What is "God's will"?

Okay, so I've been thinking about the question I posed last night on here a fair bit, and I've come to some conclusions about what I think on the matter... however there are a few things I am still quite uncertain about.

So, without further ado...

First of all, I believe that there is a God, that He made us, and that yes, there is a "larger story" going on- a story about the redemption of humanity and God's pursuit of the human heart.

I also believe in free will. I believe that people have the ability to choose how they will live, be it for better or worse. I believe that sometime God does intervene, and that He is capable of redeeming our mistakes, but that often He allows things to play out naturally- people reap the consequences of their actions. I believe that it is our choice whether we participate in the "larger story", and if so, how we go about it.

Thirdly, I believe that God knows what is best for our lives and that He wants us to follow Him...

...but this is where things get a little muddy for me.

Here's the thing. I am beginning to realize what a fatalistic (I think that's the right word) approach I've taken to life over the years. I am beginning to realize that I have the ability to choose how I live, that I can choose to react certain ways or not react those ways, that I can embrace negative mindsets or do what I can to stop them. It may seem weird to you that it would take a person nearly 29 years to figure this out, but I think some of it has to do with my religious upbringing.

I think that one of the ideas that I have heard put forth in my years goes something like this: God has a plan for your life, and as long as you remain surrendered to His will, His plan will all work out. Perhaps this comes from attending a church that tended to "over-spiritualize" things when I was younger, perhaps it comes from my Christian school... who knows?

Now I am not about to argue that God does not call us to do things sometimes. The Bible tells story after story where God asks someone to do something, and they either do or do not cooperate with Him. I also fully agree with the concept that if God truly is asking you to do something, you should, in fact, do it.

But.

I find myself wondering if God has a "will" regarding every single thing that happens in our lives. Does God have a grand, over-arching plan for each of our lives that will only pan out if we do every tiny little thing according to this plan? Or is it a bit more complex (or, perhaps, more simple) than that? I find it amusing, as do most of us, when people ask God what cereal they should eat for breakfast and what route they should take to work. But beyond that, does God actually have a cut-and-dried answer for every situation that arises in our lives? Or might there be some times when He leaves the choice in our hands?

I'll give you an example. When I was 23, I worked at our church for a summer as the church intern. At the end of the summer, my senior pastor offered me the position of the youth coordinator, as they had no one to replace me. I was planning on going back to college.

Now, honestly, I don't recall feeling a strong push in one direction or the other. In the end, I stayed because I was needed, and I'd really grown to like the youth group over the summer. I don't know that God said to me, "you need to stay here, and to go back to Bible college would be the wrong decision." I think if I'd gone back, that would have panned out as well. Of course my life would look far different now- I might not live in Victoria, I almost certainly would have not married Dave, my job situation might be different. But would that have been okay? Most likely.

I wonder if we do ourselves a disservice when we suppose that God has an opinion on our every move in life. Certainly He has an opinion on some things, and it's wise to seek Him on the matters in our lives, but at the same time, He gave us brains for a reason, right? I wonder if we ever approach God, asking Him whether or not we should buy this, or do that, and He responds with something like, "sheesh, kid, can't you make your own decisions sometimes?" I wonder if God sometimes allows- or even encourages- us to choose the path that seems the wisest to us, to "choose our own adventure" if you like, rather than dictating to us what every move should be?

Furthermore, I think that if we imagine that God has an opinion on our every move, we can end up fretting about our choices. I mean, what if it WAS God's will for me to go back to Bible college? If it was, wouldn't it stand to reason that every choice I've made as a result to stay here- from the place I live to the man I married to the friends I've had to the teens whom I've gotten close to- is wrong? And, if that were the case, wouldn't that also mean that a) there is someone else out there who is supposed to be doing my job who got shafted because I am doing it, b) my youth have been shafted for the last 5 years because they had the wrong youth coordinator, c) there's some guy out there who I was supposed to marry who got shafted because I am married to Dave (and same with some girl out there for him), d) someone else who was supposed to live in this basement suite got shafted because we're still here... you get the point. It gets ridiculous.

It's a tricky one. Certainly there are some things that God is pretty cut-and-dried on, and we want to be seeking God's will in our lives. But we might also want to reason that there are times when God essentially says, "it's your call, kid," and allows us to use the brains He has given us and live with the consequences of our choices, be they good or bad.

Thoughts???