“By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going” (Hebrews 11:8, NIV).

A Christian college graduate asked me to advise him about a possible career in medicine. He had done well in school and well on the MCAT, awaiting word from medical schools, but he had also enrolled in seminary. He had spent time shadowing primary care physicians, where he had prayed with a few patients, but the rapid-fire pace of practice made it hard for him to witness openly. He was trying to decide if he could be as effective for Christ as a physician as he might as a minister. Which way could he accomplish more for God?

Should we try to make life decisions by analyzing which way we might accomplish the most for God? What does that even mean?

If I become a private practice doctor, I might win four people to Christ in my life; but, as a missionary doctor, I could win 400? If I am a preacher, I would win 800? Should we not do for God that which brings the best outcomes? It’s certainly honorable to try. Such thinking works for Microsoft; does it work for Christ?

So many times, I’ve used the world’s business model in making directional decisions, calculating the pros and cons for God’s benefit. I add up the pluses and minuses for Godly outcomes and go with the highest score. It seems rationale and practical, but possibly not biblical.

When I think over God’s great stories in the Bible, I can rarely find a plan of God’s choosing that man would have calculated. Has that changed?

I know God wants us to be aware of the facts and consider the possible outcomes of decisions we make for His kingdom; in some ways, this is important—but, perhaps, only as a backdrop upon which God writes His omniscient plan, sort of like—God asks me to use my mind and skills to sketch a nose for Mona Lisa, but then, it is He who brings in the color, vision and plan for a portrait I could never have imagined.

Interpreting the facts of life is important in seeking God’s will, but calculation alone will rarely reveal God’s best plan.

What do we add to the facts of life to find God’s path for life?

1. Desire: want His will more than our own.
2. Listen: seek His whisper in every moment.
3. Abide: pray without ceasing and soak in His Word.
4. Obey: take the one step in front of you that He has made clear.
5. Community: worship and counsel with God’s people.

It seems incredibly naïve to depend on revelation more than reason in seeking God’s plan, but God’s Word (and my whole life) tell me this will more likely set me on God’s path than depending on business-model thinking. It may not be practical, but it’s Christian.

Dear Father,

Help me to abide in you and step into your will.

Amen