Altar Vision Devotional - Week 2 What is the connection between knowing my purpose in life and surrender?

In the midst of a demanding season of public life, Jesus regularly took time to seek his Father’s face and surrender to his will: “At daybreak, Jesus went to a solitary place” (Luke 4:42); “Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed” (Luke 5:16). If the son of God, who was capable of perfect discernment, actively sought his Father for guidance, how much more imperative is it for us, given all our foibles and distractions, to pursue God for direction?

If we don’t make space to listen to God, we will not be able to perceive the ways he is speaking to us. If we are distracted by competing voices and desires, we will not notice his leading.

But as we spend time with God in prayer, attend to his ways in Scripture, and deepen our relationship with him, we will become more aware of the small signs of guidance that God brings into our lives through people, nature, events, or the stirrings of our hearts. Our capacity to sense God’s direction can also grow through something we’ve read, the counsel of a wise friend, our life circumstances, or an increasing sense of peace. Though prayer may involve our speaking, we can also take a posture of silent listening. As we attend to the presence of our Creator, we become more receptive to his voice and more attuned to the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

After completing seminary, two opportunities emerged for me: I could either pursue a junior leadership post with an international organization focused on developing young leaders around the world, or I could head to Southern California to start a new church with a friend. I didn’t have a clear sense about where God was leading me.

During my discernment, I remember walking with my mentor, Leighton Ford, not far from the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. and explaining my dilemma to him. He paused and said, “If you have reflected on what choice to make and have prayed about it, but don’t discern any clear ‘answer’ from God, then try to project where you most want to be at the end of your life and go through the door you want to go through and trust God to make it right.”

When we are surrendered to God and seeking what pleases him, but don’t have a clear sense about God’s specific guidance, we are free to choose the path that seems to make sense in light of the arc of our lives. Though sometimes we may feel led to wait for a path to emerge, that may not always be practical, such as when we have a job offer with a deadline. In these situations, we can ask, “What do our best selves most deeply want?”

We have the freedom to follow the path where our joy intersects with our intuitive sense of what will honor and please God. As the novelist Frederick Buechner said, “Vocation is the place where our deep gladness meets the world's deep need.”

Note: This devotional is adapted from the award-winning bestseller Survival Guide for the Soul: How to Flourish Spiritually in a World That Pressures Us to Achieve (Zondervan 2018) by Ken Shigematsu.