Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. - Proverbs 3:5-6 NLT
Have you ever felt like you were in a fog about a decision you were facing? Do you wonder if there is actually a way to know the right choice to make and if God will guide you? If you’ve ever felt this way before, you’re not alone.
Key 1: Getting Guidance from The word of God
“Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world.” - 1 John 4:1 NLT
When I was a kid, there was a lot of buzz around a book entitled, 88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Be In 1988. A lot of Christians at the time laughed it off as a hoax. But there were many who took it as a Word from God. They sold most of their possessions, emptied their bank accounts, and some even quit their jobs, awaiting what they felt was the imminent return of Christ. They were pretty disappointed when January 1, 1989, rolled around.
Today’s verse reminds us to test every spirit, or messenger, claiming to be from God to see if what they’re saying is actually from God.
If you feel like you’ve received a word from God, check to see if it agrees with the word of God.
If someone teaches you something that doesn’t agree with the Bible, then that teaching is not from God. There are many communicators and teachings that claim to be “new” additions to the Scriptures. Others will come in and try to tell people to do something contrary to the teaching of Scripture because “God” told them that it was OK for them to break His rules this one time.
Don’t believe them.
God will never ask you to violate His word to accomplish His will.
The Bible is God’s final authority for our lives. To know God’s Will for your life you’ve got to start with God’s Word.
Pause and Reflect
- What are some ways that regularly spending time in God’s Word can help you make better decisions?
- What area of your life are you seeking God’s direction for right now? How can you begin to seek guidance from the Bible on what God wants you to do?
Key 2: Asking help from the people of God
“Plans go wrong for lack of advice; many advisers bring success.” - Proverbs 15:22 NLT
My wife and I got married three weeks after graduating college. I got so busy with work, school, and wedding planning that I put off looking for a place for us till the last minute. I came across an apartment not far from work. It looked great and the rent was lower than most of the other places we had looked at.
That should have been our first clue.
My fiancée (now wife) asked if we should talk to some people, we knew who knew the area better than we did to get their advice. I was worried that if we asked and they had some bad things to say about the area, we would lose the place and must start from scratch. So, I told her I didn’t think we needed to.
That was my second mistake.
Long story short, after having my car broken into (which cost $500+ to fix) and getting held up at gun point, we started looking around for another place. But this time I did what I should have done the first time around: I asked for help.
When you don’t know God’s will for your life, ask advice from the people of God in your life.
Today’s verse reminds that we should get advice from the godly people in our life. This could be a pastor, a youth group leader, and teacher, a family member, or a good friend. The key is they need to love Jesus, love you, and have a track record of making good decisions.
Author and speaker Michael Hyatt says it this way:
“Never take advice from people who aren’t getting the results you want to experience.”
Discover God’s will for your life by asking advice from the godly people in your life.
Pause and Reflect
- What area(s) of your life are you struggling to discern God’s Will for you right now?
- Who are some godly people who you can go to for advice this week?
Key 3: Learning the timing of God
“Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.” - Psalm 27:14 (NLT)
A couple of months ago I was listening to a message by Rick Warren over at Saddleback Church. In his message he shared four ways that God answers our prayer requests:
- When the request is not right God says, “No.”
- When I’m not right God says, “Grow.”
- When the timing isn’t right God says, “Slow.”
- When the request is right, I’m right, and the timing is right God says, “Go.”
How do we know if God’s answer to us is no, grow, slow, or go? Here are two steps to help you find out:
1. Pray for God to show you what to do and to give you the strength to do it.
The Bible says, “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord” - James 1:5-7 (NLT).
If you want to know what God wants you to do, ask him. Too often we ask everyone else what they think God wants us to do without going directly to God and asking Him what He wants us to do.
The Bible tells us, “So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most” - Hebrews 4:16 (NLT).
Don’t be afraid to ask God for help (and don’t wait till the last minute either). God’s help is readily available to everyone who asks for it.
2. Ask yourself, “what is the wisest thing to do in this situation?”
The Apostle Paul wrote, “So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise...Don’t act thoughtlessly but understand what the Lord wants you to do” - Ephesians 5:15 & 17 (NLT).
God doesn’t want you to check your brain at the door. Whatever decision you’re contemplating ask yourself, “What is the wisest thing to do in this situation.”
In his book, Ask It: The Question That Will Revolutionize How You Make Decisions, Andy Stanley asks a variation of this question like this: “In light of your past experiences, present circumstances, and future hopes and dreams, what is the wisest thing to do?”
Pause and Reflect
- What’s a big decision that you need to make in your life right now? How can you incorporate prayer into your decision-making process?
- Considering your past experiences, present circumstances, and future hopes and dreams, what is the wisest thing for you to do in this situation?
Key 4: Exploring how you've been shaped by God
“God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.” - 1 Peter 4:10-11 NLT
A couple of months ago I was talking to a lady I’ll call Anne.
Anne wanted to join the worship ministry at her church. She met with the worship pastor and went through their selection process but couldn’t join the team. She was disappointed and frustrated with their decision. She was even considering leaving the church over it.
As we talked more, I discovered that Anne had a history of joining a church, trying out for the worship team, being turned down, then leaving the church not long afterwards. All the churches told her the same thing: she just didn’t have the right skill set for leading worship.
I asked Anne what some of her skills were, but she couldn’t tell me. I then asked her what other people complimented her on, asked her to work on, and where she had experienced success. She said prayer ministry. She said every church she went to people always asked her to pray for them. She said she would go out of their way to write encouraging notes to people who were sick or discouraged. Everywhere Anne went, it seemed, people were asking her to pray for them and experiencing healing and hope when she did.
When Anne finished talking, I pointed out to her that God may have a different ministry for her than she intended. I empathized with her feelings of rejection from the worship team, but made the observation that, while the ministry God made her for was different than what she hoped for, it wasn’t in any way less important or less vital to the health of the church.
Today’s verse and story leads us to an important truth about discovering God’s Will for your life:
How God has shaped you are clues to his overall will for your life as well as a singular decision you may be facing.
Your skills, personality, heart, and experiences are all signs for what God wants you to do with your life. God’s not going to ask you to do something he hasn’t shaped you to do. It would be like trying to use a blender to fry an egg. That’s not what a blender was designed for.
You owe it to yourself, and to the world, to discover what you’re good at and to use how God has wired you and what He’s given you to make a difference in this world.
As author and speaker Leo Buscaglia once said, "your talent is God's gift to you. What you do with it is your gift back to God."
Pause and Reflect
- What skills and abilities has God given you? How has God wired your personality? What kind of life experiences have you had? What do you get excited about?
- What do your answers to the previous questions tell you about God’s Will for your life right now?
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