Lately, I've been thinking a lot about knowing God's will. I think the common misconception is that knowing God's will is knowing the future. Who will I marry? Where should I go to college? What should I do? But God isn't a genie who tells us what the future holds. I tell my youth group kids this all the time: knowing God's will is knowing God. I really believe that God's will is for us to know and love Him more, and to make Him known. So knowing God's will is a process, not a crystal ball. God wants us to seek Him out, to trust Him, to love Him... and that is His will for us! So whether you go to this college or that college, or whether you marry this person or that person, as long as you are trying to honor God with the decision, you're in the center of His will, and He will bless you. It's all about the heart attitude! This seems to be the prevailing theme throughout Scripture.

A wise old man (okay, Ben Lin) once told me that it's a win-win situation, because if you make the "right" decision, you get to experience God's grace -- and if you make the "wrong" decision, you get to experience God's mercy. So whatever we choose, God makes ugly things beautiful. He's good at that. :)