Many of us struggle to understand and discern God’s guidance for our lives.
We ask questions like: What job should I take? Who should I date? Should I marry or not? Should I marry this person or that person? Should I join this church or that one? Should I have another child? Which profession should I follow? Is my present line of work the one to stay in?
Does God want me to Do This or That?
Herein lies the major perplexity of knowing and doing God’s will.
Does God lead and direct in these areas? Yes.
Does He come out and overtly tell us what to do? Rarely. (Yeah, I don’t like that either but it’s still the truth.)
So how does God guide us? Consider these principles: (Think about these)
God’s Guidance Concerns Itself More With Our Steps Than Our Overall Journey.
God’s Guidance Is More Preoccupied With The Present Than With The Future.
God’s Guidance Has Less To Do With Geography And More To Do With Morality.
God’s Guidance Is More Interested In Our Character Than Our Comfort.
God’s Guidance Is Not Insider Information.
We May Seek Guidance, But God Provides Something Better—Himself.
God’s Guidance Is That We Pursue The Guide More Than Guidance.
The Lord will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring. ~Isaiah 58:11
In seeking God, His plan will be revealed. Learn to be Patient. Remember, Patience is the weapon that forces deception to reveal itself.
His way will lead back through his Word.
If the step is more critical than the journey, and the present is of greater consequence than the future, and the Guide more essential than the guidance, what is needed?
We need to know the right step to take. We need to know what we must do in the present. We need to know the Guide.
God Does Not Guide Us Magically; He Guides Us Relationally.
Therefore, the Bible must be studied so we may become acquainted with the ways and thoughts of God.
God’s aim is that we become his companions who walk with him. He already knows us. Now He wants us to understand and know him.
The more we understand Him, the more real our relationship will be with Him and the more likely we are to keep in step with Him in the direction He is taking us.
The Workings Of God In Our Lives Are Not Proportionate To Our Need Of Him, But Of Our Knowledge Of Him.
Deb & I are “Seeking” to KNOW HIM MORE
Won’t You Join Us?
See You In Church.
Check out this week’s “Study Tool” ~ “Access To Wisdom”
I have to hear from YOU! Just Comment Below. It’s not hard. Just need to know somebody is reading this? Comment on the Blog; the study; Anything!!
Or Answer this Question: You notice a Self-Destructive behavior pattern in a friend who is clearly unaware of it. If saying “something” could cost the friendship Would You point it out? If yes, how do you go about it?
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5 comments:
Great Blog & Selah PM
Direction and now Guidance……man do I need them both...and the "Timing" is now!
I was on the web looking for job opportunities praying for God’s guidance and asking Him to lead me to the right opportunities. Not only do I need to provide for my family and church, but I need to make sure this job is where God wants me to be. I am asking for His will in my life.
A great opportunity popped up for Columbia University’s new 25 year long campus construction project …….they need construction managers…….I got very juiced up……..
”God keep leading me……keep bringing opportunities my way that fulfill Your will for my life.”
In Proverbs 3:5-6 I’m trying to “acknowledge” Him in what I’m doing because I certainly want Him to make paths straight……I want so much to experience His favor in my life….
The secret for me is in v4 & 5 of 1Cor.1 (NASB) …. 4and my message and my preaching were (F)not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of (G)the Spirit and of power, 5so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on (H)the power of God.
And the prize for our accessing His guidance is in v9-10..9However, as it is written:
"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him"[b] 10but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.
Thank you Father for your Holy Spirit…..help me to always strive to have the “mind of Christ”.
Praise Him \o/
To the question……yes I would because my relationship with the person is far less valuable than the one they need to have with Him as he gets his or her life straightened out…..I’m going through this now with my own brother. I think v14-16 puts it in perspective….
14The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment. 16"For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?"[d] But we have the mind of Christ.
It's the mind of Christ that we need to strap on when we approach those we see need a change.
I'm reading the blogs PM! I've heard different people say God talks to them and guides them. So I kept thinking that something was wrong with me because I never heard this loud audible voice that I was expecting to hear. Well I still don't. But when I read His word, things stick out sometimes and they come back to me thoughout the day. Like in this blog when you talked about patience. I just read this morning about "enduring patience" and all day that phrase rang in my head. It kept me at peace, and most of all, it made me feel connnected to God. It was like He was talking to me all day!
God is awesome! Sometimes I'm blown away be the things He has planned or created. I actually say to myself, "That is so smart- only God could think of that!"
Jen King
Even when I don't know what to say in a comment, YES, I am reading these blogs and Selah! :) I am also sharing the link for people to sign-up for Selah. (A few have already thanked me. I encouraged them to REPLY to Selah to thank YOU, Pastor Mark!)
I'm dealing with a VERY sinful, lost friend that I have tried to Witness to for years. His name is Dom.
He thinks I am out of my mind for loving God and obeying His Word and living a Godly life as His Spirit directs. He knew me before I gave my life to Christ, so he remembers "the old Willie". (Ugh! Thank YOU, JESUS, for Your Precious Blood!!!)
Strangely enough, Dom also did a 180 degree change in his life, right at the time the Lord turned MY life around 180! He dove headlong into the cesspool of SIN that God had just rescued me from! :(
I am sincerely seeking God's guidance about what to say and how to say it, to bring God's light into his extremely DARKENED heart. I have tried to Witness to him all along, but it's not easy.
His father passed away when he was young. He doesn't talk about it at all, but I suspect he has blamed God for this, all his life. That may be the root of his deep rejection of the Lord.
He likes to openly mock my Faith, every chance he gets. Sometimes I can just dismiss it, but other times he gets SO VULGAR, it's hard to ignore. :(
Yes, I sure do need God's guidance to witness to this man. He is a really hardened soul.
I close with some GOOD news: THREE of his friends from the 1980's are now SAVED! Me, Dave, and Cory. The 4 of us used to "hang out" together quite a bit. Now, 3 are Saved... I'm praying for Dom to be #4!!!
God bless! :)
Hey Pastor Mark if you get this comment. please check out my blog and tell me what you think. Your insight and comments would be greatly appreciated.
Isaias Rodriguez http://irodsblog.blogspot.com/2009/10/thank-you-god-for-making-your-word.html
Hello
Looking forward to your next post
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