Have you ever met one of those Christians who can't stop moaning about life - the difficulties, the futility, the lack of purpose.  They wonder constantly if this is really the best that God has in store for them, whether they've made choices in the past, and how to avoid bad choices in the future.  Deep down they fear that their lives will end up as meaningless as that of Douglas Coupland's alter ego on the front cover.  I'm sure you've met people like this, maybe you're sometimes like this yourself, I know I am.

Guidance is a toughy, partly because we hear so many conflicting views in the church, and partly because we find God's assurances hard to apply to our own uncertainties.  As we look at this topic, we must try to see clearly what the Bible says in a propositional sense,  but we also have to look at the wider picture of scripture and learn of God's total trustworthiness with His people throughout time. 

A Long Learning Curve
I have been a slow learner of the truth of God's character which we are taught in the Bible.  What follows is a personal testimony over a two year period of my life during which I moved house seven times, moved country twice, completely changed my career, retrained, was without paid employment for a year, lost my mother and got married!  Often I sought God's guidance in my life, frequently I felt bereft of any divine "voice from the blue" -  but looking back on this difficult time I know that my God was totally worthy of my trust.  I have put in various references from scripture, which I have learnt over the years to see as God's wisdom, instruction and advice speaking directly to the situations I have faced.

May 1st 1995 -  It started when I prayed with a friend that God would make it clear to me whether or not I should quit my job as a surveyor. I was restless, I wanted more to life, I wasn't sure that I was doing the right thing!  I had pressed for jobs abroad - nothing had come up. Now I planned to sail for nine months to Australia, it sounded fun but was it the right thing to do?
James 1:5-6  If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.

May 2nd - I went to work as normal, by 8:30 a.m. I was made redundant.  Somehow this was part of God's answer to my prayer!  I had no doubt that somehow God's will was being worked out, and that He could be trusted even if I had no idea what the plan was.
Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.

May 3rd - No job, but more money in the bank, and still the question of whether or not it was a right use of my time and resources to go on an extended holiday, like so many of my former colleagues would have done.  I caught up on some much neglected prayer and Bible study - not to mention a spot of sunbathing - whilst trying to work out what to do, what was a fitting use of my life in God's sight.
Romans 12:1-2  In view of God's mercy, offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship.  Don't copy the behaviour and customs of this world, but let God transform you by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect His will really is.

May 12th  -  I was phoned by my old boss.  After some strange pleasantries he asked if I would like to go back to work for the firm, this time in Poland. 
Psalm 37:4  Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.

May 16th  - I flew to Warsaw and stayed.  This was great, an exciting change to my working life, and at last the chance to work overseas, but I still had big questions about what to do with my life.

I had opportunities to teach in the church and to lead a Bible study, I saw a friend come to faith, shared a flat with a Christian boss and discussed my faith with my colleagues, one of whom even wanted me to read the Bible with him!  There seemed to be loads of positive reasons why God had directed me to this part of the world.  It felt clear that Poland was the place where God wanted me to be at that time in my life.  I was sure that I could see God's hand directing the peculiar events of my year.

But life is seldom that simple. . .  in August I learned that my mum had cancer, and that from September through to May she would be undergoing chemotherapy and radiotherapy.  I wanted to be near my parents, to give them support however I could.  But, the dilemma - I had the best job I'd had in my career, the best chances for Christian witness I'd ever encountered through work -  my job was 1,000 miles away.

Again I prayed, wanting to know God's will. I was relieved that I wasn't committed to the sailing venture which  by now would have placed me in the middle of the Indian Ocean!  I am convinced that God had a pretty clear idea of what was going to happen, and that he put a spanner in the works long before I had the chance to go the wrong way.
Proverbs 16:9 In their heart a person plans their course, but the Lord determines their steps.

I'd toyed with the idea of studying theology, yet somehow it was always incompatible with my career plans, so I hadn't bothered.  I wondered now if this was a way God wanted me to use my time.  It was late in the day, but I sent an application form in for a course and within 24 hours of it arriving I had been offered a place.  My prayer was for God to open the door before me (even just a chink) if it was His will for me to go ahead, God responded by throwing this door wide open. 

It should have been so straightforward, I should have spent the next month getting ready for a new direction in life.  But Poland still had a strong draw on me - I loved the place, the people, the pace and the prospects - life was the best I'd ever had it.  It is hard to describe the tension I felt.  I asked the advice of others:  my parents told me to stay where I was; my close friends in the UK told me to come back; my vicar told me to come back; my boss encouraged me to stay. I was desperately looking for wisdom from someone else on my dilemma.  I prevaricated.  I decided I was definitely leaving. . .  then I decided I was definitely staying. . .  eventually, I told my boss that I was going!  Three days later I packed my car up and drove 1000 miles back to the UK.  The next day I started the course.

The following year was great, but when the course ended the next June, there was no suitable work in sight.  Sadly in August my mother died.  Then, in October I got married to Jo a lovely Christian.  (Interestingly, I'd always assumed that the right time to marry would be when I knew where my career was going - contrary to my planning I got married just when my career had reached its most non-existent point ever!!)
Proverbs 16:9 again!

Questions About Calling
Still huge questions and decisions hung over my head.  Should I go back into my former career, or should I do something completely different, maybe something more involved in Christian teaching?  I thought through the notion of "Calling" and came to the following interesting Biblical conclusions which helped me to brush aside some less-than-helpful notions promoted in some Christian circles:
1. We are all called into being by God our creator;
2. As Christians we are called by Jesus to salvation and into fellowship within the church and to an eternal hope;
3. We are called as people to glorify God in all that we do, with whatever gifts God has given us;
4. The Apostles were called by name to particular functions, not to specific jobs.  For example that Paul was called to be an Apostle, to take the gospel to the Gentiles, this was not a paid position within his local church!  It meant that Paul's wholehearted focus was making Jesus known, no matter whether he was making tents, teaching in the synagogue or sinking on a ship!

This was helpful as it seemed that the place where my gifts, training and passions met would combine my business background with my desire to teach God's word to people starting out in their working lives.  This could be achieved either back in the secular working world, or else within a Christian organisation if that enabled me to dedicate more time to this area.  It also helped me realize that some career options would be less conducive to me being active in this area of ministry.  In conclusion though, I was confident that God could use me, if I was willing, whether I ended up back in business or in a Christian organisation. I pushed in a number of different directions and actively trusted God to put me where He wanted me, when He wanted me there.
James 1:2-4 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Again, the decision making process was tortuous.  One night I was waiting to hear from UCCF about a job; my former boss was going to confirm if he wanted me to fly out to Bucharest, to look at running the office there; and Jo had a deadline for accepting a new job in London.  UCCF crept tentatively forwards, talking of more meetings before decisions could be reached, then my flight to Bucharest was confirmed for the next Monday! You can imagine the tension.  Which was the right way to go and what on earth were we to do about Jo's job?  We didn't want to accept it only to turn it down later, and yet if the Bucharest job worked out then we would have to do just that.  I prayed with a friend then phoned Jo and we decided she would accept the job, without any of the other bits in place, but trusting God with the future.

I still went to Bucharest, as the ticket had been bought, but I felt uneasy about it. Eventually we ruled it out because it felt like a hard place to live so soon after getting married, and because the UCCF job seemed to be opening up.  The judgement was a matter of wisdom, which I believe to have been brought to my attention by God's Spirit from God's word. 

Negotiations with UCCF progressed, culminating in their requirement that the first years salary be raised before they would actually confirm that the job existed!  God was gracious and sufficient money came in to persuade UCCF that the rest would be forthcoming.
Philippians 4. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, submit your requests to God.  And the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Some of the lessons
You can see from this account that I have had plenty of opportunities to seek God's guidance!  How have I got on with this?  What have I learnt as great principles in the matter of guidance?  Sometimes it is hard to say.  However the one thing which I am confident of is that God is entirely trustworthy.  Sometimes the only clear perspective we ever have on God's guidance is retrospect.  I can say without any doubt that I believe that I am doing a job in which God can use me, and that God has lovingly given me a wife who could not be better suited to me, though in both situations God requires me to acknowledge His centrality before the true value of His gifts can be realised for His glory.  I can say without any doubt that God has a great purpose for my life - his purpose is to keep me running the race, to make my salvation complete in Christ - what more could I ever need. (Hebrews 12.1-3)

But if I am totally honest, I also have to say that I have often struggled throughout this period to know exactly what God's will for my life 'here and now' has been.  I believe passionately that we are called above all things to place our trust in God, to trust Him with the decisions that we make and to acknowledge that He is capable of using us for His glory wherever we find ourselves and whatever we find ourselves doing.