye turn to the left.

Isaiah 30:21