Specifics versus unlimited options

[thinkinghardParticipant]

One thing I’ve been really thinking about and wondering about is whether God has specifics picked out for us in every aspect of our lives, if we just listen for direction. Like a specific job where you’re supposed to be, or a specific person you’re supposed to marry, or a specific house where you’re supposed to live.  How much of a role, if any, do we have in these? How do we know when we’ve found the specifics? Or are there just infinite, unlimited choices in all of these things, like jobs you can have, people to marry, houses to live in and it doesn’t really matter what we pick as long as it expresses God, good.

I mean, it’s always been  a comforting thought that God knows and has always known the very specific place I need to live and knows exactly who I’m supposed to marry and the exact job I need to have, etc… and that by listening, He’ll reveal these to me.  But I’ve had some experiences that have me questioning this a bit. What do you all think?

[GordonParticipant]

I do believe God has even the hairs of our head numbered, as they say. In other words, yes, of the things that He knows, I absolutely believe that He knows all the specifics. Now of course God does not know evil, and does not know matter or material conditions. But He does know all of His ideas, and sees them all in right relation with each other.

One story I’ve pondered a bit is that of Abraham and Sarah from Genesis. Abraham felt an impulse that he was going to be a “father of nations,” and even saw visions reassuring him that was his destiny. Yet… that did not seem to work out for him, time and time again. He really began to doubt, and started resorting to his own means to try and bring that to pass.

All along, there was never a time where God did not already have the idea of Isaac fully formed, fully developed, and fully understood, with his relation to Abraham and Sarah already established. But from Abraham and Sarah’s perspective, they really doubted this for years — decades even.

None of that doubt prevented any of it from coming to pass, not in the least! Even after they reached a point where the rules of matter and the body said it was no longer possible for them to have a child, those rules were promptly overturned, and Isaac was born.

[thinkinghardParticipant]

Thanks Gordon. That was incredibly helpful, as I got what I really thought was a huge answer about something that came about in a way that I was absolutely convinced it was directly from God. It came in what at the time felt like the most crystal clear way and it wasn’t something I was even seeking an answer to. Even now, looking back, I really can’t see how it came from any other source. But now it would seem completely wrong based on some human circumstances at the moment. So I am very full of doubt and confusion right now about how to know if I’m hearing God.

[IanParticipant]

Sometimes I think a lot about the word reflection. I think growing up in Christian Science I took phrases like “reflection of God” or “Image and likeness of God” for granted.

Do our reflections in the mirror worry about reflecting us? I think it is helpful to sort out which thoughts are really a part of our reflection, and which thoughts are trying to claim we are not a reflection at all — but a self-existent mortal.

• This reply was modified 11 months, 1 week ago by  Ian.

[AbigailModerator]

I don’t think that God has specifics set out for us. The thing with the specifics is, a lot of them are material things and because God is Spirit and therefore spiritual, it seems unlikely to me that He would set out material paths for us. I feel there are an infinite number ways we could take, but we can guarantee that whatever path we take, God has got good planned for us.

I agree it can be hard to know at times if its God speaking or not. I think looking back its often a lot easier to see. To me, if an idea has produced a good result, then it came from God. Likewise I’ve been in situations where I’ve chosen to ignore an idea and later in the day something has happened which would have been provented if I had listened to that angel message earlier.

I think listening also comes back to the original question of what has God got planned for us. If we listen and follow His direction, this will lead us to the good He has planned.

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