Tag Archives: Discerning god’s will

Posted on

The Sixth Secret You Need to Know about God’s Will

How Serious Are You about Talking with God?

by

I came across an intriguing but sad comment by a reader recently. He said that he once asked God for direction, but God didn’t answer. So he had to make his own way, and it hadn’t turned out well. I couldn’t help but wonder if God had not answered or if this reader simply had not listened or not liked what he heard.

In fact, he had made some pretty serious, even criminal mistakes, all of which he blamed on God for not responding to his request for direction.

I know in my own faith walk, when I choose poorly, it is often the result of trusting in my own wisdom instead of waiting for and insisting on an answer from God.

Posted on

The Fourth Secret You Need to Know about God’s Will

Are You Using What God Has Given You?

by

Panic! It’s what we do when we don’t know what to do. It’s understandable. It’s common. But it doesn’t have to happen when we don’t know what God wants us to do next.

The fourth secret in this series of posts sharing 7 secrets we need to know about God’s will is one I learned — and continue to learn — from coming face to face with uncertainty every day. My first instinctive reaction almost every time, no matter how many times God has provided and led me in the past, is to panic and try to figure it all out on my own.

Maybe I’m the only one to fall into this trap of self-reliance. But I doubt it. When we’re face to face with adversity, our worry clouds our view. Panic sets in. And we tend to miss what is right in front of us — God.

Posted on

The Second Secret You Need to Know about God’s Will

Do You Know Where to Start?

by

When you’re trying to figure out God’s will for your life, where do you start? I shared seven questions each of us should ask to figure out What God Wants Us to Do Next here. This post is the second in a series of seven in which I share some secrets I’ve learned the hard way about discerning God’s will for your life.

In the previous post, I shared Secret #1 — If you don’t expect to hear God’s voice, you won’t attempt to listen. 

If you don’t expect to hear God’s voice, you won’t attempt to listen. #7Secrets

Click To Tweet

Secret #2 comes from an understanding of how God led Moses and the Israelites when confronted by the challenge of the Red Sea and the Egyptian army. And from what we learned from selling our house and stepping to the unknown with six kids in tow.

Posted on

The First Secret You Need to Know about God’s Will

Do You Actually Expect to Hear from God?

by

If you’re a Christian struggling with a decision right now, you may be asking a lot of questions about what God wants you to do next. But are you actually expecting to get answers or just going through the motions? This post is the first of seven in which I share some secrets I have learned about discerning God’s will for our lives when Scripture does not give us clear direction.

In my book A Story Worth Telling, I share the story of how we decided to move to Atlanta after nearly four decades of living in Northeast Ohio.  I had sensed a pull in the direction of Atlanta for well over a month before I even mentioned it, first to my wife and then to my life coach Dick Savidge (I highly recommend him if you are in need of Christ-centered life-coaching.)

I’m not one to naturally put a lot of confidence in feelings. It’s just not how God has wired me.