Bridge revelation

The other day I found myself standing between two bridges. Following their paths across the river and to the opposite bank I felt like God was giving me this mental image as a metaphor for life. I have been so consumed with figuring out God's plan for my life (especially since I graduated from college), convinced that there was an exact charted course that I needed to discover and follow in order to be in His will. Regardless of how much I wanted to be in His will and sought it out I felt a growing desperation and fear that some how I was failing to walk in it. I wanted it to be a clear message ahead of me, something that I could knowingly work towards and have confidence in. I was anxious that my faith was not great enough to allow me to catch a glimpse of God's plan for my life. That His will was something hidden, that I needed to work to discover.

When I was standing by the river with a bridge on either side I realized that God does not chart out every step of our journey. He certainly has a general plan - a direction He stirs us to grow in and ministries that He has gifted us for - but it's not to confine us but to set us free in the beauty of lives lived for their intended purposes. We have the freedom to make our own choices as His children. So I can cross the bridge to my left or to my right, they both move me in the same direction - across the river. Or I can keep walking along the river until I get to an entirely different bridge. That's not to say that all of our choices will lead us in God's will, but that God's will is not limited by our choices. If it's truly what we desire in our hearts then our decisions will strive to reflect that, and we will be drawn to shape our lives according to it.

As long as we are walking with Him it will be fairly difficult to walk away from Him. The freedom He gives us is an expression of His love for us. He's excited to walk on the journey with us and see which paths we choose to bring Him glory.