Who is in the driver's seat?

There is this sentiment among people of faith that we are committed to "following God." That we are no longer focused on seeking our own will, but instead we have decided to "put God first." This putting God first, it governs our thoughts, our decisions, our very way of life.

If you would have asked me 6 months ago if any of the aforementioned phrases were true for me, I would not have hesitated to answer yes. But if there is one thing this study of the life of Moses is teaching me, it is that God is not the leader in our relationship, particularly when it comes to my decision making process.

See, in order for God to be the leader, I would have to be the follower, and while that statement sounds fairly straight forward, it is something I have to remind myself of on a daily basis. I've realized that my decision making process does not allow God to be the pilot of the aircraft that I call my life. Instead, he is more like a co-pilot with clearance to take over only in the case of emergencies. Don't believe me? Let me show you how I generally make decisions.

We interrupt this post to bring you a very important PSA: I emphasize that this is the way I generally make decisions because there are more steps involved in the decision making process since I got married. Dan and I discuss pretty much everything, however since I'm the one that is putting all of my business out in the street on a blog, I've decided to focus on my part solely.
You may now continue with your reading about my decision making process

Step 1: Think of all possible options for the situation
Step 2: Weigh the pros and cons of each
Step 3: Based on the pros and cons, make a decision that sits well with me
Step 4: Verify the choice I've made doesn't require me to sin, or do something that goes against my conscience
Step 5: Pray that God blesses the decision that I have made, and throw in a caveat that if this isn't the path I should go down, for God to work his magic to make sure it doesn't happen.
Step 6: Take the steps to make my decision a reality


Now for years I've thought that this has been a pretty good way to make decisions.
It seemed to be very logical, it involved prayer, and I even did a check to make sure I wasn't doing anything that went against God's will, as I understood it. After taking a second glance, however, I'm beginning to realize that if I actually placed God first, my decision making process would look like this:

Step 1: Pray for God's direction and guidance in the situation
Step 2: Upon receiving God's instruction, take steps to make God's decision a reality

Can I tell you a little secret? That second approach to decision making, you know the one where God comes first, it makes me nervous. What would my life look like if I truly submitted to God's will on things like: what local church/denomination to be apart of, how many children to have, or not have, whether to work outside of the home, or be a stay at home parent, what church ministry I would be best suited for, if any; The possibilities are endless and the entire process can be quite intimidating.

Sometimes the things God guided Moses to do intimidated him. They weren't logical, and they didn't sit well with him, but he still did it. Moses just went about God's mission with faith that the choices made would be for his good and God's glory. I guess I need to find the courage to do the same.