Today, during our family Jesus time, the topic of ‘how do you know what God wants us to do’ came up. One of the kids found some keys very helpful, so I thought I would share a condensed version here in case it helps someone…
How to make a Godly decision:
1) Is it something the Bible is clear on?
It should go without saying, that if the Bible states something explicitly, you need to be obedient to what it says no matter what. Obedience to God is a vital part of following Him or partaking of His blessings. In fact, Jesus says ‘if you love Me, you will obey Me”, so it is very important to know what the Bible says.
Example: God says “Lust, fornication, adultery is wrong”, so choosing to indulge in that is already declared as sin and wrong. No need to even ask a question!
2) Does it violate a principle in the Bible?
If there is a principle in the Bible that is expected of Christians, then choosing something that violates this principle is clearly not according to God’s will… Again, it is imperative to know what the Bible says as it is clear!
Example: God says “Forgive others, submit to your husband / love your wife, train your children, serve God not money”… Making a decision to go against His principles leaves you outside His will – you and others will suffer.
3) What is your MOTIVE for this decision?
If you are trying to decide between two options that both line up to #1 and #2, the motive for your decision becomes the most important issue. If your desire is to honour God, serve Him, share the Gospel or serve others, it really does not matter whether you choose left or right, yes or no, up or down.
God is big enough to close or open doors to reverse said decision – He is God!! He is *so BIG* that He really can use anything you do for Him (1 Cor 15:58).
How good is that??!!! Take the pressure off – as long as your motive is pure, relax and go forth with boldness! If you want to know if your motive is pure try the questions at the end.
4) Does the decision produce PEACE?
Does the decision cause you to experience the peace that Jesus alone gives? (John 14:27, Phil 4:7) 1John 14:27 (NLT) 27 “I am leaving you with a gift— peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid. Philippians 4:6-7 (NLT) Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
This is not to be confused with feeling comfortable because it is the easy way out. Maybe it grates against your flesh, requires you to be completely selfless and humble, is outside of your capability, is scary or is nothing like your normal gift, but if it is God, that does not matter.
Knowing that He wants you to do this, knowing He will be with and being happy for Him to get all the glory (whether it succeeds or not), can still result in deep peace. It could even create excitement! (See Romans 12:11 2 Romans 12:11 (NLT) Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically – OR (New Living Translation (NLT) Study Bible Notes) but let the Spirit excite you as you serve the Lord )
Jesus wants you to have that deep peace in every situation (2 Thess 3:16), even if your flesh is dying and things seem like they are going wrong…
What a privilege to be counted worthy of suffering for Him (Acts 5:41) and know this – when you are obedient in these things you will grow inwardly into His likeness!
5) Do those around you – your mentors – confirm it?
Not the ‘yes men’ we love to surround ourselves with – but people whose lives are characterised by loving & serving God, loving others & sharing God’s Truth with them.
Of those, people who care enough and know about us to be aware of our decisions and are willing to call us out on sin, on complacency and on luke-warmness: do THEY think this is what God wants us to do? Those who disciple, lead, challenge, pray for and walk with us – do THEY support us stepping out for Him in this way? Or are they concerned or worse?
If you are married, it is vital to be in alignment according to God’s established Biblical pattern. Be aware that stepping outside of this will *always* lead to problems personally, in your relationship and for your children. Do not step outside of your God-given covering.
6) Is it to grow the Kingdom of God?
If not, the decision is futile. Building your own empire, finances, family etc – you are free to do so, but if you are wanting to follow God – the decision may be *completely* different than what you normally would choose (and what the culture thinks is best). Ironically, in my experience, it is by making decisions to build HIS Kingdom that has led to blessing in our own situation. Jesus said we should “seek first His Kingdom” and if we do, He will take care of us so we don’t need to worry.
And let’s face it – even if it leads to (what we see as) negative consequences here and now – WHO CARES?! It’s the coming Kingdom that matters! (Matt 19:29)
7) Has God spoken to you?
Jesus made it clear: His sheep would know His voice.
Does He mean ‘My sheep will remember the Bible / know Christian principles / be good theologians?’ Or does it mean something far more? More intimate, more personal…something that we see repeatedly in scripture as the normal?
Sometimes He will speak to us in ways that can’t quite be explained, but we ‘know’ what He wants. But a big warning here… If it does not line up with scripture (or the above points), you can be sure it is not of God.
No matter how ‘right’ it seems’ no matter how vivid the dream or which person ‘confirmed it’ – throw it out & seek Him with a pure heart. In fact, ask God to examine your heart as there is likely an idol, deception or false theology at work. (See notes below)
8) Cast Lots???
We do this every week when allowing God to decide who gets to choose our family fun time. It is a great way to see if we are really trusting:
a) that God is in control and
b) that we are ok with whatever outcome He decides.
We use a dice, and have done this for some quite large decisions when the answer was not clear.
“Lord if you want us to buy this, let us know with a “6””. It’s amazing how casting lots can end arguments and be an avenue for God’s guidance. We have amazing stories of how He has used this to provide and guide us amazingly. He really does control how the lots fall!
As you progress, your intimacy & knowledge of Him will mean you use this method less often, but it is a great tool to start with and in many situations.
I trust that these simple keys will be helpful as you walk with Him and live for Him.
I pray that we would all be able to freely choose to follow His will for our lives, sharing His Truth and bringing Glory to His name. Be BOLD fellow pilgrim – He can do indescribable works through your obedience. Until we meet in His Kingdom…
PRAYER
Lord, have Your way in our lives. Search our hearts that they would be pure and open to Your transformative power. Open our eyes to Your Truth, Your Word, Your wisdom, Your plan and Your guidance so that we can reflect the love You have given us. Make us instruments of Your grace so that others would be drawn to the essence of who You are.
NOTES: Did God speak to me?
Inspiration / ideas / dreams / visions / thoughts only come from 4 places: God, satan, ourselves or others. We need to make sure we know which! And be careful as we are *masters* of getting this wrong – of deceiving ourselves.
Even God’s chosen prophet (Balaam) got it *completely* wrong, despite believing he heard God tell him something very clearly. When we look at the passage though, we see that Balaam didn’t like God’s first answer so he prayed again. The second time we have clues in the text that Balaam was thinking about his reward – he prayed ‘through an idol’ – desiring worldly wealth. In his own mind, he was certain God had spoken, only finding out he was deceived when a donkey had to save him from certain death.
(Read Numbers 22 prayerfully)
Sometimes it is helpful to ask questions like:
‘Is that You Lord?’ God is capable of confirming, but remember that He already has through His Word. Pray & then check that FIRST!
‘Would satan want this?’
‘Would satan REALLY want me to go out of my way to share about Jesus with someone?!’
‘Do I want this?’
‘Why would I want this – what do I gain from it?’ (Be honest in answering this one, we are inherently deceptive to get what we desire!). Often the thing that God wants us to do is the LAST thing we would want for ourselves!
‘Does this build up my pride or help hide / ignore my sin?’
‘Will it enable others to continue in or ignore their sin?’
‘Do my church eldership / mentors agree?’
‘Is the person giving the idea / advice / agreeing with me characterised by following, serving and glorifying Jesus and His Kingdom? Or do they value other things / lifestyle?’
‘Does it help me submit more to Jesus & His Church or become more isolated, more independent?’
These might seem like a strange questions, but they can help clarify our hidden motives. God’s desire is that we would be one with Him, live holy, pure lives and serve each other and the world. Living selflessly mirrors His love & grace to our spouses, our children, our families, our neighbours and our community at large.
Very little of what we do in our culture fits into this even though we try to frame it that way.
One last point – even if your motive is wrong, if you share Jesus with people, you can’t go wrong!! (Phil 1:18)
Please feel free to reach out with questions or prayer requests along these lines – isolated Christians are an easy target for the enemy and it often starts with deception, doctrine or temptation to sin. God Bless.
Footnotes:
- 1John 14:27 (NLT) 27 “I am leaving you with a gift— peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid. Philippians 4:6-7 (NLT) Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
- 2Romans 12:11 (NLT) Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically – OR (New Living Translation (NLT) Study Bible Notes) but let the Spirit excite you as you serve the Lord