Practical Ways To Understanding God's Will!

Yes and no's don’t drop from the sky as we wish. God doesn’t send us bread trails to follow. It would be convenient and would require less faith, but our walk with God is established on dependence. Therefore, our Father guides us through our confidence in Him!

When waiting for God's direction, we must remember He knows best. We have to rest our anxious hearts on this truth.

If we start going to God solely for answers, our relationship becomes lopsided. Self-centered!

He knew we would try to neglect Him to get answers. That’s why He commanded us to love Him with all our hearts, minds, souls and strength (Matthew 22:37). 

Loving Him that way requires a lot of His help. Being satisfied in Him doesn’t seem like plenty. But, He is more than enough for us. The enemy whispers lies to us like, "You are enough."

But, a man acting in worldly intellect is foolish before the Omniscient God.

THE IMPORTANCE OF PRAYER

Making a decision without prayer when we don't know what to do is literally going with the wind. The wind just might take us in the right direction. But girl, we ain't supposed to be following the wind (James 1:6)! 

We don't make decisions on a whim, hoping it's right. As Christians, we have a sovereign Father who lovingly calls us to ask and obey.

We don't have a God who tells us to figure it out and hope we land on the right answer. We have One who says, "Come to me..."

God may not tell you what you want to hear, but He will answer! 

Obeying may mean acting in faith. It may feel like literally jumping off of a bridge.  Be determined to follow God's decisions, even if you don't understand.

NOT OUR WAY; NOT OUR TIME

The Lord may not always tell us to do what we comprehend. We can study and see this in Scripture. He healed blind people with mud. Rescued people with shouting, and tested faith by splitting seas. Girl, if He is leading you...do it!

God may not answer in our time frame. He may not answer the way we want Him to. But, the Shepherd will lead. The question is will we wait for the Lord, in humility? Or will we move on, in our pride?

James said, "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him ( James 1:5)."

ACTIVE WATING

What are you to be doing, during the waiting? Obeying the last thing He told you to do, as well as seeking to know Him better. To know His Person better!

Waiting on God doesn't mean stopping everything, unless He tells you to do that. It may mean researching and interviewing, but with a firm decision to obey what/when He speaks.

GETTING AND GIVING COUNSEL

Getting godly counsel is so helpful. Go to someone that knows the Lord. Someone whose life you admire. Not someone who will tell you what you want to hear.

You know that when trying to make a decision, it seems like everybody and their mother has an answer specifically for you!

As a godly friend, wanting to give counsel, we should be careful not to give others a "yes" or "no" that comes from our desires and not God's direction. The best thing to do is to point them to the Bible and Christ.

When trying to make decisions, we have to be careful not to make people's opinions our answer. No matter how much we may like them, we must have a conviction from the Lord.

BETWEEN BEST AND BETTER

One of the hardest decisions are the ones that are between 'best and better.' Those times when you are mostly picking between pros and cons. There isn't necessarily anything sinful. Yet, there is uncertainty.

When we are searching for specific answers that the Bible doesn’t explicitly give an explanation towards, we should seek God’s heart and not the thing. We must ask if it aligns with the theme of Scripture and the character of God. 

Sometimes we want those blaring lights, that scream- "This way!" God may do that. But, oftentimes, God speaks softly. We have to continue intentionally listening. This means we have to be willing to separate ourselves from the noise.

STILL SMALL VOICE

"After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake there was a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a still, small voice." 1 Kings 19:11-12 

Even though the Lord doesn’t address specifically every situation, the Bible is the Word of God. We are to know and obey it. If we are seeking to know His will, we can’t dismiss reading His Word.

When we are trying to figure out God‘s ways, sometimes we try to manipulate God’s Word by making it say what we want it to say.

We make it have patterns, number systems, or acronyms when they don't actually exist in context. God wants us to come to His Word, eager to hear what it has to say.

HE WANTS TO GUIDE YOU

I love this quote by Clyde Cranford, "It is best not to go scrambling through the Bible with a particular decision in mind, but to stay in the Word faithfully each day, praying that God, in His own time will illuminate the verse or passage we need.”

After seeking God and not finding an answer, it may feel like we want to obey the Lord’s more than He wants to guide us. That is a lie from the enemy. God wants to reveal His will to us more than we desire Him to.

We have to remember that He calls us and we follow. We love Him because He first loved us (1 John 4:19)! Trusting His timing is important.

LOOK AT CIRCUMSTANCES

Sometimes God will use circumstances to reveal His will to us.

When I was graduating from college, I visited many different Seminaries and wasn’t sure if the Lord wanted me to live on campus or to just stay in the little town I graduated from. The place I was considering staying was a sweet small town where He saved my soul.

I would be living with a close community of believers and would have Christ-centered fellowship with my Church, while doing school online. 

It was one of those situations where neither option was sinful. However, I knew that the Lord was specific, and I didn’t know which way He wanted me to take.

I wanted a sign from the sky. I wanted people to tell me what to do. I wanted to know the answer, but to be completely honest, circumstances is mostly what the Lord used for me.

Sometimes God may lead a person directly against what a circumstance might look like. But for me, it wasn’t the case.

LED BY PEACE

I was a new believer and I needed to be in that very church where I was growing and learning in the faith, and I was still able to do school online. To some, it actually looked silly. 

Most people would’ve thought, "What are you doing? Go on with your life! But, I felt like everything fell into place, and I had a sense of peace from the Lord about it. 

My pastor at the time, who didn’t sway me in either way, told me that one of the ways that the Lord leads us is through peace. Not an emotional feeling. But, a settled confidence even through being stretched.

Some people say if God doesn’t say "no" then that means "yes." I believe we should have confidence in what we are doing. The Bible says that anything not done in faith is sin (Romans 14:23).

TRUST AND OBEY HIM

The waiting is a hard wait. Though, His answer to us may actually be "wait, child." Will you obey?

We have to learn to prefer God’s timing over our timing. God isn’t figuring things out as you ask Him questions. He knew the answer before you were born. He planned your days in your mother's womb. 

So, don’t be discouraged; He will guide. Your Shepherd knows where you are going.

The world tells you to walk by your heart, love, and the stars. The Lord says to walk by faith. It takes faith to trust His purposes when you don't have His understanding. 

On the other end of faith is promise! We war, sister, but the outcome is a reward, a testimony of His goodness, and a placeholder filled with joy where disobedience could’ve been!  Keep trusting!

PRAISE GOD FROM WHOM ALL BLESSINGS FLOW!