In I Corinthians 14:33, Paul writes, ". . .God is not a God of disorder but of peace." Often times this verse is taken out of context and misapplied. Paul is writing to the church at Corinth in regards to order in during church services. Evidently speaking in tongues and people prophesying had become a distraction to worship. I believe that there are times when God does obscure His voice and guidance from us.
I recently experienced an incident where I believe God chose to remain silent and that silence created ambiguity. However, it was because of this lack of clarity I reflected more deeply on my decision and realized God won't always spoon feed us when we turn to Him.
The situation was one in which I had to make a decision in a just under 2.5 hours. A decision that, while not life-altering, did have some short-term ramifications for myself and possibly others. In addition, I was not in a position to spend an extended time of quiet prayer and meditation.
When the window was closing, I made my decision not feeling 100% certain. Had I decided the other way, I am not certain I would have felt any more confident.
For many hours after I struggled with the decision I had made. Right? Wrong? Obedient? Disobedient? I still am not sure.
What I a sure about is that because of this situation, I have done more reflecting and soul-searching than would have happened if God had provided a crystal-clear answer. In fact I find myself rehashing the situation even this morning, a day after the event.
Perhaps that is what God wanted. He knew I needed to trust the knowledge and guidance He has provided in the past. He needed me to make a tough call and spend time with Him after the fact.
Many may disagree with me on this. Many will say that God will always provide clear, timely guidance if we are in the center of His will. After this recent event, I am not sure that I agree with "always". Most often, sure. 99.99% of the time, yeah, I can support that. But perhaps there will be those one-off events where He will choose to stand back and see how we get along when the training wheels are off.
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