It was the beginning of my junior year in college. I was going through a break-up, changed my major and went through a really bad medical scare. I guess you could say I was a little anxious and a little “I just want to go somewhere new.”
From then I just decided I was going to move to Colorado or really anywhere that wasn’t North Carolina. Oh, did I pull out the excuse book. I said everything from “I’m going for xyz” to “God is calling me to Colorado.”
Truth is all of that could not have been more of a lie.
I wasn’t praying or seeking Gods counsel on this, much less asking if He wanted me to go there. Meanwhile I was telling everyone I was “called” to go to Colorado. Luckily, I had a very wise friend of mine confront me and ask, “And how did God tell you?”
She didn’t ask me this question because she thought I was wrong in my going; she asked because she genuinely wanted to know how God had told me to go. When she asked me this question I didn’t have an answer. I could give the many excuses, but honestly I was just ready to go.
Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future. Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand. – Proverbs 19:20-21
This conversation struck my heart, and I knew I hadn’t been talking to God about the big move. So I decided I was going to just chill out and seek God’s counsel.
I say all of this because I feel like someone else has to feel the same way or been in the same situation. Maybe you’re like me and are just chomping at the bit to go and do and see. And maybe God wants you to go and do and see but make sure that God wants you there.
Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered. – Proverbs 28:26
That’s the mistake I made. I went around telling all my friends and family that I was moving to Colorado and that God was calling me there. But how in the world would I have known if God was calling me there? I hadn’t spent more than two hours collectively praying about it.
Big moves and plans cannot be made without God, and if they are made without God, then they are not for God; they are made out of selfish ambitions.
Thankfully that conversation with a dear friend got my heart on the right track. I began actually seeking God’s counsel and godly counsel of those around me and I was shown that Colorado isn’t where He wants me right now. God didn’t say never, He just said not right now.
Sometimes we get so focused on what we want that we completely miss what God wants to bless us with in the here and now.
Maybe you’re in the same position I was in. I want to encourage you to not make the same mistakes I did. Here are some things I wish I had done sooner rather than later.
1. Pray
We all need reminders sometimes to just take a minute to pause and pray. Ask God about it. Tell Him why you’re excited to go. Ask Him if he wants you to go. Keep an open direct line of communication with Him.
2. Seek Counsel
Now I should clarify, don’t only seek counsel from people who you know will support you going. Seek counsel from people who you know are strong in their own relationship with God. It’s also wise to seek counsel from people who don’t directly support or disapprove of the change. Seek counsel from people who take time to pray over you and the decision.
3. Try Not to Get Too Excited
I know it’s hard not to get all excited about moving and changing, but try to remain calm. Don’t go around telling everyone that you’re moving until you know you are. Trust me. I learned the hard way. It also allows you time to really decipher if that is really where God wants you or not.
This is not to say that God never calls people to move to a different state or different country. One of my closest friends got a calling into full-time international missions. Everyone’s calling is different and how God calls us is different. If God calls you to go, go. If He calls you to stay, stay.
Make sure you are getting that calling from God, not yourself.
These are just some things I wish I would have done more of. I wish I would have guarded my heart and sought Gods plan and not made my mind up before going to God. His plan is wilder and more adventurous than we could ever imagine on our own.