In his letter to the Ephesian church, Paul exhorted them to “redeem the time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”
It seems that one of the great mysteries of the Christian walk involves discovering God’s will for a person. That can be difficult to people sometimes because we either will not wait on His timing or we go about seeking His will the wrong way. Some faulty ways of seeking His will are:
FLEECES (Supernatural Signs)
FASTING (Giving up food to seek God)
FLIPPING (Leaving it up to the coin)
FEELING (Feelings not logic)
FLOUNDERING (Fishing anywhere and everywhere for answers)
In this message, we will examine the vital first steps to realizing God’s will for our lives, then seek out deeper steps to know His plan for the path of our lives. (Each point starts with a letter for the word GUIDE)
First, let us open our Bibles to…
ROMANS 12:2-GO TO THE LORD
Here, Paul seems to give some very clear steps to knowing God’s will for our lives. But hidden in these words is a great truth that we would never realize unless we dig deep into this verse.
The first point is that we are to pass an initial test—transforming not conforming. Tests require preparation for a passing grade. Book reading, lecture and lab work was necessary to achieve a passing grade in my class. The same is true in our Christian walk.
Book reading: A Bible in hand is worth two on the shelf. Psalm 42:1
Lecture: Regular attention to teaching and preaching. Romans 10:17
Lab work: Getting our hands on application to life. James 1:22
If we want to pass the first initial test, then we have to prove to God that our faith is genuine and will pass the test of time. Don’t expect God to reveal His will for you next week until you practice it today.
Next, we will “prove what is that good, perfect and acceptable will of God.” The word prove in the original Greek is DOZIMADZO. This word is curious in that it has a two part meaning:
Test, examine or scrutinize.
Recognize as genuine after examination.
WOW! If we will just take God at His promises, apply His word and practice what He tells us to do, then we can recognize His promises and word as genuine!
My daughter knows that when she reaches out to me that I will take her. Actually, she does that much more with her mother than she does me. She knows that one of us will take her because she has tried us time and time again, and gotten the same result.
Abraham is commended in Hebrews 11:8 for leaving his home, “not knowing where he was going.” Abraham had lived in Ur and received the command from God to go to a land he would be shown. He ignored that call, but after moving to Haran, he obeyed God’s command.
Proverbs 3:5 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and he shall direct your paths.”
PSALMS 119:105 & PROVERBS 6:23-UNDERSTAND HIS PRINCIPLES
If you want to know how to play a board game, you have to read the instruction book. If you read the rule book for Monopoly, it says that the “Free Parking” space is just that: Free Parking. It costs you nothing, and you gain nothing by landing on it. But if you rely on someone who has not read the rule book in a while, they will tell you that money for houses, hotels, taxes and whatever else goes in the center of the board and then to the person who lands on Free Parking.
The Bible clearly tells us that we are not to lust, covet, marry an unbeliever. It also clearly lets us know that God expects us to worship Him and Him alone, He expects us to be holy, and not to take a Christian to court. Sometimes matters are not so clear. For example, should I or should I not buy a lottery ticket? The Bible does not have a verse: “Thou shalt not play the numbers.” But Proverbs 28:22 does tell us that “A man with an evil eye hastens after wealth, But he who makes haste to be rich will not go unpunished.” God’s Word does not tell us “For the time will come when they will prefer Big Macs to healthy food,” but it does tell us in I Corinthians 6:19-20 to treat our bodies like a holy temple.
PROVERBS 18:17-INVESTIGATE YOUR OPTIONS
Let’s say that you have gone to the capitol of WV, Myrtle Beach. You are out in the water and see a shark fin coming your way. You have several options. You could ignore it. You could try to take on the shark with your bare hands. Or you could discreetly head to shore, not drawing attention to yourself. Obviously, there is one wise option: head for shore.
Investigating your options means “don’t’ check your brain in at the door.” It means to look at all sides and avenues. That is what the verse in Proverbs warns us against—make sure you are using your wits. If your remember the early church in Acts 6, the apostles were told of a difference of opinion between Greek-speaking Jews and Aramaic-speaking Jews. Instead of jumping right in, the apostles appointed seven deacons to do this work, so the apostles could “devote ourselves to prayer, and the ministry of the word.”
Examine the unique aspects of your specific situation. No two people are the same, nor are two situations alike. Of course, we must always follow God’s revealed word in all aspects it addresses, but there are some aspects that are not addressed. Should I go to WVU? Well, it is a fine school and has some excellent programs. But just because it was a great fit for Nathan Moles doesn’t mean that it will be a great fit for David Fisher or Matthew Rucker.
Discover your abilities, gifts, talents and weaknesses. If you never took a keyboarding class, never learned the right way to type on a computer, and are lucky to type 35 words per minute, then you should not apply or even take a job the requires an accurate typist who types a minimum of 80 words per minute. Don’t even pray to God to help you out in that one! God gave all of us our own unique mix of talents and abilities for his own work. Ephesians 4:11 tells us that some people are apostles, some as prophets, evangelists, pastors or teachers for the building up of the body of Christ.
PROVERBS 27:9, 17-DISCUSS IT WITH OTHERS
Proverbs also tells us that “where there is no counsel, the people fall: but in the multitude of counselors there is safety.” A meeting of minds can help people see their ideas with new clarity, refine them, and shape them into brilliant insights. This requires discussion partners who can challenge each other and stimulate thought. J. I. Packer said “Don’t be a spiritual long-ranger; when you think you see God’s will, have your perception checked.”
When seeking advice, make sure that you seek it from the right person. Don’t seek legal advice from a plumber. If you are trying to decide how to chose a marriage partner, don’t ask someone who has been divorced a lot. We need to seek out information from reliable sources. That goes for spiritual matters, as well. When we have family problems, don’t seek the advice of a counselor who is not a Christian.
When buying our first home, Kristin and I looked at a number of houses. When we found one that we loved, we asked some questions about it from the realtor. There had been some problems with the foundation, but the selling realtor said that they felt the problem was resolved. Kristin and I learned that there would possibly be a contract on the house soon. We would need a house inspection and a structural inspection done within a day or two. The realtor advised us that, even though we loved the house, it would be wise to wait. I just learned a few days ago that the foundation of that house needed thousands of dollars of additional work done on its foundation.
GENESIS 2:19-20, 16-17-EXPRESS YOUR FREEDOM
Does every single decision in our life have to be anointed in prayer? Let me give some examples:
Would you like to super-size that, sir?
Do I need to wear a blue shirt or a red shirt today?
Did you want your new car with the ultimate accessory package or without?
Which satellite package do you want: The Basic 50, The Super 100, or the Awesome 200 Plus?
Some decisions like the first two are not going to cause a major problem if we just make a decision. The next two, while not necessarily needing constant prayer for guidance, should take other matters into consideration. For example, if getting the ultimate accessory package on your new car will trample all over your wife’s feelings or make it hard to keep food on the table, then it is not a good idea. If the Awesome 200 Plus package will distract too much of your time, then just get the Basic 50.
God made man with intelligence and with the desire to make decisions. God gave Adam the freedom to choose names for all the animals, and did not interfere. He gave man the freedom to eat any fruit in the garden, but only restricted food from one tree. Adam and Eve made the wrong decision on that one, because it was expressly outside of God’s will.
Sometimes, when you may be in doubt, it may be wise to wait. It is crazy to agonize over whether or not to “super size” your meal. If we are extremely uneasy about a decision, we should take time to evaluate why we feel that way.
