God, please find me a parking space at the mall. One that is really close.

People approach God’s direction in their lives in different ways. For some, God is not very involved. From this perspective, He’s there if you need help in a major crisis, but for the most part stays out of our day-to-day activities. For others, God is so involved that it seems pantheistic ( “any religious belief or philosophical doctrine that identifies God with the universe” – Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006). From that perspective, God directs everything – from the clothes you pick out to wear in the morning, to the parking space you choose at the mall, to who you sit by in the park.

Genesis 24:10
“Then the servant took ten of his master's camels and departed with all kinds of gifts from his master at his disposal. He journeyed to the region of Aram Naharaim and the city of Nahor. 11 He made the camels kneel down by the well outside the city. It was evening, the time when the women would go out to draw water. 12 He prayed, "O Lord, God of my master Abraham, guide me today. Be faithful to my master Abraham. 13 Here I am, standing by the spring, and the daughters of the people who live in the town are coming out to draw water. 14 I will say to a young woman, 'Please lower your jar so I may drink.' May the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac reply, 'Drink, and I'll give your camels water too.' In this way I will know that you have been faithful to my master." 15 Before he had finished praying, there came Rebekah with her water jug on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah (Milcah was the wife of Abraham's brother Nahor).   16 Now the young woman was very beautiful. She was a virgin; no man had ever had sexual relations with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jug, and came back up. 17 Abraham's servant ran to meet her and said, "Please give me a sip of water from your jug." 18 "Drink, my lord," she replied, and quickly lowering her jug to her hands, she gave him a drink. 19 When she had done so, she said, "I'll draw water for your camels too, until they have drunk as much as they want." 20 She quickly emptied her jug into the watering trough and ran back to the well to draw more water until she had drawn enough for all his camels. 21 Silently the man watched her with interest to determine if the Lord had made his journey successful or not. 22 After the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a beka and two gold bracelets weighing ten shekels and gave them to her.   23 "Whose daughter are you?" he asked. "Tell me, is there room in your father's house for us to spend the night?" 24 She said to him, "I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom Milcah bore to Nahor.   25 We have plenty of straw and feed," she added, "and room for you to spend the night." 26 The man bowed his head and worshiped the Lord, 27 saying "Praised be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his faithful love for my master! The Lord has led me to the house of my master's relatives!"   

I suspect that, like most things, the answer is somewhere in the middle. God has given us free will (“the belief that the conduct of human beings expresses personal choice and is not simply determined by physical or divine forces.” Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006). We have the ability to choose our path each day. On the other hand, God is involved in our lives, and is very interested in us. We know that because of Jesus Christ – God was so interested in the plight of humanity that He became a human and died for the human race.

God wants us to make the right choices, but He leaves the decision making up to us. He will give you circumstances and wise counsel from other believers and the Scriptures to guide you indirectly, but ultimately, the choice is yours. He has gone ahead of you down the path He wishes you to follow – His fingerprints are all over it. You have only to take out your spiritual magnifying glass to follow the clues.