Iliff and Saltillo UM churches
August 25, 2002
“How to Know God’s Will for Your Life”
Psalm 16
Introduction: How many think it is difficult to know God’s will for your life? How many don’t think it is? Most people probably think it is difficult, however, scripture does not bear this out. There are many scriptures that point out that God is far more ready to reveal His will to us than we are ready to receive it. Psalms is one book in particular that confirms this idea.
Today’s Psalm is called a Michtam of David. It is considered a golden Psalm, one that is very precious and to be valued as gold because it speaks of Christ and His resurrection. It is one of the Messianic psalms tucked away in the pages of the Old Testament, and it speaks of God’s continual care and guidance. Let’s see what we can find out that will help us in our search to know God’s will.
1. Getting Over the Myth that God’s Will is Difficult to Find: We need to get over the idea that God’s will is so difficult or even impossible to know. Although David made a lot of foolish mistakes in his lifetime, as well as we do, he was a person who continually had his sights set on God. He was quick to return to the Lord in repentance when he sinned. He talked with the Lord daily no matter what mood he was in or what he was experiencing. Psalm 16 starts out by asking the Lord to keep him safe. It is thought that this Psalm was written during a time of peace and quiet and that he was not in any extreme danger at this time.
Sometimes when things are going well for us and there are no major crises in our lives, we don’t pay much attention to the Lord. We take him for granted. We don’t bother to go to church much or pray or really ask for God’s guidance. David prayed, “Keep me safe, O God, for in You I take refuge. Apart from you I have NO GOOD THING.” (vs. 1).
This verse says a lot to us about finding the will of God through having an ONGOING relationship with the Lord. He is saying, “I am putting my TOTAL CONFIDENCE in You Lord.” He approaches God as “MY Lord.” This indicates that he had a personal relationship and he knew that God was the SOURCE of all benefits. He had the expectation of safe keeping. He had a covenant with the Lord with the promise that he would be kept, guarded, and protected because he was seeking refuge in Him.
Psalm 63 shows the depth of his confidence and reliance. He says in Psalm 63:1, “O God, you are MY God, EARNESTLY I seek you. My soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.”
When we are apathetic about God, it will be difficult to find His will. Too often we yawn in God’s face. We do not earnestly seek Him. We don’t put much effort at all into finding Him or His will.
In contrast, a similar verse that shows David’s seriousness about approaching God is found in Psalm 42:1 where he says, “As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.”
He goes on to say, “the sorrows of those will increase who run after other gods.” David positioned himself under the umbrella of God’s care and had complete confidence that God would guide him and direct him in all his ways.
If I am walking close to God, I will hear him. Trust and confidence in God is the strongest reason why God should hear my prayers. David had an experience of faith. Likewise we get over the myth that God’s will is difficult to find when we have the experience of faith. We have to begin to believe that God WANTS to reveal his will to us and that he will certainly do it. Our failure to hear it is often crowded out by all of the other things that demand our attention. We go roaring after all kinds of gods--business, pleasure, family, etc.
David showed this sense of confidence and trust by:
1. praising God throughout the psalms
2. and by his obedience to God
Have you put yourself in the position where you can hear from God? What do you delight in and seek after? What other gods are you tempted to pursue? David did not want anything to do with counterfeit gods. Psalm 86:10 says, “For you are great and you ALONE are God.”
2. How Do We Make Hearing from God Difficult?:
Here are five major things:
1. We make our plans and then ask God to bless them: “Lord, here’s what I want to do and I just want you to sign your name on the dotted line.”
Scripture says in Proverbs 3:5-7, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your path straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes. Fear the Lord and turn away from evil.”
When you are wanting to make a decision about something, it is tempting to think we can handle it totally by ourselves and follow our own heart ignoring the Lord.
Some sources of advice should be easy for us to reject. For example many Americans turn to psychics for advice. You know Jesus. So you know how silly it would be to turn to a psychic for help. You may have heard about one psychic hotline going bankrupt. They should have seen it coming. But to the Christian it is obvious that these psychics were spiritually bankrupt from the very beginning. What can they offer you? We’re warned against being deceived by the unbelieving world. Sometimes we allow ourselves to be deceived by ourselves. The world says, “follow your heart,” do what “feels right.” Sometimes we can’t do that because it does not always lead us in the right direction.
STORY: The Devil’s Den
In Gettysburg there is a place called the Devil’s Den. There are very large boulders close together that you can climb on. One person decided to climb down underneath between two boulders into a crevice that was deep but not very wide.
As he climbed in someone said, “What on earth is he doing? How does he expect to get out of there?
Sure enough he got stuck. He said he had thought he would be able to come out the other end but found there wasn’t any way through once he got in there.
That’s kind of what happens in our lives when we follow our own understanding. We wind up trapped in a spiritual “devil’s den” unable to pull ourselves out the other end as easily as we thought we could. If you refuse to put your hope in the Lord, you won’t find the smooth path. You’ll get caught in the devil’s den not discerning right from wrong. And within a few years you’ll be wondering, “How am I ever going to dig myself out of the mess I’ve made of my life.” The further you have strayed from God’s path, the more difficult and more tearful the journey back to that path will be. Stay on the right path in the first place. (source unknown)
2. Impatience: One of the biggest traps we fall into is not being patient enough to wait for the Lord to reveal His plan and trying to work things out the way we want them to work.
When we are impatient, we make mistakes. This cuts us off from the flow of God’s wisdom. We lose out because we have already made a hasty decision. Be willing to accept God’s timing. God is not obligated to show you everything that your future holds right now. If He did, it might scare us because we couldn’t handle it all at once. He did promise to be “a lamp to our feet and a light unto our path.” A lamp or a flashlight will be enough to light up the next step before us but not a mile down the road. Why do we need more than that? You might not see where the path leads, but you will see clearly the next step you are to take and when you are to take it.
Like the Israelites in the wilderness, sometimes you just have to keep your eyes on the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. When it moves you move. The cloud and pillar symbolized His presence with you. Just continue to keep your eyes on it and you will not fail to be where God wants you.
3. Disobeying the Bible Because I think I’ll Miss Out:
A lot of times when we are conflicted about what God’s will is, it’s because we are hoping that He will say it’s OK to do something that He has already told me is in wrong. We want Him to make an exception to the rule just for us.
Story: The hamster and the cat--friend or foe?
James Dobson tells of a pet hamster that wanted to get out of its cage. He tried with all of his might to make that happen. No success. He was sure that was what was best for him. The cage provided safety for him. What he didn’t realize was that the pet cat was sitting there wanting to destroy him. That’s what God’s laws are like. We think they are restricting us from what it is we want to do rather than protecting us from danger and destruction.
Satan, “the cat,” will even send people our way to say, “Go ahead. There’s no harm in that,” because Satan wants us outside the will and protection of God so he can destroy us.
Don’t be disobedient to what you know God is saying to you in scripture.
A conversation with the Lord that takes place every time we want Him to approve a sinful pathway is:
US: God, can I do this?
GOD: No
US: God, can I do this?
GOD: No
US: God, can I do this?
GOD: No
US: God, can I do this?
GOD: No
US: God, can I do this?
GOD: No
US: God never speaks to me!!! Why don’t I hear His voice? Where is He?
I ask him again and again what He wants me to do and I don’t hear any answer.
When we don’t like the answer that God gives, we tell ourselves that He didn’t speak.
4. We Listen to Bad Advice from People who Don’t Know God:
Psalm 1 tells us that the person who will be blessed is the one who “walks not in the counsel of the ungodly.” That means to find God’s blessing I am not going to listen to the advice of people who have no regard for God or His will. The unsaved person or the person who spends little or no time in prayer and study will not be equipped to point me in the right direction. Watch who you are listening to when making decisions.
5. Refusing to Obey in the General Things: Sometimes finding God’s will in the specific things requires obeying Him first in the more general things. Sometimes we don’t know what He wants us to do specifically because we WON’T do what He wants us to do in general. If you don’t hear God’s voice on specific things, maybe it’s because He is waiting until you arrive at the road he has told you to take. When you get there he will set you up to hear God’s voice in the specific. Like for example, we know we are to go to church in general. We may want to know what particular church. As you go to church, he will give you insight on what specific church.
Be quick to do the general things that are outlined in scripture.
3. Knowing God’s Will Can Be Ours Throughout our Lifetime: Knowing God’s will is not difficult when we are living within His boundary lines and when we are willing to walk in the light that we know. In Verse 11 David says, “You have made known to me the path of life; you fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasure at your right hand.”
This knowledge is available to us day and night. Even when we sleep he is able to instruct us. Verse 8 also says, “because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.” The right hand signifies authority and it is impossible for any real hurt to befall those who have the Lord at their right hand.
The Psalm concludes by assuring the believer that God will be present throughout life and that he will not abandon us in death. This is the part that refers to Christ and His resurrection from the grave.
CONCLUSION:
1. It is not difficult to know God’s will when you totally place your confidence and trust in His care seeking Him wholeheartedly.
2. We can avoid making common mistakes by staying on the path and not being sidetracked by
a. leaving God out of our plans
b. being impatient
c. disobeying his laws
d. listening to bad advice
e. refusing to obey the general will of God
3. EXPECT to know His will throughout your lifetime.
LET US PRAY:
