How Can I Know God's Will?

The question of the day – most every day – for those who desire to follow God. How can I know God’s will?  Choices are not always crystal clear no matter how strong our desire to follow God’s plan. The Apostle Paul provides a clue in two of the choices he made.  

How Can This Be?

Has a phone call or conversation ever delivered incomprehensible news and you wondered, “How can this be?” You’re not alone…

Seriously??

The following is a guest post from Donna Bolster:

photo credit: Donna Bolster

Ah, spring is finally here! 
But what is this? 
Snow?  
On April 16??
SERIOUSLY??? 

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw my windshield, icy and crusty ~ certainly not what I expected! I was on a mission to get to work early. But this put a wrinkle in my plan.

Suddenly I thought about the women on a mission to Jesus' tomb to anoint his body for burial. They were probably thinking:

 

Ah, our Messiah is finally at peace. 
But what is this? 
The tomb is empty? 
On Sunday morning??
SERIOUSLY???

The women couldn't believe their eyes when they saw it abandoned. It was certainly not what they expected. And it definitely put a wrinkle in their plan.

 
God wrinkles our plans with unexpected situations. Sometimes they are blessings; sometimes they come as trials; sometimes they hardly make any difference at all. But in every situation, God seeks to be glorified. He designs every situation to point us to Him. 

We can see His plans as wrinkles in our plans, or we can look for the blessings and hurry to tell everyone we know about the ways that He works, as those women did on that first Resurrection Day.
 
Well, all I know is that the snow cleaned all that nasty spring pollen off my car. And now it is gleaming almost as brightly as my resurrected Lord on that Sunday! I praise Him for all the situations in my life. Let me glorify Him, look toward Him and see the blessings in everything that comes my way.
 
Hallelujah! Happy Resurrection Day!

He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.” So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Matt. 28:6-8

 

Donna's personal mission statement is to continuously grow in God's power and to exhibit the fruits of the Spirit in her daily life -- in short, to be a good and faithful servant. She is a blessed wife, mother and grandmother, and a leader in her church and at her workplace.

Baby it's cold outside! Or is it???

Photo by Jan Lucas

The other day, several patients entered our office declaring, "It's so warm outside!" It was a sunny 34^o. After several overcast days of single digit temperatures, it seemed downright balmy.

But the same 34^o in August would be frigid.

This thing is – 34 degrees is 34 degrees.

Period.

If it's been cold, 34^o feels like a heat wave, but if it's been warm, 34^o feels chilly.

It only seems to be cold or warm because of our feelings. The temperature is what it is, but we respond to it differently based upon how we feel at any given moment.

And our feelings are subjective. They are influenced by people around us, circumstances that we can or cannot control, health or hormones, the slow driver in front of us, the pants that no longer zipper up, the song that reminds us of something we want to forget.

How we feel about something doesn’t necessarily reveal the truth of a matter.

Today I'm over at Laced With Grace with some thoughts on feelings vs. truth. Join me in the conversation there.

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What are we to do???

Media and social media alike are overflowing with images, rants, prayers, commentaries related to yesterday's Boston bombing. Here are three things I read this morning:

I'm on Day 18 of a 30 day Early To Rise challenge and receive an automated email every day.This just so happened to be in paragraph 2: 

"If it is true that one person can change the world with their evil acts, then we also know that one person can change the world through their kindness. One ignorant person can cause tremendous damage, and one wise person can alter the course of history." - Andy Traub

Then in today's Jesus Calling  by Sarah Young: 

I am calling you to a life of thankfulness. I want all your moments to be punctuated with thanksgiving. The basis for your gratitude is My sovereignty. I am the Creator and Controller of the universe. Heaven and earth are filled with My glorious Presence. 

When you criticize or complain, you are acting as if you think you could run the world better than I do. From your limited perspective, it may look as if I'm mismanaging things. But you don't know what I know or see what I see. If I pulled back the curtain to allow you to view heavenly realms, you would understand much more. However, I have designed you to live by faith, not by sight. I lovingly shield you from knowing the future or seeing into the spirit world. Acknowledge My sovereignty by giving thanks in all circumstances. 

• We live by faith, not by sight. 2 Cor. 5:7
• Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thess. 5:18

And on facebook, I read Nate Dorka's post to his HS youth group:

Some thoughts on the bombings in Boston today:
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” - Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 

Devastation. 

Doctors are working on some folks to patch them up, working on others who lost a limb and are struggling to stay alive... Others, including an eight year old boy, weren't as "lucky".
We call for justice. Built into us is a NEED for justice. 

And people are going to be looking everywhere for someone/something to blame. There will probably be blame placed on the head of security or maybe even government officials.
We want to blame an enemy. 

What should our view be as Christians? What should our response be? Aren't we called to LOVE our enemy... even the enemy that killed that little boy? But can there be justice in that?

There is an enemy. He is a thief who "comes only to steal and kill and destroy.(Jn 10:10)" The bible calls him our advisory and tells us, "the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.(1 Pt 5:8)" 

This thief, lion, devil is our enemy, and he'll do all he can to keep people in the darkness.
"But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.(Jn 11:10)"
Jesus tell us “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

These folks that do unspeakable things are simply in the darkness. They don't know the life that Jesus, in his mercy, gives.

Jesus tells us, "...I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.(John 10:10)"
"they" includes the killer of that little boy. 

So... What should our response be towards the bombers from today?
Pray for them. 

"(Jesus talking to Saul/Paul in Acts)...so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me."

Pray that God would be glorified by the transformation of their hearts, and that these people would become followers of Christ. 

As far as justice goes, well.. We were all once in the darkness, and deserved death. It's by God's perfect mercy and grace, and by Jesus work on the cross and power over death, that we now live.

To Nate's words, I would just add this. There are some that cannot rest until justice is "properly" served, even though they may forgive and pray for the offender. To them, I'd say that God says we reap what we sow (Gal 6:7). It is up to Him to provide the consequences to the offender. I can rest knowing that justice is in His hands, the same hands that provide grace serve justice meted as HE sees fit. 

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The Doubt Monster

Everywhere I turn, it seems to be the topic of the day. Doubt. I was drowning in the “I don’t have what it takes…” Bloggers like Chatty Kelly and Jody Hedlund are addressing it today. Renee Swope’s new book “A Confident Heart” released this week. I haven’t read it yet, but it’s high on my list.

Doubt is the enemy's tool. It affects everyone. And it can affect any area of our lives. Are we a good enough mom, wife, friend, writer, speaker, worker, fill in the blank. It has us focus on whatever will take our eyes off God - our weaknesses, other's strengths.

After Adam and Eve sinned and hid in fear, God’s first question to them was “Who told you….?” He hadn’t told them to be fearful, ashamed. They were listening to the voice of their enemy.

All that God asks of us is to be obedient. To seek, to love, to serve Him and His people. When our eyes are squarely on Him, our doubts fade in His light.

Years ago, I had a strange experience. I was to speak before a crowd of fellow employees at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center. Every cell in my body trembled in fear. I had asked for prayer from trusted friends, telling them my session would begin Wednesday at 8:00 am. It was Wednesday at 7:55, and as I drifted to the podium, I wondered how I’d be able to utter a single word, so filled with fear and doubt was I.

Then something weird occurred. Really weird. It all happened in a nanosecond. I felt a tingling on the top of my head, like when someone pretends to crack an egg on your head. The tingle moved down from my head past my shoulders, past my arms and torso, down my legs, and out my feet. Picture a thermometer with a pinhole in the bulb and the red liquid leaking out the bottom. The tingle was fear, and so tangible was this feeling that as it left my body, I looked down because I thought I’d see a puddle of fear on the floor. All I saw were black and white tiles. As my eyes swept back up, they glimpsed the wall clock – which read exactly 8:00 sharp. In that instant, I simultaneously remembered 3 things - my praying friends, my mentioning 8:00 am, and the Scripture verse that says, “Perfect love casts out fear.” God is perfect love, and He supernaturally removed my fear.

I’d like to say that ever since that time, I have never experienced fear. But that would be a lie. What I do know is this – He CAN supernaturally remove my fear – if He wants to. So if He doesn’t, it means that the fear is there for a reason - most likely, so that I keep tethered to Him, focused on Him, in communion with Him, dependent upon Him rather than myself.

All the self-doubt that’s so prevalent and so destructive is just a tool in Satan’s arsenal, seeking to hinder the work of God. If only we can just remember that yeah we do have weaknesses, but it’s in our weakness that He is strong. He gets all the glory when imperfect people do amazing things. When we think we have it all together, we are at our weakest point.

Of course, that's my sermon for today. Tomorrow I may just be a pile of doubts again. ;)

Prayer request:

Thank you in advance. I’m so grateful for this community of prayer warriors.

Please keep my family in prayer – so much going on:

My dad is in ICU. He had emergency surgery last night to repair a ruptured fistula in his arm – the arm used for dialysis. This is one of many serious issues he’s facing, including cancer. In addition to his physical issues, please pray he'll know God's presence and peace. 

My son has been running a fever for the past 3 days, a week after his return from Uganda. I don’t even want to think of the possibilities.

I’m supposed to attend a 4 day writers’ conference starting Wednesday followed by a family vacation. A lot to prepare for both, assuming I can even do either one now.

And I will be sharing this Sunday’s message in church since my son is unable to do so. He was to share a message from his mission trip. So I’m preparing for that now. I’ll share from a chapter in my WIP book.

Can I just say “Oy vey!”