Do you know what the scientific name is for humans? Homo sapiens. It means creatures (homo) who think and reason (sapia).
And it means that of all of God’s creation we are distinguished from animals because we have the ability to think, to choose, to aspire, to hope, to reason and to make decisions. This is what, in my opinion, it means to be made in the image of God.
We don’t do things by instinct. We make decisions about our lives—decisions that affect us and others. Does God reveal His will today? Of course He does! Does He speak in an audible voice? Hardly ever! So, how does God lead us today?
During Superbowl 37, FedEx ran a commercial that spoofed the movie Castaway, in which Tom Hanks played a FedEx worker whose company plane went down stranding him on a desert island for years.
Looking like the bedraggled Hanks in the movie, the FedEx employee in the commercial goes up to the door of a suburban home, package in hand. When the lady comes to the door, he explains that he survived 5 years on a deserted island, and during that whole time he kept this package safe in order to deliver it to her. She says a simple, “Thank you.”
But he is curious about what is in the package that he has been protecting all those years. He says, “If I may ask, what was in that package after all?” She opens it and shows the contents saying, “Oh, nothing really, just a satellite telephone, a global positioning device, a compass, a water purifier, and some seeds.”
Like the contents of this package the resources for knowing God’s will, for spiritual growth and strength are available for every Christian. God has provided for our growth. He does let us know His will.
Chuck Swindoll, in his marvelous book, The Mystery of God’s Will, lists four ways we can know God’s will (pp. 44-51). Then I’ll briefly talk about a fifth.
For several weeks now I have said over and over that the Bible is God’s revealed will and is absolutely adequate for helping us to know God’s will.
Psalm 119:105, 129, 133, 105Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. 129Your statutes are wonderful; therefore I obey them. 133Direct my footsteps according to your word.
Some of us act as if God was playing ‘Hide-and-Seek’ with us concerning His will. God does not play games with us. His will is not veiled in mystery.
You can be sure of His leading in any situation. As you contemplate a decision, or you need a confirmation, one of the questions you must answer is, “Is this decision consistent with God’s Word?”
For instance, you cannot justifying robbing someone in order to pay off debts you may owe.
The Bible may not talk about your exact situation, but its principles equip you to make decisions with regard to any and every circumstance you encounter. And the thing is, it should be easy. You should know God’s Word well enough that you are living in His will.
You will never go wrong in consulting the Scriptures—just be sure you don’t use your Bible as a book of magic. Make sure that you understand the context—when and where was the passage written; who was it written to; and why was it written?
And do not twist individual verses to fit your wants and desires—virtually every cult has mastered the art of misusing the Bible to say what they want it to say.
God’s will is found in the Bible. But this does not mean that there is a particular Bible verse for every single decision or move you make.
Always ask and answer, “Will the decision I am contemplating be consistent with God’s will in the Bible?” If it isn’t, don’t do it! If you are not sure, put it off until later.
Philippians 2:12 – 13, 12Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
Christian, work out your salvation. The emphasis here is on obedience and responsibility (v. 12). This doesn’t mean you work for your salvation. Your salvation is God’s gift to you.
It’s like when I tell a newly married couple to ‘work at their marriage.’ When I pronounced them husband and wife and signed the marriage license, they were married.
But now they need to work out their marriage through a lifetime of exploration, enjoyment, development and discovering of one another.
To work out your salvation means that you shoulder the responsibility for your own spiritual growth. You are to be discerning, think things through, use your God-given intelligence, and get serious about your Christian walk through obedience to God’s will.
At the same time God is working in us (v. 13). That’s the Holy Spirit. Paul is saying, “Work out your salvation because God is at work in you.”
The Holy Spirit is transforming and renewing us. Because of His working in us our desires and ‘want-to’s’ are being transformed. We want to grow spiritually. We want to grow spiritually. Our selfish wills are growing in tune to His will.
Ephesians 5:17, Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Study the Bible.
But if we continue reading, Ephesians 5:18, Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. Don’t allow yourself to be controlled by things of this world, like alcohol, but let the Holy Spirit control you.
As the Holy Spirit works to transform and renew us, His main role (now get this) is to help us understand what God has already revealed in the Bible (see 1 Cor. 2:6-16). Sometimes you read a verse of Scripture that you’ve read numerous times before, but this time another truth jumps out at you.
That is God speaking to you through the Holy Spirit. That’s the Spirit’s main job. In fact God says in 1 Corinthians 2:14, The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.
Someone who is not a Christian cannot understand God’s Word as a believer can. Again, Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 4:4, The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so that they cannot see the light of the Gospel…
As we believers spiritually grow, God’s Word becomes more and more clear, and our desire for it grows.
That’s the prompting of the Holy Spirit. It’s God speaking to you. As we work out our salvation and as our wills are transformed and become more and more in tune with God’s, we also sense the urgings and directions of the Spirit in our decisions.
The Spirit helps us to see things with spiritual eyes, instead of worldly eyes. One of the best studies I’ve ever experienced about this is called “Experiencing God” by Henry Blackaby.
Blackaby says, “Watch to see where God is at work and join Him.” The truth is, without spiritual eyes, you won’t see where God is at work.
But trusting only in our impressions can be deceiving. They can come from questionable sources like our own selfish desires; or the emotional baggage of our past; or even Satanic delusions.
Do not put all your hope for guidance on subjective feelings. Always look for biblical principles that the Spirit can use to give you direction.
When we were ready to buy our first home, we had a lot of anxiety. What home should we buy? What is a good deal? How will it be financed? We needed sound advice from someone who knew more than us.
So we talked to people who had bought homes. We sought their advice. We took advantage of their experiences and knowledge. We have now bought and sold several homes. Now we have much less anxiety.
The wisest man who ever lived, Solomon, wrote in Proverbs 12:15, The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice.
Sometimes we are too close to a situation; sometimes our emotions are such that they are controlling and influencing everything we do and say and decide.
Others can see what we cannot. They can be more objective in their evaluation of issues that to us are highly charged and emotional. They can point out errors in our judgment. They can add valuable insight.
I’m not talking about a guru in Tibet or a wise looking stranger you meet on an airplane. I’m talking about someone who has proven themselves as trustworthy and qualified to give counsel on a certain matter.
If I wanted advice on how to navigate a sailboat, it wouldn’t make sense to ask someone who’s never been on one. You want the counsel of those who have reliable information.
The best counselors are usually older and more mature, and have nothing to gain or lose. Usually they are not your family or your best friend, because they have something to lose or gain. Wise counselors will stay objective, listen carefully, and answer slowly.
Not only are you looking for good advice in making your decision, but, the most important quality to look for in whoever you are wanting counsel from, is that they be godly people who are in tune with God and are sensitive to spiritual issues.
They must know how to apply the Lord’s biblical wisdom to the many aspects of life. And if you seek out advice, you must be open to being corrected or to having your initial decision rethought. It doesn’t do any good to ask for advice when your mind is already made up.
Colossians 3:15, Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace.
‘Peace’ is an emotion. Be very careful as you wrestle with God’s will in trusting your emotions. But I also know that sometimes God’s inner assurance of peace can help confirm the decision I’m struggling with.
Luaine and I owned a business for 12 ½ years. In all that time we were very involved and active in our church. I taught a young adult S.S. class; was the S.S. Director one year; was the music director for the Association; led music in our church. And Luaine was just as involved.
Yet I struggled with God’s will. I sensed that God wanted me to go into full-time vocational Christian work. We struggled with this for about a year. When I finally surrendered my will to God’s I experienced a tremendous peace.
Again, be cautious about only trusting the emotion of peace, but God can and does give us a peace when we are following His will
We Christians are so used to using the phrase, “God opened the door so it must be His will for me,” that it’s almost become trite. What do we really understand about God opening doors?
The phrase open door is used five times in the New Testament. In the first, Paul and Barnabas are reporting to the church at Antioch about their 1st Missionary Journey. Paul said in Acts 14:27, God opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.
In 1 Corinthians 16:9, Paul told the Corinth church that he was staying at Ephesus ‘because a great door for effective work has opened to me.’
In 2 Corinthians 2:12, he wrote, ‘I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and found that the Lord had opened a door for me.’ Again, in Colossians 4:3, ‘Pray that God may open a door for our message.’ And in Revelation 3:8, to the Church in Philadelphia, the Apostle John wrote, ‘I have opened before you an open door that no one can shut.’
In every case it refers to a ministry opportunity to serve Jesus Christ. That’s the key: an open door may be one of several alternatives or opportunities to be considered and evaluated. If God is opening doors it is so that you can better serve Him and be a witness for Him.
God is at work in the circumstances of our lives. He may be opening and closing doors. But this does not remove our responsibility to make decisions. For instance…..
In 2 Corinthians 2, Paul is talking about when he was in Troas preaching the Gospel and found that the Lord had opened the door for him. But he was looking for Titus and Titus had been delayed. So Paul, in spite of the open door, said goodbye to them and went through another open door to Macedonia (see Acts 16:8).
Now if an open door is the only thing you should use to determine God’s direction in a decision, what Paul did is very confusing. In his own words he had an open door, but he decided to go in another direction. And, now get this; he had every right to make the decision he did.
Many Christians overemphasize the importance of open/closed doors in their decision making. An open door is simply a circumstance to be evaluated according to your priority in life, which is to please the Savior.
It is one factor that helps bring you to a point of decision. But circumstances in and of themselves are not necessarily signs of God’s guidance. [Rorschach inkblots on the screen]
When we see the inkblots we don’t all see the same thing. Some see the black, others see the white. What may come to my mind may be completely different from what you see.
Circumstances in our lives work the same way. We don’t all understand circumstances the same. The way we interpret the events in our lives reveals more about our innermost hearts than our outward circumstances.
When God responded to Gideon’s fleece, Gideon still had to make the decision. Wouldn’t he have been more blessed if he would simply have obeyed God to begin with? After all the door was already opened when the angelic messenger gave him God’s word.
Hebrews 11:1, Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. True faith is simply trusting God in all circumstances.
But if we try to figure out what God is doing in our circumstances, we may come away more confused than informed.
Yes, God speaks to us today. Don’t make it more complicated than it is. Use the resources He has given you. Strive to be obedient by living according to His revealed will in the Bible. Be aware of the Holy Spirit’s guidance. Trust the advice of strong, mature Christians. Let Christ’s peace assure you, and evaluate circumstances according to your priorities.