Experiencing God's Guidance

I thought I would share something with all of you readers that was extremely helpful to me.

I have been worrying for the last few months, maybe more, about my future. Some things have happened that were exciting, but then other things happened, or didn’t happen, that have left me wondering what in the heck was going on.

Anyway, last week, I was at a Bible study that Mastermedia New York holds every other week for some of the Key Men in the New York media, people who are Christians and interested in growing in their faith, and being challenged to be more open to their non Christian co workers. Dr. Larry Poland, the head of Mastermedia International was in New York, and so he was asked to give the study. Below is the content of his study, with some thoughts of my own, that really spoke to me.

EXPERIENCING GOD'S GUIDANCE

Often, we feel we have to find God’s will. I know I have felt that way. People have written books about divining, finding, whatever, God’s will in and for our lives. We worry, we fret… and then we look back and say, ah, now it makes sense.

BUT… Larry made a good point. We don’t need to worry! If we make Christ our LORD, the least we should be able to expect is His direction. Also, His direction ought to be accessible, in time, without a hassle. In striving to find God’s will – something He never asked of us – we miss the experience of accepting it.

The keys are pretty simple, and I would urge you to look up the passages.

1. The Bible declares that believers who are surrendered to the control of God’s Spirit can assume full and complete guidance.

A: All sons and daughters of God are inherently LED by Him (Romans 8:14) “those who are LED by the Spirit of God are SONS of God.” Basically, if you are a Christian, you are an heir of Christ, a son or daughter of God, and this passage gives you the promise – HE WILL LEAD AND GUIDE YOU.

B: God promises full guidance and counsel in life choices to the godly. (Psalms 32:8, 48:14) He says, “I will instruct you in the way you should go” in the first passage. HE WILL GUIDE YOU. He promises that.

C: God’s Guidance isn’t based on human perception; He guides even the blind! (Isaiah 42:16) The thought here is that He led you to himself when you were spiritually blind, and so obviously He can lead you in the direction He has for you now!

2. If you were an infinite God observing the limited and often immature perceptions of your children, would you trust them to figure out what you wanted for them? I mean, think about it. Here is the supreme intelligence in the universe, the God who knows and sees everything. He created these creatures that are driven by desires and passions that get in the way of reason, they think they know everything, but know only a very small amount, and even that which they know they mess up. Would that supreme intelligence require these creatures to divine what he was thinking? NO! Neither does God. In Proverbs 3:5-6 He merely asks us to meet three conditions on a continuing basis.

A: Keep trusting HIM with all your heart – nobody else “Trust in the LORD with all your heart.” This is difficult at times. Basically, trust that He knows the best for you, and He will show you that best in His timing.

B: Do your research and analysis, but rely far more on His greater understanding “Lean not on your own understanding”. It doesn’t say “lean not on your ignorance”. He wants us to research and analyze. But at the end of the day, we only see a part of the picture He is painting, and we need to rely on what He shows us (more on this later).

C: Keep putting Him and His will FIRST among all the alternatives you do have open to you. “In all your ways acknowledge Him”. Whatever you do, acknowledge who He is, what He has done for you, and follow what He tells you, not what your own research might say.
The Promise: Do the above and He will actively direct you, not hope you find His way! Isn’t that great? He WILL DIRECT you. He says so. You don’t have to divine what He wants, at the right time, He will SHOW you!

Okay, great… but how do you know that it is God directing you?

3. There are some indicators of God’s revealed will.

A: God’s Word (Psalms 119:105) It is non negotiable. His will NEVER contradicts His word. Certain things are spelled out clearly. Divorce is wrong, murder is wrong, stealing is wrong. His will will never be that you divorce a spouse to marry another (someone actually came to Larry with that conviction).

B: Open Doors (John 10:3-4) Knock on whatever doors you see, but know He always opens the doors He wants entered. He will also close doors He doesn’t want entered.

C: Counsel of the wise and Spirit-filled (Proverbs 15:22) they will help confirm or deny God’s will. They must be Spirit-filled people, don’t just ask the homeless guy on the street. Parents, teachers, mentors, pastors, Bible study leaders, and good friends are all examples of people to ask. They won’t reveal God’s will, but they will often confirm it. And if it is truly God’s will, most will agree on what you should do, and they will provide a deeper knowledge of that will.

D: Inner peace – not feelings, but the “clear conscience” in His will (1 John 3:19-22) “… God is greater than our hearts, and He knows everything… if our hearts condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from Him anything we ask…” Feelings, as in the senses, will lead us astray, and change minute to minute. But you know how you just feel good deep down, no matter what your senses are feeling, about doing something that is right? Or bad about something you did wrong? It is the same idea. You just feel in your self that something is right or wrong, or not the best, or the best. That is what it means by peace in your spirit.

If 3 of the above line up, indecision on a matter may just be disobedience. God has shown you His will, you MUST follow it, or you are going against it.

We don't have to sweat about finding God’s will. We can be filled with Him, and we should thank Him for it by faith, meet the conditions and accept His direction consciously, subconsciously, or unconsciously!

Basically, the above helped me realize I didn’t have to WORRY about finding God’s will. When it seems like I can’t find it, it is really God saying, “wait, do what I told you to do, and when you get to the point I want you to get, I will show you the next thing.”

God is our Father. No father would expect his kid to know what he was thinking for him. He just expects the child to do what he says. And if the kid does the wrong thing, the father will try to stop him. Think of a kid playing ball, and the ball goes into the street. The kid chases it. The father says, “don’t go into the street”. If the kid keeps going, he yells louder… and if the kid gets to close, the father will run and tackle him. God is the same way. If we don’t get it when He says no quietly, He may have to tackle us to keep us from getting more hurt.

Anyway, I hope that is helpful, or interesting. It was to me!

Please note, this study is copywritten by Dr. Larry Poland. I am sure he wouldn't mind you using it, but give credit where it is due. For more information on Mastermedia International, check out the website.