Dave’s Monday Blast – February 22, 2016
I appreciate your patience with me as I have been musing my way through some healthy reminders on how to determine the “will of God” through the circumstances of life. Before I wrap up this part of the discussion with the last two keys let’s review (The school teacher in me is coming through…always review before you move forward):
- Walk with God – We must seek to know Him not just seek to know about Him.
- Surrender your will to His:We must be committed to doing whatever it is that He desires for us to do.
- Obey what you already know to be God’s will:Remember most of God’s expressed will is clearly delineated through His Word.
- Seek Godly input:We must INTENTIONALLY seek out godly mentors and counsel.
- Pay attention to how God has wired you: God has created you and equipped you to accomplish His good works.
- Listen to the Holy Spirit: Carve out time for solitude and silence when in the Word and in prayer.
Our last two keys:
- Listen to your heart:Consider Psalms 37:4 – 5, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.” Think of it this way…Augustine said, “Love God and do as you please.” Ponder that! ..the order matters. If we love Him, we will only care to do the things that bring glory to Him.
- Take a look at your circumstances:God often clearly demonstrates His plan for our lives by lining up circumstances in obvious ways. And He also shows us what His will is, NOT for us to do in that same way. I will share a personal story concerning this next week, but by way of simple illustration consider: It is not His will for you to take a job that is not offered to you. If you are 5’6″ and weigh 125 lbs., it is not likely that God has created you to play professional football.
Over the years, I have discovered that God is pretty good at opening and closing doors. Consider this truth in the following passage from Acts 16:6 – 10 specific to the Apostle Paul. So, even Paul had to face closed doors in his ministry. God often uses closed doors to show us clearly what He does NOT want us to do. And He also uses open doors at times to show us what He DOES want us to do. Of course, this does not mean that every open door is definitely God’s plan, but it does help to give us some basic direction, and when taken in context with the rest, our way becomes clear.
The next time you begin to ponder God’s plan for you within a specific circumstance I would encourage you to work through these “tools”. Use them to help you hone in on His plan. And when you seek His will earnestly, you will find it! Please remember how much He loves you and that He only wants the very best for you. (Jeremiah 29:11)
