Discerning God's Will For Your Life and Making Choices

One of the most confusing questions and burdens on most if not all Christian's hearts, is this idea or notion of how do I know what God's will is for "my" life? How do I discern the circumstances in my life and the open and closed doors and somehow find a balance between the faith in our good God I must exhibit but execute the wisdom that Scripture commands? I know that as a child of His I have struggled with this since my point of salvation and I still often times will wrestle with what exactly He is doing and which way I need to go. One thing I am for sure of is this...God is soverign. We read in Psalm 115:3, "But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases." I am also confident of Romans 8:28 which reminds us that God works all things together for the purposes of His will and our good (for those who love Him and are His).

Many times there seems to be an emphasis on "feelings" when we are attempting to discern God's will for our life. We for some reason think that these feelings are from the Lord and we make them the driving force in many of the decisions we make. The problem is that our feelings are not to be trusted. Philippians 4:8 reminds us to think on things that are "TRUE" and because of that we have to go to the Word and to what our standard of Truth is to distinguish God's plan for our life and not what our emotions or feelings may or may not be guiding us to do. Our world today emphasizes letting your "heart" guide what you do and the problem is, all throughout Scripture we see that our hearts are wicked...Jeremiah 17:9 says, "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?"

So as a Christian how do I execute Godly wisdom and faith all while I am attempting to discern God's will for my life? Well I can tell you this...it is much more "practical" than magical/mystical like most make it to be. Scripture makes the process much more simple than the complex way we seem to make it. God doesn't want to make his will a secret to those, He wants to make it clear to those who are seeking it and who are obedient. We must first understand that God makes it clear in Scripture as to what are things that are part of his will:
1. Saved (1 Timothy 2:3-4; 2 Peter 3:9)
2. Spirit-filled (Ephesians 5:17-18)
3. Sanctified (1 Thessalonians 4:3-7)
4. Submissive (1 Peter 2:13-15)
5. Suffering ( Philippians 1:29; 2 Timothy 3:12)
Now if your life is aligned with this in Scripture than you can be sure that Psalm 37:4 is true, "Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart." That now the desires that you are possessing are truly the sanctified desires God is placing on your heart.

So now we may ask well how do I make choices when I am faced with more than one "open door" or with two options etc. Well, discernment here is vital. John MacArthur says, "Unfortunately, discernment is an area where most Christians stumble. They exhibit little ability to measure the things they are taught against the infallible standard of God's Word, and they unwittingly engage in all kinds of unbiblical decision-making and behavior. In short, they are not armed to take a decidedly biblical stand against the onslaught of unbiblical thinking and attitudes that face them throughout their day. " 2 Peter 1:3 promises that God has given us EVERYTHING we need for life and godliness. "Discernment -- the ability to think biblically about all areas of life -- is indispensable to an uncompromising life. It is incumbent upon the Christian to seize upon the discernment that God has provided for in His precious truth! Without it, Christians are at risk of being "tossed here and there by waves, and carried about by every wind of doctrine" (Ephesians 4:14).

When making a decision you must first seek the Word and measure the option with God's moral will that is revealed in Scripture. If there is conflict you can be sure that is not God's will that you would make that choice. Or if something within this decision would cause you to neglect something Scripture specifically commands you to do you can know that that too is a red flag to say no. Secondly, God-honoring decision making means executing good wisdom. That means that you are not hasty in making decisions but prayerful and considering. You will spend time in the Word and in prayer asking for wisdom. You will seek counsel from various sources of those who seek Him (it is always good to get unbias counsel from someone who has no vested intrest in your particular situation and from someone you are afraid to get counsel from), you also must look at all the options and think clearly and consider everything before making the decision. Lastly consider your own desires. If God is silent about the specific decision, and if one choice is not clearer or wiser than the other "then do what you want. You have the freedom to do so, and God sovereignly works out His plan through your desires (Psalm 37:4; Philippians 2:13). The above process presupposes that you are submitted to Christ and filled with the Spirit. Otherwise you won't be able to make biblical decisions, as sin blinds your ability to understand and apply God's Word to your life. However, if you do have a vital relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ and are walking in the Spirit -- as opposed to the flesh -- you are free to make decisions so long as they don't violate God's revealed (moral) will. You shouldn't be concerned that your decisions will somehow derail God's sovereign will for you life, because He routinely works through your decisions to accomplish what He purposes. "(MacArthur)

So as 2009 is now here, we have more opportunities to live lives that reflect Him and that is shown through our following His direction and leading in our lives. Let us have faith in who He is and what He does and pray for wisdom and execute that in ALL we do!!