The Will of God

[Snackersmom]

I wanted to start a thread about seeking God's will, because I feel like there are a lot of different opinions about the topic here on the singles forum. So, I wanted people to have a chance to explain what His guidance means to them. I'm going to try to explain my personal convictions using a true story:

Recently, my family's business was presented with an opportunity for expansion. On the surface, everything seemed nearly perfect; Going forward with the opportunity fit in quite tidily with my own personal opinion as to how the next step should look. Financially, it was going to be a bit of a stretch to obtain, but still do-able, especially considering that God can always work things for good, for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.

The trick was finding out if the expansion was according to His purpose or not.

So, everyone involved committed the matter to prayer, and we all came back with the same answer: "Don't do it."

And when I got that answer, even though I was REALLY hoping for a "Yes", I actually felt very relieved and peaceful about it.....because at least I was fairly certain that I knew what we were supposed to do, and even though it wasn't what I was personally hoping for, I knew that His ways are WAY above mine, and He sees things that I can't see.....if He didn't want us to go through with it, then disobeying would probably have been a disaster.

So, what does "Seeking God's Will" mean to you?

P.S. Keep it civil please, and I am hereby banning everyone from using the word "eschatology". Just wanted to make that clear.

 

[LightningClap0002]

^^ This, almost word for word. ^^

Well said.

 

[Liamson]

"This is a question that burdens many believers, both because they fear to be out of God’s will and because they want to make decisions that God will bless.

Many Christians seek to know God’s will through supernatural revelation. The example of Gideon is often cited: the hero of the Book of Judges laid out his fleece and by covering it with dew or not God revealed his will (Jud. 6:36-40). They fail to realize, however, that the Bible does not commend this practice and that as a Messianic forerunner Gideon had privileges most of us do not. In general, the Bible gives us no encouragement to supernatural directions as to whether or not we should marry Suzy, take the job in Cleveland, or even go off to the missions field.

One danger for those seeking some voice or vision to guide them is that their emotions are able to manufacture such experiences, especially when there is a great deal of intensity involved with a decision. Over the years, I have run across a number of ruinous examples of this. A woman told another, “God told me he wants you to marry a man who plays piano.” After the recipient spent two years waiting for her own Elton John, she learned that her prophetess was merely acting out of her own psychotic need to play god. Another danger is that those seeking divine guidance may be led by Satan just as easily as by the Lord. This is why John warned us: “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 Jn. 4:1). If you think God has revealed something specific about your life, you should test it against the teachings of the Bible – since God cannot contradict himself – and seek the counsel of trusted believers. In general, we should be skeptical of such supposed revelations, especially when we are under stress. Even the apostle Paul seems to have held this view. When he had the dream asking him to go to Macedonia, Luke says that, together with his associates, Paul “concluded” that they should in fact go (Acts 16:10). The Greek word for “concluded” indicates that Paul got together with his colleagues to exercise their godly discernment about the dream before following it.

The Ten Commandments alone will clear up many decisions, but all through the Bible we are instructed by God’s moral dictates. All our decisions should be filtered through them if we want to serve God’s revealed will. Second, various principles are worked out in Scripture. “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,” Jesus taught (Mt. 6:33). 1 Timothy 6:10 says, “The love of money is a root of all kinds of evils.” Comparing potential decisions with these and other principles will help us to make godly choices. Third, we might compare our situation with the examples and illustrations in Scripture. What did David do in a similar trial? Where did Saul go wrong? Did Jesus ever face this situation? These are fruitful lines of questioning. Instead of seeking some supernatural word that will relieve us of responsibility for making godly decisions, we are to cultivate biblical decision-making through familiarity with the Word God has already revealed.

Often, when people say they want to know God’s will for their lives, they mean that they want to be assured that everything will go as they plan, without difficulty or trial. One thing we can be sure about God’s will is that this is not his plan. Instead of seeking relief from the prospect of difficulty or worldly failure, Christians should instead seek to honor God with decisions that are obedient to his Word, trusting him to make all our seemingly twisted paths straight in his loving care of our lives."

Source: Sinclair B. Ferguson, Discovering God’s Will (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1982), 29-32.

After a recent discussion with a fellow God fearing and Respectable CCer I searched for a more articulate and Biblical arrangement to what I believe to be the Truth. And I think it serves the purpose of answering your question as best I know how.

 

[LightningClap0002]

Interesting article, I promise I won't hijack ms nichole's thread. I just wanted to say that I have said this line "Another danger is that those seeking divine guidance may be led by Satan just as easily as by the Lord" over and over. I'm sorry if I didn't temper our previous discussions with this enough. I've even go as far as to say that 'discerning/testing the truly exceptional/miraculous signs takes more time than just being guided to scriptures in the first place.' And divination is clearly identified as sin.

I think for many of us here, who I truly think are mature God-fearing christians, run into far more circumstances that are not 'so easy to clear up with the 10 commandments.' In my experience it seems to be a result of the devil getting desperate. As we grow stronger, He has to disguise the truth behind another layer, and then another. The stronger we get, the more twisted his challenges become.

'Seeking God's will' apart from Scripture and fellow believers(requires a 'real' relationship to discern?) seems foolish to me. But I don't have specific scripture to back that up.

 

[Snackersmom]

"This is a question that burdens many believers, both because they fear to be out of God’s will and because they want to make decisions that God will bless.

Many Christians seek to know God’s will through supernatural revelation. The example of Gideon is often cited: the hero of the Book of Judges laid out his fleece and by covering it with dew or not God revealed his will (Jud. 6:36-40). They fail to realize, however, that the Bible does not commend this practice and that as a Messianic forerunner Gideon had privileges most of us do not. In general, the Bible gives us no encouragement to supernatural directions as to whether or not we should marry Suzy, take the job in Cleveland, or even go off to the missions field.

One danger for those seeking some voice or vision to guide them is that their emotions are able to manufacture such experiences, especially when there is a great deal of intensity involved with a decision. Over the years, I have run across a number of ruinous examples of this. A woman told another, “God told me he wants you to marry a man who plays piano.” After the recipient spent two years waiting for her own Elton John, she learned that her prophetess was merely acting out of her own psychotic need to play god. Another danger is that those seeking divine guidance may be led by Satan just as easily as by the Lord. This is why John warned us: “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 Jn. 4:1). If you think God has revealed something specific about your life, you should test it against the teachings of the Bible – since God cannot contradict himself – and seek the counsel of trusted believers. In general, we should be skeptical of such supposed revelations, especially when we are under stress. Even the apostle Paul seems to have held this view. When he had the dream asking him to go to Macedonia, Luke says that, together with his associates, Paul “concluded” that they should in fact go (Acts 16:10). The Greek word for “concluded” indicates that Paul got together with his colleagues to exercise their godly discernment about the dream before following it.

The Ten Commandments alone will clear up many decisions, but all through the Bible we are instructed by God’s moral dictates. All our decisions should be filtered through them if we want to serve God’s revealed will. Second, various principles are worked out in Scripture. “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,” Jesus taught (Mt. 6:33). 1 Timothy 6:10 says, “The love of money is a root of all kinds of evils.” Comparing potential decisions with these and other principles will help us to make godly choices. Third, we might compare our situation with the examples and illustrations in Scripture. What did David do in a similar trial? Where did Saul go wrong? Did Jesus ever face this situation? These are fruitful lines of questioning. Instead of seeking some supernatural word that will relieve us of responsibility for making godly decisions, we are to cultivate biblical decision-making through familiarity with the Word God has already revealed.

Often, when people say they want to know God’s will for their lives, they mean that they want to be assured that everything will go as they plan, without difficulty or trial. One thing we can be sure about God’s will is that this is not his plan. Instead of seeking relief from the prospect of difficulty or worldly failure, Christians should instead seek to honor God with decisions that are obedient to his Word, trusting him to make all our seemingly twisted paths straight in his loving care of our lives."

Source: Sinclair B. Ferguson, Discovering God’s Will (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1982), 29-32.

After a recent discussion with a fellow God fearing and Respectable CCer I searched for a more articulate and Biblical arrangement to what I believe to be the Truth. And I think it serves the purpose of answering your question as best I know how.

I see where you're coming from, and I do see plenty of wisdom in exercising extreme caution when ANYONE informs us that they have a "word form God". I've seen WAY too many people "play prophet(ess)", and the aftermath can be disastrous. I think that's why Paul said "Despise not prophesyings, but prove all things; hold fast that which is good". Bad things can happen when someone takes a "word" and runs with it like a little-leaguer heading the wrong way around the bases.....poor kiddo gets so intent on what he's doing, he doesn't hear the crowd of friends and relatives yelling at him to slow down and check where he's going!

So, I get that ^ part, but I'm still a little bit fuzzy on the rest. I know that God speaks to different people in different ways, and I think that's pretty cool. Perhaps some He only speaks to through the Bible and other Christians, and if so I have no problem with that. However, in the situation I presented, Bible-reading wouldn't have really helped, as there are plenty of verses that could have led us in either direction (staying out of debt versus being industrious in business), and before asking God about it, the other Christians involved were just as clueless as I was! So, asking them for their opinion wouldn't have done any good. We all WANTED the expansion, and going through with it certainly made sense in a lot of ways, but ultimately we had to drop our own understanding and trust God to show us what HE wanted. And, I don't think anyone alive can convince me that His will wasn't followed concerning the situation.

I'm not trying to be argumentative, just trying to figure out how you see things .

 

[LightningClap0002]

I see where you're coming from, and I do see plenty of wisdom in exercising extreme caution when ANYONE informs us that they have a "word form God". I've seen WAY too many people "play prophet(ess)", and the aftermath can be disastrous. I think that's why Paul said "Despise not prophesyings, but prove all things; hold fast that which is good". Bad things can happen when someone takes a "word" and runs with it like a little-leaguer heading the wrong way around the bases.....poor kiddo gets so intent on what he's doing, he doesn't hear the crowd of friends and relatives yelling at him to slow down and check where he's going!

So, I get that ^ part, but I'm still a little bit fuzzy on the rest. I know that God speaks to different people in different ways, and I think that's pretty cool. Perhaps some He only speaks to through the Bible and other Christians, and if so I have no problem with that. However, in the situation I presented, Bible-reading wouldn't have really helped, as there are plenty of verses that could have led us in either direction (staying out of debt versus being industrious in business), and before asking God about it, the other Christians involved were just as clueless as I was! So, asking them for their opinion wouldn't have done any good. We all WANTED the expansion, and going through with it certainly made sense in a lot of ways, but ultimately we had to drop our own understanding and trust God to show us what HE wanted. And, I don't think anyone alive can convince me that His will wasn't followed concerning the situation.

I'm not trying to be argumentative, just trying to figure out how you see things .

The way I see it, this comes into play in that case Nichole "you should test it against the teachings of the Bible – since God cannot contradict himself – and seek the counsel of trusted believers. "

 

[arwen83]

I wanted to start a thread about seeking God's will, because I feel like there are a lot of different opinions about the topic here on the singles forum. So, I wanted people to have a chance to explain what His guidance means to them. I'm going to try to explain my personal convictions using a true story:

Recently, my family's business was presented with an opportunity for expansion. On the surface, everything seemed nearly perfect; Going forward with the opportunity fit in quite tidily with my own personal opinion as to how the next step should look. Financially, it was going to be a bit of a stretch to obtain, but still do-able, especially considering that God can always work things for good, for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.

The trick was finding out if the expansion was according to His purpose or not.

So, everyone involved committed the matter to prayer, and we all came back with the same answer: "Don't do it."

And when I got that answer, even though I was REALLY hoping for a "Yes", I actually felt very relieved and peaceful about it.....because at least I was fairly certain that I knew what we were supposed to do, and even though it wasn't what I was personally hoping for, I knew that His ways are WAY above mine, and He sees things that I can't see.....if He didn't want us to go through with it, then disobeying would probably have been a disaster.

So, what does "Seeking God's Will" mean to you?

P.S. Keep it civil please, and I am hereby banning everyone from using the word "eschatology". Just wanted to make that clear.

Still trying to figure that out, but usually I can tell if I know if the decision will get me closer to God or stray away from Him. Since I have made many mistakes in my life, I've learned to recognize the voice that tells me that it's probably not a good idea even though I want it to be. It is in my best interest that I don't.

God usually speaks to me through my dreams, I've had dreams where I have made a certain decision and regretted it in my dream. I think I feel as if I would if I decided to go through with it in real life. It's kind of neat, having a taste of the possible consequence before I actually go ahead with it. Some people would call it just my conscience & self-awareness speaking to me. Maybe so, or maybe its God. I don't know.

When I 'seek' God's will- by asking Him, like if I will be a wife & mother or stay single for the rest of my life, or etc. I don't think I get much of an answer. And maybe the silence is the answer? I dunno. It confuses me.

 

[niceguyJ]

Romans 12:1-2 Expanded Bible (EXB)

12 ·So [Therefore] brothers and sisters, since God has shown us great mercy, I ·beg [urge; appeal to] you to offer your ·lives [selves; L bodies] as a living sacrifice to him. Your offering must be ·only for God [holy] and pleasing to him, which is the ·spiritual [or authentic; true; or appropriate; fitting; or rational; reasonable] way for you to worship. 2 Do not be ·shaped by [conformed to; pressed into a mold by] this ·world [age]; instead be ·changed within [transformed] by ·a new way of thinking [or changing the way you think; L the renewing of your mind]. Then you will be able to ·decide [discern; test and approve] what ·God wants for you [is God’s will]; you will know what is good and pleasing to him and what is perfect.


I think that verse says a lot. I'm also really liking that EXB translation Biblegateway.com has now.

 

[Snackersmom]

Still trying to figure that out, but usually I can tell if I know if the decision will get me closer to God or stray away from Him. Since I have made many mistakes in my life, I've learned to recognize the voice that tells me that it's probably not a good idea even though I want it to be. It is in my best interest that I don't.

God usually speaks to me through my dreams, I've had dreams where I have made a certain decision and regretted it in my dream. I think I feel as if I would if I decided to go through with it in real life. It's kind of neat, having a taste of the possible consequence before I actually go ahead with it. Some people would call it just my conscience & self-awareness speaking to me. Maybe so, or maybe its God. I don't know.

When I 'seek' God's will- by asking Him, like if I will be a wife & mother or stay single for the rest of my life, or etc. I don't think I get much of an answer. And maybe the silence is the answer? I dunno. It confuses me.

I like what you said about being spoken to through dreams, God seems to use that with some people more than others. I think that if you are really seeking Him in a situation and asking for His opinion, then He'll keep you on track in whatever way He sees fit .

As far as getting answers on the bigger things, like whether or not you'll get married.......yeah, I hear ya. I seldom ask Him things that I don't NEED to know, because He almost never answers. It's almost like He tells us JUST what we need to hear, JUST when we need to hear it.....anything else seems to get a bit more sketchy, answer-wise. Sometimes I think He likes to keep us guessing a bit, maybe so He can surprise us, or maybe just to keep us on our spiritual toes .

NiceguyJ: I like that verse! I think a big part of being able to hear/discern God's will is simply being truly open to going with whatever He says, even if it's not what we think we want. Easy to say, not always easy to do, but His peace certainly makes it easier.

Lightning: I get what you're saying, and those are both good and biblical things to do. But I think that sometimes we have to take a leap of faith and just ask God to let His peace be our guide, for those times when bible-reading and Christian counsel just won't tell you what you need to know.

 

[LightningClap0002]

I like what you said about being spoken to through dreams, God seems to use that with some people more than others. I think that if you are really seeking Him in a situation and asking for His opinion, then He'll keep you on track in whatever way He sees fit .

As far as getting answers on the bigger things, like whether or not you'll get married.......yeah, I hear ya. I seldom ask Him things that I don't NEED to know, because He almost never answers. It's almost like He tells us JUST what we need to hear, JUST when we need to hear it.....anything else seems to get a bit more sketchy, answer-wise. Sometimes I think He likes to keep us guessing a bit, maybe so He can surprise us, or maybe just to keep us on our spiritual toes .

NiceguyJ: I like that verse! I think a big part of being able to hear/discern God's will is simply being truly open to going with whatever He says, even if it's not what we think we want. Easy to say, not always easy to do, but His peace certainly makes it easier.

Lightning: I get what you're saying, and those are both good and biblical things to do. But I think that sometimes we have to take a leap of faith and just ask God to let His peace be our guide, for those times when bible-reading and Christian counsel just won't tell you what you need to know.

My question: Is it really ever good to take a leap of faith regarding what is/isn't God's will, or should the leaps be based on faith that God will do what He tells us He will? This is a question that I have always answered as 'faith that God exists and is who the Bible says He is and will do what He promises' even though I didn't know the question I was answering until just recently. This view, undoubtedly was fueled by the theological world I grew up in as well as the philosophical world I entered into; I can't point directly to scripture here. So the question is real, have you considered it before? Do you have a belief built on scripture?

Also, I get answers on all kinds of questions. I used to always think answers were about the dreams/visions/voices in your head, or whatever and wondered if my spiritual life was broken. I didn't get the dreams/voices etc, still don't, but God has shown me how He speaks through His word and others...a lot!

 

[MarkayMrk777]

When seeking God's Will, I always seem to get "three witnesses" that is
three different people or events are saying the same thing... in agreement.
I call it the "three witness rule"

 

[Snackersmom]

I do not believe that we are robots who are incapable of stepping outside of God's will. I have actually toyed with settling for less than His best, because I was tired of waiting for His answer. When I finally surrendered the issue to Him, the peace I felt immediately afterwards was amazing......it surpassed my comprehension. When I have a decision to make, or if something is bothering me, I like to think of this verse:

6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all [a]comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. -Philippians 4:6-7

Those who know me well know that I am INCREDIBLY good at being anxious about darn near EVERYTHING, particularly if I have a fairly big decision to make. However, I have learned that if I ask God to show me what He wants (make my request known), He simply will NOT allow me to feel peaceful about a bad decision.....even if my heart and mind are going against what I think He wants, He guards them with His incomprehensible peace. It has never failed me.

However, I know that people are very different, and God deals with us all differently. For some, He may use dreams, for others He may use Christian counsel, while others are only comfortable with what they feel can be read in the Bible in black-and-white. He has used multiple methods for me throughout my walk, and I'm thankful for each and every one of them.

 

[BarlyGurl]

>>>>And divination is clearly identified as sin.<<<<

Divination which is forbidden is the intentional seeking of advice/wisdom/revelation from SPIRITS (which is occultism). In NO WAY should occultism be confused with seeking advice/wisdom/revelation from the HOLY SPIRIT. There is a specific condition that a person be truly Born Again as one comes from within and one from out.

 

[oOfallen_angelOo]

I've come to realize that God's Will pertains more to the spiritual world than the physical one. The physical world is like a phase a short one at that. Angels and other beings look down to us with pity because they find it miserable how short we live compared to them. 100 years seems long to us, but that's like 12 mins to them ha ha

I've noticed throughout the bible, that everything God has done for his people, and when he has used his people, was to fulfill some spiritual revelation or purpose. The physical situation is considered; but you see in the bible that the physical situation is only used in accordance to a spiritual circumstance - a good example is with the Israelites whom grumbled against God when they were taken out of Egypt and into the desert; they grumbled because they knew they had food and water in Egypt and well God lead them into a physical situation such as the desert and it sucked lol.

This was done as a testament of faith and also a lot of prophetical relativity for the NT generations to learn from the Israelites and their disobedience and waivering faith here and there.

Spiritual.

As far as people in the bible like Job and Abraham who acquired physical wealth; Job I believe had labored to obtain his wealthy originally, but what set him apart from other wealthy men of that time, was his extreme faith and love for God. He was put through various trials of sickness and poverty - again a change in the physical situation for the worse - as a testament to his faith. Abraham desired a son to inherit his bounty which he also worked for and didn't just pray and wake up one day in an awesome physical situation - God blessed him with a son for his faith, but Isaac has so much spiritual relativity to him that the boy pretty much highlights the main spiritual purpose of the earth for those who are God's children. Abraham's entire family has this intense spiritual relevance - all because they were God fearing and did as they were told.

I've noticed that when people talk of God's will, they always talk about one's physical situation; however, the physical situation is nothing more than that, the physical situation. It changes only when a matter of spirit is involved; whether it's a testament to one's faith, or God is calling you to do something that you want to do to appease his will, and adjustments are made so that you may fulfill them.

Example - Moses was stuck at the sea - a physical situation, but God's Will was to deliver them from Egypt to uphold his promise of putting the slaves in a better land. The entire sea was split in half ha ha just to fulfill this. Now they could of went around the sea if they wanted, boats could have been built or something; the Egyptians could have been thwarted by a single whisper off God's lips - but the splitting of the red sea has spiritual meaning, as well as the physical Israelites being lead to the promised land - as this most accurately references the spiritual Israelites in the NT whom are headed for the promised land.

Heaven.

When God rears his words, it's also done with significance and reason; if the physical situation must be changed to appease God's spiritual will, then the adjustment will be made accordingly. Now just looking around at our lives, we all could carry out the gospel and achieve salvation if the physical situation was absolutely out of the way - like wealth so we don't hunger or thirst or worry -

However, everyone also has a spiritual situation unique to them and this is why you encounter so many different Christians going through so many situations, good or bad.

The essential gist though, is that our lives play out to ultimately rid us of pride, arrogance, and a rebellious heart that got us condemned to the death penalty in the first place ( think of Earth like death row really,) because we became corrupted at a time before the Earth was even created and thus had to come to repentance on the Earth or face destruction.

Case in point, I'm not sure focusing on one's physical situation does much good, as focusing on the spiritual relativity behind it. A lot of pastors today teach Christians to focus on the physical situation, even telling them to ask God to bless them with physical things or physical circumstances.

The thing is, Father takes care of his children, whom do not need much of anything of this world except their basic needs of hunger, thirst, and shelter satisfied. Personal ambitions aren't always from the will of God, and sometimes from the enforcement of our own. I try hard not to say everything is God's will, because I want to be careful not to overstep Father's authority with my own, and get in that mentality of I want what I want, even though it's insignificant or counterproductive to God's plan for me.

No one knows the dates and times of the Father, and no one knows the bullet point plant he has laid out for all those who come to faith in him. I've noticed that the apostles preached mainly about enduring whatever tribulations and focusing mainly on strengthening one's faith, and praying that God helps refine one's heart to achieve a " blameless" status before God. Or leading godly lives and being godly people.

The goal of our faith is to reach the salvation of our souls; since the beginning, since the very creation of the world, God's Will has appeared to focus in on this very point, as the bible testifies on various occasions of Father acting to help us make it back to heaven. Only if it is truly what we want though. There has been so many stones set in place, it absolutely blows my mind how much God loved us to go so far out of his way - even leaving heaven to come down to this pitiful little earth and be nailed to a cross.

He didn't have to do any of that, nor did he have to create the earth or give us the chance to repent. But he did it and that's why repentance brings Father soooooo much joy.

Our real lives are in spirit, not in the physical. The physical world is actually the weaker of the too, which is why there are verses in the bible talking about the arrogance of those who speak haughty about angels who are significantly more powerful than them. I've heard some Christians speak of the devil as if he is this weak force - the devil is incredibly powerful, and so many people have come to receive the Mark of the Beast unknowingly because of his craft and power. God of course is much stronger than Satan, but the armor of God against the advances of Satan befall on those who keep God's commandments with love and diligence.

But yeah, Father's Will is rooted in the spiritual element and ultimately helping us to achieve salvation.

Doesn't that idea just feel you with so much love and joy? God didn't have to do any of this, but he did it...because he just loves and cherishes us so much.

 

[GreenNnice]

I do not believe that we are robots who are incapable of stepping outside of God's will. I have actually toyed with settling for less than His best, because I was tired of waiting for His answer. When I finally surrendered the issue to Him, the peace I felt immediately afterwards was amazing......it surpassed my comprehension. When I have a decision to make, or if something is bothering me, I like to think of this verse:

6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all [a]comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. -Philippians 4:6-7

Those who know me well know that I am INCREDIBLY good at being anxious about darn near EVERYTHING, particularly if I have a fairly big decision to make. However, I have learned that if I ask God to show me what He wants (make my request known), He simply will NOT allow me to feel peaceful about a bad decision.....even if my heart and mind are going against what I think He wants, He guards them with His incomprehensible peace. It has never failed me.

However, I know that people are very different, and God deals with us all differently. For some, He may use dreams, for others He may use Christian counsel, while others are only comfortable with what they feel can be read in the Bible in black-and-white. He has used multiple methods for me throughout my walk, and I'm thankful for each and every one of them.

The Lord leads and this is how we follow..... Good thread, nichole.

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IAz9artoBw[/video]

 

[Jilly81]

Still trying to figure that out, but usually I can tell if I know if the decision will get me closer to God or stray away from Him. Since I have made many mistakes in my life, I've learned to recognize the voice that tells me that it's probably not a good idea even though I want it to be. It is in my best interest that I don't.

God usually speaks to me through my dreams, I've had dreams where I have made a certain decision and regretted it in my dream. I think I feel as if I would if I decided to go through with it in real life. It's kind of neat, having a taste of the possible consequence before I actually go ahead with it. Some people would call it just my conscience & self-awareness speaking to me. Maybe so, or maybe its God. I don't know.

When I 'seek' God's will- by asking Him, like if I will be a wife & mother or stay single for the rest of my life, or etc. I don't think I get much of an answer. And maybe the silence is the answer? I dunno. It confuses me.

Hey, Arwen, I used to be frustrated by that as well; it seems like He keeps us guessing sometimes! For good reason as well; I think it helps us take one day at a time and not stress about things when we don't know EXACTLY what the future holds .

For me, it seemed like God would let me know what He wanted me to do concerning small things (showing me His will in a variety of ways ), but when it came to "okay, what do You want me to do next with my life?", I would draw a blank. It's clear to me now, and has been, since I asked Him to give me more to do for Him . Now my life is fuller and happier than it's ever been, and honestly ... I feel like "oh, wow, THIS is what You wanted me to do ...try to please You " I'd been trying to follow Jesus before, but now I'm less self-focused than I used to be, and I'm SO much happier. Don't get me wrong; I'm open to having a husband some day, and even children if God takes me there, but I'm so happy and fulfilled in the "here and right now" since I've tried to seek God more than before. Not just by praying and reading the Bible, but actually seeking out (or at least being open to talking to) people who need to hear about the One Who loves them more than anyone else has or even can .

Please feel free to send me a private message if you'd like to talk about it more, BTW. -Jillian

 

[LightningClap0002]

I do not believe that we are robots who are incapable of stepping outside of God's will. I have actually toyed with settling for less than His best, because I was tired of waiting for His answer. When I finally surrendered the issue to Him, the peace I felt immediately afterwards was amazing......it surpassed my comprehension. When I have a decision to make, or if something is bothering me, I like to think of this verse:

6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all [a]comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. -Philippians 4:6-7

Those who know me well know that I am INCREDIBLY good at being anxious about darn near EVERYTHING, particularly if I have a fairly big decision to make. However, I have learned that if I ask God to show me what He wants (make my request known), He simply will NOT allow me to feel peaceful about a bad decision.....even if my heart and mind are going against what I think He wants, He guards them with His incomprehensible peace. It has never failed me.

However, I know that people are very different, and God deals with us all differently. For some, He may use dreams, for others He may use Christian counsel, while others are only comfortable with what they feel can be read in the Bible in black-and-white. He has used multiple methods for me throughout my walk, and I'm thankful for each and every one of them.

I'm not trying to twist your words here, but when you say "I seldom ask Him things that I don't NEED to know, because He almost never answers." and then " He simply will NOT allow me to feel peaceful about a bad decision....." does that mean you don't feel at peace very often? That you're mostly making bad decisions? Is the peace His answer? Or is there something I'm missing here. :S

 

[Snackersmom]

^^^Not sure how you arrived at those assumptions, because that is not at all what I said.

 

[LightningClap0002]

^^^Not sure how you arrived at those assumptions, because that is not at all what I said.

The questions? Or that the two statements were connected at all?

Here is what I see your premises as:
- When God answers your questions[guides you?], you feel divine peace
- God almost never answers [your questions]

So, there are a few possible conclusions that can be drawn from these two, and some contradictions. I was wondering which you draw or the significance of them. Equal opportunity for any of them; it could very well be that it is none of the three I asked about specifically. In which case, the final is left open for you to freely explain. If you truly believe there is no association between the two statements, then okay.

 

[Jilly81]

Lightning ..... Nichole said that she rarely gets an answer if she asks God something that she DOESN'T NEED to know. As in, a prayer such as "Lord, please show me who really killed John F. Kennedy" is frivolous; she's not a prosecutor, and wouldn't be able to do anything about it. Though I haven't asked her, I strongly suspect that that's what she means. I'm going to assume that if she clicks the "like" button, I'm right about that.

Great thread, Nichole, thanks; I know what you mean, and I think that most of the other people who read this do as well . -Jill