- Make sure that your heart in seeking God’s will is, “Not my will, but Yours be done.” Proverbs 3:5, 6 is always a tremendous truth here. Jesus said clarity would come to those who are willing to obey: John 7:17; Psalm 111:10.
Share openly with God and one another (if you are a couple) the fears you face as you begin this process. Ask God for faith and love to overcome the fears. KNOW that God’s will is the safest, richest, most truly satisfying place on earth. In God’s will you will not be wasting your life as individuals and as a family. Romans 12:1,2
Enlist trusted believing friends to be in prayer for you during this process.
God’s primary way of guiding His children is the way of wisdom. This means other means such as circumstances, feelings, former experiences, etc. are always submitted to God’s Word and ways wisely applied.
The way of wisdom means that what we pray for and seek after is a wise application of the Word of God – clear commands and principles – to the situation in question. God delights to give wisdom to His children: James 1:5. This “way of wisdom” is the process of growth God wants to take us on as He matures us. The process itself is a means of grace and a time of growth.
It is important to define as clearly as possible just WHAT the question is you are seeking to answer. Exactly WHAT is the guidance you are seeking? What is the decision you are facing? Make sure you and your wife agree on this.
It is wise to look for every truth of Scripture that you can remember, find, and get from others that has something to say about your situation. Don’t worry about “missing one.” The Lord will guide you and later when you enlist the help and wisdom of others, “missed” truths the Lord wants you to consider will come to the surface.
E.g. you are asking God to show you if a job change is in order. Some truths that relate to this question/guidance would be
i. Will this job involve anything that would compromise your Christian testimony? Matthew 5:13-16
ii. Will this job allow you to adequately give to God’s work and to support your family? 1Timothy 5:8
iii. Will this job allow you adequate time to spend quality time with your family? Ephesians 6:4
iv. Will this job hinder your involvement in your local church? 1Corinthians 12
v. Will this job make good use of your God-given and developed skills and abilities? Matthew 25:14ff
vi. Does this job hold good potential to witness for Christ? Matthew 5:13-16
vii. Does this job have the potential to help me grow in Christ-like character? Romans 8:28-29
viii. Have I made a commitment to my present job that integrity would require me to keep, or am I free to move to another job? Matthew 5:37
ix. How would this move affect my family in terms of potential for their growth in godliness and our impact together for the gospel?
x. Etc.
When you have gathered the biblical commands and principles that come to bear on your issue, prayerfully meditate on them and discuss how they would apply. What seems to be the dominant guidance or answer that God is giving through His Word?
Spend more time as a couple praying over these truths and discussing them. Keep doing this until you can confidently and with peace agree as a couple on what you believe God is saying to you through His Word.
If you just cannot come to a confident and peaceful agreement on what you believe God is saying to you, ask a couple of wise and trusted friends to meet with you to discuss your question/issue and what conclusions you have come to. What do they think? What other important truths or considerations can they think of that you have missed? Do they think that you have been as unbiased as possible in your thoughts and conclusions? Here it would be wise to enlist the help of at least one leader from your church. Make sure the friends you recruit are not just “yes” men or women who will be biased strongly one way or another. Rather, make sure they will reflect to you God’s thoughts and ways from His Word.
If you came to a clear and confident agreement regarding God’s wisdom for you, it is STILL time to bring other trusted friends into the loop and check your thoughts and conclusions with them. In the multitude of counselors there is safety!!
Once you have decided what God is saying to you from His Word – COMMIT TO IT. Settle in your hearts that you will do this and you will do it because it is OBEDIENCE to God. Make sure that HIS MISSION in this world, of which you are a vital part, if front and center in your decision and commitment.
GO FOR IT! Spend more time together considering the process that obedience to God in this decision will involve. What are the practical steps that you must now take? These steps may be very complex and difficult, but you can now take them with confidence that you are proceeding in God’s way with His blessing.
No comments:
Post a Comment