Knowing God's Will for our Life: Part 3 - Our Steps
This is where many
get frustrated. "How am I to know whether God wants me to go here, or
there, to do this or that?" It is a fair question, but let's look at a few
passages in scripture, as well as a few quotes from one of my favorite Bible
teachers as we seek to understand how to move forward as we walk with the Lord
daily.
First, God does not
promise that He will clarify our steps, but He promises to Direct them.
You may be faced
with a tough decision, but go ahead and get the idea out of your mind that you
are going to know that you know that you KNOW whether you are making the right,
or best decision as you move forward. We are not promised that.
"The mind of
man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps." Proverbs 16:9
"The steps of
man are established by the Lord…" Psalm
37:23
We may think that
when we make a decision, or move toward a favorable scenario, that God is in
it, but He may only be moving you toward something else. In my own experience,
God has shown me His plan only AFTER I look back to see how He lead and guided.
In the midst of those decisions, which were sometimes made FOR me rather than
me choosing something, I had no idea what God was doing, or what was next.
There rarely is that much clarity in our decisions. But does that mean that our
decisions do not matter? Absolutely not!
As we seek to
Represent Jesus Christ, and Glorify Him in everything we do and say, that ought
to be the most pressing matter as we consider the different paths laid out in
front of us. "Lord, how might you be glorified here? Lord, what are my
opportunities to Represent you, to Share the Gospel in this place or that
place?" Those are our guiding principles. Then, as we consider the options
in front of us, we prayerfully and faithfully, move forward one step at a time.
And…even then, it does not mean that our steps are precisely what God
ultimately wants. Who is to know for sure save God alone?
"Man's steps
are ordained by the Lord, how then can man understand his way?" Proverbs 20:24

'They passed through
the Phrygian and Galatian region, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to
speak the word in Asia; and after they came to Mysia, they were trying to go
into Bithynia, and the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them; and passing by Mysia,
they came down to Troas. A vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of
Macedonia was standing and appealing to him, and saying, “Come over to
Macedonia and help us.” When he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to
go into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to
them.' Acts 16:6-10 (NASB)
- They pass THROUGH the Phrygian and Galatian regions…having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit
- They were TRYING to go into Bithynia…but the Spirit did not permit them
- THEN Paul was lead by a vision to Macedonia
Paul kept moving
forward in his desire to Represent Jesus, Share the Gospel, and Make Disciples,
and God directed his steps. Paul was not given an itinerary, nor specific
marching orders for each day, but rather pressed on allowing God to direct,
change course, specific on the go to put Paul and his companions where God
wanted them to be.
Look now at Ruth,
and how she came to meet Boaz:
'And Ruth the
Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain
behind anyone in whose eyes I find favor.” Naomi said to her, “Go ahead, my
daughter.” So she went out, entered a field and began to glean behind the
harvesters. As it turned out, she was
working in a field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelek. Just
then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, “The Lord be with
you!” “The Lord bless you!” they answered. ' Ruth 2:2-4 (NIV: the NASB interprets the bold to read "she happened to come to the portion
of the field belonging to Boaz")
It was no accident
that Ruth ended up in the field of Boaz, but from her perspective, it could
have been seen as a happy turn of events. "How fortunate that I end up in
HIS field! And what a coincidence that he just HAPPENED to be arriving in the
field to greet his workers!" To those who do not live under the knowledge
of God's Sovereignty, this entire situation would have appeared to be nothing
more than good luck. But we know better! God directed Ruth's steps. God
directed the steps of Boaz. God even directed the steps of Elimelech and Naomi
in preparation for His provision.
As Alistair Begg
taught through this chapter, he had this to say about the above:

And when considering
how God used the rough time of it that Naomi endured, and Ruth as well with the
loss of a husband, and her sons, she may have been tempted to think, "Did
we make a mistake coming to Moab?!" But, Alistair added this…
"Even our accidents, such as we would view them
from our perspective, are under God's care. The misery and happiness is often
derived from accidents that appear quite trivial. But you see…God has the whole
world in His hands."
It can seem very
daunting to trust God in the moment when He does not allow us to see even our
hand in front of our face. All we have to go on is everything we know and
believe about Him and His nature. We know Him to be a Good, and a Giver of Good
things. We know Him to be loving and caring. We know Him to be Faithful and
True. We know Him to have a Plan, even when we do not know what it is, and that
Plan will bring out His glory, and if we would trust Him, we may get to be part
of that plan and add more Glory to Him and His name. So even when things seem
hard, or circumstances fall around us, it does not mean that we are out of step
with God, but it could mean that through this particularly rough and dark
valley, we will perhaps be able to bring Him more Glory by trusting in and
leaning on Him more through it.
Lastly, Alistair
gave this statement about God's plan that wonderfully sums up what it means to
trust God in the day to day, through everyday circumstances:
"The will of God is not a package that is let
down from heaven on a string.
It is a scroll that unrolls from day to day, and the
way that we discovery the plan of God for our lives is proceeding on the basis
of common sense, careful thought, and specific action.
Not relying on our own insight, trusting in God, but
nevertheless using the faculties with which He has entrusted us."

May God richly bless
you in Christ
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