Your Brother In Christ

This post is a follow up to the post dated 25 April 2010.  Most of you are probably wondering does God care? My answer to you is yes. Please permit me to explain. God knows what is best for us, and he wants what is best for us. Why? Because He Loves us. God's will comes from God's love. If God didn't love us, he would not have sent his only begotten son to experience the pain and suffering of his death and permitted Jesus who was sinless, to absorb all of the sin of the world, past, present and future sin. That is right. He absorbed the sin of murders, thieves, adulterers, etc. Any kind of sin you can think of, Jesus took it upon himself. (Romans 8:32) "He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all - how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?"

God loves you - and because He loves you, He has a plan for your life. Please do not let anything keep you from seeking it.

I am sure most, if not all, are similar as me and are asking the infamous question...how do we find God's will?

Upon reading a book awhile ago, by Billy Graham, he suggests six ways that I will abbreviate here for your use and to further upon yourself expand upon: 

1. Commit your decision to God. As Psalm 86:11 would say "Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart". However, first, we need to ask for wisdom and ask him to show us his will in your life.
2. Search the scriptures. I have always done this, but find it particularly helpful when I search the bible to see if anyone has encountered a similar situation and learn how they responded and results. It is amazing what you can learn from others.
3. Understand your circumstances. I have learned from many resources, to name a few: The Bible, Billy Graham and Dr. Charles Stanley, that God works around us as well as working in us. God will often guide us through our circumstances. I end this segment with two questions. Have we weighed the consequences? And have we investigated the alternatives to the best of our ability?
4. Seek godly advice. I can not express enough how important I believe this is for everything.  Either it is advice from the bible or glean some christian advice, both are important. God has provided some individuals a special gift of wisdom, and when we face a decision, it is often helpful to seek their counsel. I will always be grateful for the many people God has given me over the years who willingly shared their wisdom and experience with me. I equally regret many times, when not listening and following through with that God given wisdom from years past.
5. Trust the Holy Spirit's guidance. This one at times challenges me the most. But Isaiah 30:21 says it best for us when we do trust in our Lord. "Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it'".
This prompting comes from the Holy Spirit, who lives within us, if we know Jesus Christ and accepted him into our lives. (John 16:13) "When he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth".
One thing I must caution you about, we must guard against confusing our own desires with the Holy Spirit's prompting. We still need to pray, study God's Word daily, examine our circumstances and seek godly advice.
6. Finally, we need to Trust God for the outcome. This is a challenge for me daily, but I firmly believe when one trusts in God and keeps the faith, God will provide. He always goes with us and before us. Some decisions are hard to make and some are easy, however, in any case, we sometimes still have reservations or uncertainty once we make a decision thinking it is God's will. Sometimes a revelation will not come to us, therefore, it is sometimes best to start moving in the direction we think God may want us to go and then trust Him to lead you. (Proverbs 3:5-6) "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight"

Remember, God does love you, and He wants you to know His will. Let us all seek it, discover it, and then do it. Remember...His way is always best. Let us not settle for second best, but lets receive his best. Being a parent, we know what is best for our children. This is similar to God, he is our creator and He knows what is best for his creations...meaning...each and everyone of us.