~Published in the Charleston Gazette, June 30, 2013~
Some people say discovering God’s will is like trying
to catch a butterfly that’s always just out of reach. Others feel it’s like
fishing – casting a lure and hoping for the best. Neither guarantees that we
can know God’s will. But, thankfully, the Father gives believers His Holy
Spirit to reveal His purpose for each one.
Scripture is our principal means of communication. The
Bible is our instruction book for living. It is a vital revelation for all believers, and its precepts and
ideals clearly give us the answers to most questions about the will of God.
Communication
with God requires a regular time of reading the Bible with an open heart and
mind. We
sometimes find this difficult. The busyness of our lives leaves little time to
study the scriptures or spend time with God. Many Christians say they are concerned about knowing the
will of God, but how many of them spend even five minutes a day asking Him for
wisdom and direction?
While God speaks primarily through His Word, He also
speaks through the Holy Spirit to our consciences, through circumstances, and
through other people. Once we commit our lives to God and the Holy Spirit comes
to live in us, it’s difficult to do wrong because we have this nagging
influence inside that lets us know when we are about to do something we
shouldn’t. We’ve all heard the still, small voice.
By applying what we hear to the Scriptures, we can
learn to recognize His voice.
Jesus said, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them,
and they follow me” (John 10:27). These are the sheep who hear and recognize His
voice, because they know Him as their Shepherd. If we are to recognize God's
voice, we must belong to Him. And that means following His direction.
But when life becomes complicated, we sometimes
struggle to handle our problems ourselves or we rely on the opinions of others.
It’s easy to feel that the quickest way to fix things is to ask the advice of
fellow Christians, or even unbelievers who seem wise. Our instinct is to
withdraw from the source of stress or pain. At such times, our need to remove
discomfort from our life can take precedence over the Lord’s plan. We assume He
could not possibly want us to feel this way so we take action and then hope we
are in His will. This places the emphasis on ourselves rather than on God’s
purposes.
However, God causes
"all things to work together for good" in the lives of His children,
even though the things that happen sometimes do not seem best at the moment. To
clarify this, C. S. Lewis used the illustration of a dog whose leash got
wrapped around a pole. As the dog pulled to get free, the owner found it
necessary to move it in precisely the opposite direction in order to free it
from the pole. We are often like that dog, straining to do things our way
instead of waiting for God’s will, but our heavenly Father loves us and knows
what is best for us. Therefore, the path to our ultimate release will sometimes
be painful, but we can delight in His will, knowing the glorious destiny that
lies ahead of us.
If we want to
know and experience God's will, we must communicate with Him regularly through
prayer and Scripture. Living a Christian life apart from a
steady diet of His Word is impossible.
amazon.com/author/peggytoneyhorton
amazon.com/author/peggytoneyhorton
