Does God control our direction?

Today I want to talk about whether or not God controls our direction. And to this I answer "yes" and "no." What I mean by this is that God wants to direct us, but we don't always let God direct us. In Jeremiah 29:11 we read: "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." God has plans for us, and God has given us the gifts, abilities, and desires for these plans. But to be directed by God we have to seek God.
There are many reasons why we don't seek God. We can get lost in our selfish ways. We can follow the path of the world. We can listen to the advice of others that isn't necessarily from God. For example, someone my see that we are humorous, and encourage us to become a clown. But maybe you have coulrophobia (fear of clowns)and this would not be a good career choice. When we make our own choices in this way, we are not allowing God to control our direction.
As a pastor I have the opportunity to help people give themselves over to God; to encourage them to let God control their direction. In fact, one of the best things I do as a pastor is mentoring. In my mentoring, I help people to discover the passion that God has placed in them, and set goals that help them to live this out. But often times I see that people get sidetracked or blocked from carrying through on these goals (even with my help).
However, we can have direction from the Lord. This is good news, because we struggle all the time in our lives to make good and wise decisions. We get down on life because it seems so out of our control. But it isn't out of God's control. As Jeremiah 29:13 says, "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."
If and when we seek God with our heart, all of our heart, then God will give us the direction we need. With this direction, we will be able to live out the purpose of our lives, and our lives will truly have meaning. On top of this, we will experience great joy in our lives, because we will be fulfilling our passion and doing what we enjoy doing.