Earlier today, I had a decision to make. I was torn, as usual, between what I wanted to do and what I thought I should do. I weighed some of the pros and cons, trying to either build up the will-power to do what I should do or decide that my desires were important enough to cut myself some slack. Following some wise maternal advice, I took the matter to the Lord. I shared my dilemma with Him, weighed my options a bit longer, then came to an important realization: It didn't matter what I wanted to do, and it didn't matter what I thought I should do.
God's job is not to excuse us in doing what we want or to convince us to do what we already think we should do. His job, when we turn to Him for advice, is to give us the best advice possible. Instead of telling us to do what we want or to do what we think we should, He tells us what would be best. He tells us to do whatever would work out best either for us or for the people around us.
So, in response to this epiphany, I changed my question and got a better answer than "Yes, you should do this" or "No, it's okay if you do that." God told me that I would benefit from following a specific course of action, so I followed it, and I, in fact, benefited. But in addition to the benefit I gained from following that course of action, I also benefited from taking this question to the Lord. In doing so, I learned that some of the things we think are important, like our own desires and duties, might not actually be so important after all. God knows what's best, and He will tell us, if we ask, even if what's best isn't what we want to or think we ought to do.
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