There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens…a time to plant and a time to uproot…a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing…a time to be silent and a time to speak… (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8).

Have you ever been at a crossroads but weren’t sure which direction to go? The Bible says that there is an appointed time for everything, but doesn’t tell us when that time is. So how do we know what to choose in these situations? As we’re learning from studying Proverbs, we need to seek wisdom to help us.

I can remember a time in my life when I was in this exact situation. I’m a planner and had the next 10 years of my life already planned out in my mind. However, when I got cancer five years ago, my world was turned upside down. All my well-laid-out plans were not going to work out anymore and I was put in a position where I had no choice but to surrender. So instead of praying for what I wanted, God taught me to seek His will. Cancer is bad and I wouldn’t want to go through it again, but at the same time, I know that God used that situation in my life to grow my faith, heal relationships, and help others. 

During that time, God taught me a lot about how to seek Him when I didn’t know what to do.

First, He taught me that He has a plan, even if I am in the dark. Ecclesiastes says that there is an appointed time for everything. 

Second, I had to learn to go to God’s Word for answers. I thought through my choices and asked myself, do any of these options go against God’s Word? If yes, then I knew that I shouldn’t do it. If I felt all of the options could honor God, I knew that my next step involved submission.

So, I had to surrender myself to God. I needed to move to a place where I could accept God’s yes or no. I had to discern if I was seeking my will and my comforts or God’s will. I often pray for an easy life, free of pain or trouble; however, that isn’t always God’s will.  I found that when I stopped fighting for my will and was willing to accept God’s will- whatever it may be - my next step became clear.

In my case, the next step that God was asking me to take was to stop working for a time and take care of my health. During that time, I also felt that God was asking me to do two things. I felt God prompt me to buy a journal and record all of the ways that I saw God working in my situation. Once I started really looking for it, I filled page after page after page of an entire journal.

The second step that I felt God asking me to take was to do something good for others in the midst of my difficult situation, so I created a website to encourage people who were going through cancer. God used this to help me get the focus off of myself and also to help others. Ecclesiastes 3:12 says that we “...should be happy and do good while we live…” I learned that the best way to be happy when I’m going through an unhappy situation is to help others.

If you are at a crossroads in your life right now, remember that God has a plan, even when you can’t see it.  When you seek the Giver of Wisdom, He will not only show you the way to go, but he will show you how to find joy during your travels.