I hate making big life decisions. The gravity of having to pick one path or the other when it comes to career, relationships, location, finances, or values is heavy enough, but the main reason why I loathe these pivotal moments in life is because there are a lot of right answers. In these cases—when both choices you’re faced with could probably work out—how do you know which option is the right one?!
With so many voices and authorities shouting into the noise of this world, it’s hard to know whom to listen to when confronted with weighty decisions. Who is right? Who is wrong? What’s good advice, and what’s junk? How can you tell the difference?
There have been a couple of major moments in my life when I desperately wanted to know the true “right” answer instead of discerning the nuance of multiple outcomes, like when I was contemplating breaking up with a boyfriend or considering transferring colleges. In those instances, I fantasized about having a “choose-your-own adventure” book tailored to my exact circumstances, where I could preview the ramifications of either choice and how it played out down the road, or better yet—a book that just gave me absolute truth! At both of those junctures, I prayed some version of this: “God, it doesn’t even need to be a big book! Just a pamphlet, really! All I need is a book with all the answers. I want to know the right thing to do!”
In both those moments, I eventually remembered the fact I frequently forget: “Duh! God has already given me a big Book . . . and it has every answer I could ever want—the Bible!”
While God is everywhere and in everything, he doesn’t usually speak directly to us today in the same way as he spoke with, say, prophets thousands of years ago, as documented in the Old Testament. We can speak to God in prayer, which is a beautiful gift, but it’s not like a phone call in the way I would wish! However, if you want to hear God speak, if you want answers to the big questions of life (“What is my purpose?”) and the small ones (“Should I make this investment?”), the answers to every question are found in the pages of the Bible. As it says in 2 Samuel 22:31, “As for God, his way is perfect: The Lord’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him,” and in 2 Peter 1:20–21, “Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”
In the Bible, we find that the entire world was created with God’s words (Genesis 1–2). In the Bible, we find the truth about how humans sinned and deserved banishment from God, and yet we were so beloved by the Creator of all things that God sent his Son, Jesus, to be sacrificed in our place (Romans 3:23–26). In the Bible, we see the promises made on those pages over thousands of years were fulfilled perfectly and verified, historically and archaeologically. In the Bible, we see the personal payoff we gain as our sins are wiped away and heaven is our home at the end of our earthly lives by grace through faith in Christ. God’s Word is replete with story and song; plot twist and parable; and relatable disappointment, joy, and wisdom. Every syllable of God’s Word was placed precisely by the ultimate Author, and every sentence of the Bible is for you! (Even tough to understand chapters—I’m looking at you, Ezekiel and Leviticus!)
God knows so much more than we do, and yet, while we are on a need-to-know basis with God during our earthly lives, he gave us a Book of everything we need to know. We have a big Book with all the answers!
I can’t promise that the Bible will tell you exactly whom to date, the precise name of the town you should move to, or how to steward your vacation time, but I can promise you that if you make a regular habit of reading the Bible daily, you will grow in your faith. You will grow in peace, knowing that the questions of life, both miniscule and massive, have been answered by God himself. And you will grow in wisdom. The Bible is the one place you can find absolute truth. In all the trials and triumphs of life, go straight to the source—the Bible—and say with our Savior, “Sanctify them by the truth: your word is truth” (John 17:17).
