“Don’t let the noise of the world keep you from hearing the voice of the Lord.” – Anonymous

I was walking into a store the other day and taped to the front door was a piece of paper that said:

WELCOME TO YOUR FUTURE. WE’VE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU.

NOW HIRING.

As I thought about that sign I was reminded of a time when, just like the sign, someone told me what my future was supposed to look like.

“You’re telling me that you’re called to ministry but you’re not going to go to seminary?” The man looked down his nose at me. “You need to go to seminary when you get out of college.”

After I was told this I found myself in a state of confusion. Maybe I needed to go to seminary. Going to seminary was something I had always brushed to the side because I felt like it wasn’t a part of God’s plan. But here this guy telling me that I need to go.

I went to my dad in distress. “I just don’t know what to do anymore. I don’t feel like I should go to seminary but on the other hand, this person is telling me that if I’m going to be in the ministry seminary is necessary. What do I do?”

Without waiting a beat my dad said, “It doesn’t matter what anyone else says. A lot of people are going to tell you what they think you should do or what they think is best. But there’s only one voice that you need to listen to. You need to listen to God.”

And that was it. All of my worry and confusion dissipated when those simple words were spoken.

A lot of people are going to tell you what your future should look like. It’s easy for other people from the outside to look inside your life and tell you what’s best. But the good news is that we don’t need to juggle all of the different voices and opinions in our lives.

There’s only one voice and His guidance isn’t just opinion. It is Truth.

Ignore all of the other voices.

You need only listen to God.

Parents: Ask your children what they want to be when they grow up. Talk to them about what they think their future looks like. Tell them that a lot of people will want to tell them what they should do with their lives but they need only listen to God.