T(r)oy's Marbles

Sometimes God also reveals himself to us through “providential circumstances”. Sometimes, we refer to these as “coincidences”. To the unbelieving person, it seems like the believer is just playing tricks with his/her mind; but to the believer, these kinds of incidents bear the mark of God and the warmth of a real, living relationship.

Think, for example, of the day after we prayed together that God would give you the ability to believe. That morning you "just happened" to read something in the Scriptures that confirmed and reinforced your faith. You sensed God was speaking to you in a very deep, personal way. It was no mere “coincidence” that the story from the Bible that you read paralleled that of your own experience. God directed you to a text of Scripture that would be keenly helpful to you at that time. Now, to the unbeliever, that story could just be explained away as mere “coincidence.” But to you it seemed clear that God was guiding you to a more firmly established commitment to follow Jesus through that “coincidence.” And, of course, you were right.

I know this because any time God intervenes in our lives in those kinds of miraculous ways it results in a building of the qualities God desires in us: greater faith, surer hope, and stronger love.

And that can be a kind of “test” to determine whether or not these “circumstances” are to be taken as indicators of God’s will or temptations to stray from God’s will. If you’re wondering, for example, if a certain course of action is from God, ask yourself: “Will it result in greater holiness?” If not, it is not in line with God’s intentions for you.

But, beware: this method of determining God’s will for us is pretty “shaky” and often abused. Many times I hear Christians talking about “laying out a fleece” to determine what God wants.

This "laying out a fleece" idea is a reference to Gideon in the Old Testament who needed confirmation of God’s leading before heading into battle. Gideon boldly asked God to perform a miracle when he asked God to make a sheep’s fleece moist and the ground dry (as a sign of God’s wishes); then, the next evening, he asked for the opposite. And, in both instances, God answered Gideon’s request.

Though God can and does work in this way, it should be noted that this experience is not normative, nor should we presume to put God to the test. Sometimes God doesn’t want us to be certain of the future so we have to step out in faith. (Remember: that, after all, is what God really desires).

I know a person who used the “fleece” argument to justify leaving a stable job, a good home and a good church to move out to “the country”, to build a new house and to start his own business. In that instance, God seemed to answer the “fleece” in the affirmative, but now, years later, he has come to see that he made a big mistake. It is interesting to note in this instance that the person concerned did ask other Christians for their advice about this potential move, but chose to ignore counsel to the contrary. So…this is to say: beware of using “fleeces” or depending solely upon circumstances to ascertain God’s will. Always couple such “signs” with an investigation of Scripture and seeking the counsel of the saints.

This last example brings up another point we do well to keep in mind: It is wise to remain content with whatever place God has given you at the present, unless there is clear direction from God and vision to move on to something else.

In Christian ministry, this is an often-ignored bit of wisdom. Often, pastors will become discouraged with their present ministry and think: “Well, maybe it’s time for me to move on to something else.” But, when you ask them what that “something else” might be, they don’t really have an answer. Further, they invoke “stepping out in faith” as justification for their proposed move. But, what would take more faith: to stay where they are and “stick it out” or to disconnect from “the pain” in favor of an easier life?

And “ministers” are not the only people who do this. Many others do, as well. It’s human nature to avoid pain. But an easier life is not always a better life. Sometimes God wants us in dark valleys so we learn to trust him more. Remember, it’s all about relationship.

That brings me to another way God guides us (and with this we finish up our “guideposts”): through prayer. As we go through hard times, we are driven to God in prayer. And, as we are driven to God in prayer, God reveals himself to us. James says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, he [or she] should ask.”

It sounds so simple: just ask. But, what is it that Jesus said? “Ask and it shall be given to you. Seek and you shall find. Knock and the door shall be opened.”

As we seek God in faith, he will reveal himself to us. Simple, really. Can it be explained just how this works? Not really. You just have to experience it to believe it. The irony is: you may also need to believe it in order to experience it in the first place. And there we are again, back at our little leaps of faith. Do you get the feeling that’s what God’s really after with us: just belief?

He may be concerned more with that, quite honestly, than this or that particular “thing” in our life. Of course, he is concerned with everything (even the very hairs of our head are numbered), but what he really wants is faith, no matter where we may find ourselves.

I’ll close with an example. Once a young person asked me what she thought God’s will was for the next step in her future. She listed about 5 options, all of which were very different kinds of things. It was clear that, were she to choose option 1, for example, she would be automatically opting out of option 4. Doing this would then cause her to opt out of a whole trajectory of possibilities concerning future careers and such. I can’t remember all of the options, but they were something like this:

Should she…

1. Work at a gas station for the next year to earn money to go to a “secular” college?

2. Go to Christian college to study for the ministry?

3. Travel around Europe to study art for a year?

4. Take a job in her father’s business that would be regarded as “long-term”?

5. Marry her boyfriend and not plan on working at all (because he was “set” financially)?

She honestly wondered what she should do. She asked me, “Should I do option 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5?”

My answer?

“Yes.”

Yes, any one of those may be in line with God’s will for you. And, in fact, all of those may be in line with God’s will for you.

The fact is: God may have given her all those options and then not revealed to her (on purpose!) exactly which one he wanted so that she’d have to take a leap of faith. And, in fact, God may not even have a preference one way or the other. And, if that thought seems distasteful to some, keep in mind that it doesn’t make God any less interested in our lives that he may not have a preference concerning something like our choice of career. On the contrary, it may mean that he’s more interested. After all, what this tells us about God is that he’s so interested in us that he wants us to have the joy of really choosing and then discovering what it means to follow him in the particular path we’ve chosen. Remember, he doesn’t want to control us like we’re robots. He may give us lots of options precisely because he loves us. And those options may be genuinely “open.” This is the language of relationship, after all.

So, as I see in your email, you cite a kind of “reluctance” in your spirit about certain issues you feel are related to God’s will for you.

This is to en-courage you: from a standpoint of walking in basic obedience to God, consult the Word of God, pray about it, and talk with some believers who have gifts of insight about it. Then, by all means, step out in faith. You can be sure that, no matter what happens, God will be with you. And that, after all is the point.

I hope this helps.

Love,
Troy