Category: Christian Living

How Do You Know What God Wants?

Guest Post by Phil Robertson.

My dad has always enjoyed telling a joke about the thermos. It goes like this. Three men were arguing over what had to be the greatest accomplishment of mankind. One said it was the trips to the moon. Another said it was modern medicine and all the cures. However a third guy said it had to be thermos. Bewildered the first two men said, “Why the thermos? All it does is keep hot things hot and cold thing cold” To which the third guy replied, “Yea, but how does it know?” Think about it. It’s silly, I know.

However, how often do you hear people saying they know what God wants? A young fella walks into a church for the first time and immediately says, “I know this is where God wants me to be.” A lady switches from one church to another because she likes the band and the entertaining worship service. When the emotion fills her heart, she says, “I know this is where God was directing me.” Another man looking for deeper love, leaves his wife and moves in with a girl friend. This new relationship is exciting and he thinks, “Doesn’t God want me to be happy? Obviously, this is where God wants me to be.”

Mankind has a long history of transforming personal opinion into God’s will. He wants to make God in his own image. He assumes that what makes him feel good is what God wants. God has always challenged these blind assumptions. “You thought that I was one just like yourself” (Ps. 50:21). He even challenged man’s ability to reason at all without His guidance.

In the days of Hosea, the Israelites, who were “God’s chosen people,” were condemned for trusting in their “own ways” (Hos 10:13). They claimed to praise the Most High but they never consulted Him (Hos 11:7). God said, “My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge” (Hos 4:6). They did not consult God, instead they sought counsel from their “wooden idols” and allowed the culture to direct their spiritual aspirations (Hos 4:12).

Jeremiah warned the nation of Judah about seeking man’s advice. He said, “O Lord I know that the way of man is not in himself. It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps” (Jer 10:23).

Even Solomon, the wisest man ever to live, repeatedly warned of the foolishness of following human wisdom:
• “The way of the fool is right in his own eyes, but he who heeds counsel is wise.” (Pro 12:15).
• “There is a way that seems right unto a man, but its end is the way to death” (Pro 14:12)
• “Every way of man is right is in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the hearts” (Pro 21:2)
• “The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge but the mouth of the fools feeds on foolishness” (Pro 15:14)
Instead of assuming we know what God wants, we should trust God knows what we need. “Seek Me and live” says the Lord (Amos 5:4). He will illuminate our path and direct us in the ways of righteousness (Psa 116:165; Psa 23:3).

The only way we can really know what God wants is to study the Bible. It is His Word and His will for our lives (2 Tim 3:16-17). He wants to obey His directions so He can mold us into His image. Therefore, if we cannot find it in His Book, then we do not have any reason to say, “I know this is where God wants me to be.”

Where Are The Gauges?

 On my way to the building today, a little yellow light in the shape of a gas pump caught my eye.  I had not looked at the gas gauge in a while and was very low on gas.  Because of this bit of intervention by my car, I was able to immediately stop for fuel and avoid the embarrassment and hassle of running out of gas.

It would be great if we had spiritual gauges to warn us of dangerous behaviors or conditions so we could make timely and necessary adjustments.  If our frustration and anger were growing, a red light warning us to calm down would be nice.  If we are about to say anything unkind, gossip, or lie, a warning alarm could bring us to our senses and cause us to reign in our speech.

by chego101 via Flickr
by chego101 via Flickr (Creative Commons)

In fact, we do have some gauges.  Our conscience and our Bible will help us detect things that are wrong in our lives or things that we should add so we can make adjustments.  A conscience trained in the word of God will detect when we are not doing as we ought or urge us to do something God has commanded.

Sometimes we ignore the warning signal.  Cindie and I used to have a van in which the “Check Engine” light would say on.  Usually this is an ominous warning but a mechanic, after checking the codes, assured us that the warning light was the only problem.  It would cause some concern with those who rode with us, but we assured them that things were ok.  Of course, if some real danger developed, how would we know?  I was only concerned when one day, the light <em>stopped</em> coming on (the light bulb finally died).

We can ignore the appeal of our conscience to change our behavior.  We may be troubled when we do (or fail to do) some action.  Our conscience tugs at us and reminds us to conform our will to God’s law.  If ignored, the message of the conscience, like our warning light, will not have much impact and will finally turn off.

One day, Cindie and I visited the Motorsports Hall of Fame at the Talladega Superspeedway.  In the museum, there were cars from all eras of stock car racing.  In the modern stock cars there was a plaque saying that the gauges are usually positioned in such a way that at the optimal speed and performance, all of the gauges would point up.  When traveling at speeds nearing 200 MPH one does not want to take his eyes off the road for long.  Among the gauges I noticed three that are important to our cars that were missing from the race cars:  the speedometer, odometer, and gas gauge.

It quickly dawned on me why the speedometer was unnecessary.  If there are more cars passing you than you are passing, you are going too slowly.  If you are leading the cars, you are going fast enough.  As Christians, we do not need a speedometer.  We gauge our progress by honestly asking, “Am I really doing all that I need to do and what God expects of me?”  In our language and actions, we should be doing better than the ungodly world.  If are lives are constantly shamed by those who are not Christians, we need to improve quickly.  Jesus preached that “unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20).

Christ set a pace for us by living a perfect life.  We will not be able to run as perfect a race as He did but we can run better every day and improve over yesterday.  We can look at His example, surrounded by a great crowd of witnesses, and run with endurance the race that is set before us.”  We do not need an odometer, because we must run full strength until we die and cross the finish line.

We do not have a gas gauge.  We do not know when our time will run out therefore we must run with diligence today and not plan our best efforts for some tomorrow; tomorrow may never come.  We must account for how we have used the time we have been given.  Unlike the racecar drivers, we do not know when the race will be over.

Forgiving Ourselves

You know, based on God’s promises, that He has forgiven you. But if you’re still agonizing about what you did (or didn’t do) and feeling great guilt, perhaps you have yet to forgive yourself. When you acknowledged your sin you already made the hardest decision–facing yourself and making changes. Sometime when you pray, thank God for the guilt and shame that moved you to repent and leave a destructive path.

Your past will not define your life and you should not look at yourself through the lens of your past. There are many people who have been down the same road you traveled who are fine teachers, loving spouses and parents, and good examples for others.

Sometimes we hold onto guilt and have problems forgiving ourselves because we feel that we are letting ourselves off too easily. Holding guilt allows us to punish ourselves and, when reaching some spiritual summit, reproach ourselves saying, “You’re not so good. I remember when you…” It is ok to let go of your guilt. Acknowledge that your inward pain has been your punishment and prison for past sins and give yourself a pardon.

Forgiveness is the greatest thing you can give others and yourself. Grieve your sins, the embarrassment you feel/felt, the sorrow for letting others and yourself down, the actions you regret–yes grieve them–then let them go. You have punished yourself well enough–I think anyone could say that you have not let yourself off easily–you have the right to free yourself and enjoy true peace and happiness. You will never forget what you have done, but when you forgive yourself, it finds a place in your past that can only give you a small tinge of pain when it is brought to mind, but it will not bully and berate you anymore.

Think on THESE Things

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Philippians 4:8 (ESV)

My mother used to quote this to me when I was watching a music video or movie that had material that was not appropriate to remind me that I was poisoning, not nourishing, my mind. Do not let your mind wallow in filthiness. Let your thoughts soar above to heavenly things.

True: Manifest, fact, conforming to reality Opposite: False

Noble: Honest, grave, venerable, serious Foolish: Foolish

Just: Right conduct; state of being right judged by a divine standard Opposite: Unjust

Pure: Clean, free of impurities Opposite: Polluted

Lovely: Pleasing, agreeable Opposite: Unpleasant

Good Report: Well spoken of, reputable Opposite: Worthless

Do the songs you listen to, books you read, or things you watch pass this test?
Think on these things!

A Mind Like Christ

Action follows thought. If we want to act like Christ we must think like Christ. Consider these verses:

2 Corinthians 10:5 – We must bring every thought under control
Mark 7:20-23 – The heart of a man is the source of his actions
Romans 1:21-22 – Terrible abominations are rooted in evil and futile thoughts
Colossians 3:1-3 – Set your mind on things above
The worldly mind dwells on empty, meaningless, and demeaning thoughts. Abominations, evil inventions, and cruelty (even in the name of religion), or indifference to others is the common result. The worldly mind focuses on the present world and fulfilling lusts. This mind is trained by the philosophy of the world through television, movies, songs, books, and through popular opinion.

The mind of Christ is taught by the word of God. We consciously decide to think like Christ so that the natural state of the changed mind dwells on godly things and makes judgments in light of Christ’s doctrine. It is a mind that seeks to develop a relationship with the Father, live pure and holy, and esteem others better than self.

In contrast to the chaos of the mind, it is a mind at peace. Instead of being selfish it serves. It is not directed by the whims of passion but by purposeful direction and discipline. It takes a while to develop this mind but the effects on the attitude and behavior of the transformed Christian are worth it.