Glory be to God welcome back salt and light Commission!
We all want to find God’s will for our lives. The specific plan for your life that God has designed. A while back I was reading a bible plan from my bible app from a “Christian” writer. He was refuting the fact that God has a specific unique plan for each our lives—which I don’t agree with. I think God is directly invested in plans for each of our lives. Otherwise why are we all here living life. If we are created just to worship God, He could have just created us in heaven to do that. I think we have specific plans that God wants us to do on Earth. Otherwise what does Psalms 143:10 mean where it says, Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground.
This author also went on to say that God is not invested in you choosing between certain things. He said that the will of God is on a broader scale. You can make any decision and God will go along with your decision to accomplish his greater will of Mankind. He is not concerned about those trivial choices, you can use common sense to figure out. If that’s the case and He is not interested in guiding you in every aspect of your life, then what does this verse mean? Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
This warning is useless if God is not invested in guiding us even in the “trivial” things. If what this author is saying is true, then the verse would have read: Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, while considering major choices. The scripture doesn’t specify any level of decisions; thus, you can conclude it God is telling us to lean on His understanding for ALL levels of decisions.
He was bent on convincing me that there is no biblical evidence to show that God is uniquely invested in a plan for our lives. Tell that to Gideon when God had a plan to turn a fearful man to a Judge of Israel. Tell that to David when God had a plan for a shepherd boy’s life to become king of United Israel. Tell that to Mary when God had a plan for her life to carry the Savior of the world in her womb. I doubt God would be cool with Mary’s choice if she said she didn’t want to do it. If God has a specific will and plan for their lives, then I think it’s safe to say God has a specific plan for each of us as well.
Jeremiah 29:11 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.
Now that we have got that cleared up, let’s try to find the will of God in a basic problem.
You are looking for a job in management. You place your resume online and in a matter of days you are asked to participate in phone interviews for 3 companies. The companies all like to hire you. Company A is gentleman’s club and is willing to pay you $10,000 more a year than your previous job. Company B and C are pretty much carbon copies of one another with a slight pay raise from your previous employer. So, which do you choose? Being a Christian, you can easier eliminate Company A from list. That is obviously not God’s will for you…even though the pay raise was attractive. But what about Company B and Company C? They are pretty much the same. Same pay, same hours, same distance from home, same benefits…how do you choose which one God wants to you to accept so His plan for your life can be fulfilled?
This is where the 4 steps we are about to lay out will help you on those decisions that seem impossible to make
1. Know The Bible Principles: Know what is classified as sin and what is not. Know and study God’s Word so you know what is of God. Knowing God and what he thinks is key. The bible is a book for you to discover who God is. It’s more than a rule book, despite what most people think. If a decision you plan to make violates God’s laws…right off the bat it is not a good decision and you should eliminate that option from your decision-making process.
Psalm 119:66 Teach me knowledge and good judgment, for I trust your commands.
Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.
2. Seek Wise Counsel: Talk with people that are already at the place in their lives that you want to be. Talk to your wise elders, not your peers. Even consulting yourself is foolish. The elders have probably been where you are already and know what you must do to overcome that situation. You must also be careful to discern if the advice they are giving you is sound advice. If you have a good grasp on Step 1 you will be able to tell if the advice they are giving you is against the bible or complimenting the bible. If it breaks the bible principles, it’s not wise counsel. Seek someone else. To clarify my point on seeking wise counsel, for instance don’t ask a person that has been divorced 5 times on the secret to a happy marriage. They will most certainly give you bad advice.
Proverbs 12:15 The way of fools seems right to them, but the wise listen to advice.
Proverbs 15:22 Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.
3. Spiritual Prompting: When you are solid on living step 1 and step 2 you will start to think like the Lord. When you send time with God in His word and in prayer you will be able to hear His voice. The Holy Spirit will lead you in the right direction. This step can be the hardest to master because it causes you to filter out all the voices you hear and even your own thoughts and feelings, to focus on the voice of God. You have to take you feelings out of the equation. Most times if you are looking for God to speak you must get alone with God. I recommend a fast to clear your mind and ears from all distraction, so you can hear the voice of God. God might send you signs or signals…there is no telling how God will prompt you, but when you feel the Holy Spirit prompting you, be obedient. But be on guard, for if a prompting is suggesting sin it is not a prompting from God.
Spiritual prompting becomes easier when you know how to worship God in the Spirit…for tips on that read my post by clicking HERE.
Corinthians 2:15 The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments,
John 16:13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.
4. Inner Peace: God will give you peace of mind once you make a decision that is taking you in the way that God intends for you to go. Now on the other hand you can have peace of mind with sin, but you know it’s not godly peace of mind if it violates the first 3 step and especially Step 1. If your inner peace has anything to do with breaking God’s bible principles, then your inner peace is not of God—it’s most likely sin.
Colossians 3:15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.
Isaiah 32:17 The fruit of that righteousness will be peace; its effect will be quietness and confidence forever.
We all want to do God’s will, so we can be where God wants us to be. Like the example with the job choices. God may want us at a certain job, so we can be a witness to a certain person at company C who is not company B. God will not hide his will from you. He is not playing any games with you. He is not playing a game of hide and seek with his will…it’s more like seek and you shall find. Ask him sincerely and He will answer. Seek His Will.
Sometimes we can go into a state of Analysis Paralysis. That’s where many Christians, in trying to find God’s will become frozen, unable to move forward, because we are unsure what He wants for us and we are deathly afraid of making the wrong move. That’s where these 4 steps above can help you navigate through the tough choices.
You have studied God’s word and the two (or more) options are not sin, you talk to elders and they have given you good bible complimenting advice. You feel the holy Spirit leading you to a certain choice. Now work out that option in your mind. Try visualizing yourself living through that choice. If you are not sure if the Holy Spirit prompted you on any option you are facing, work through all the options in your mind. Which one gives you more peace than the other?
I’m a firm believer if you humbly consult with God about any problem or choice He will not fail to respond.
I’ll leave you with the verse I stated earlier that speaks to me. It’s one of the reason I started this blog. And maybe this verse will speak to you as well to convince you that God has a plan and a will for your life. Our job is to seek after it. Remember if this post has been a blessing to you like, comment, and share and never forget you are the salt and light of the world!
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.
Jeremiah 29:11
