Category: Knowing God

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.”

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.

A Target For Your Life

What is the goal of the transformation of mind and actions? Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 3:18: “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” We are looking into a mirror and we see ourselves transforming into Christ. As we look, more of our old man, our old life, fades away and the image of Jesus reflected back to us becomes clearer. We are becoming more like Jesus so that when we see ourselves, we truly see Jesus in thought and action in our lives.

In the next chapter, 2 Corinthians 4:11, Paul continued this thought: “For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.” Paul clearly stated this goal: the life of Jesus must be manifested in our lives. Earlier, he compares it to treasure, like gold or jewels, in earthen pottery because “the power may be of God and not of us.” We are constantly trying to live like Jesus but we realize that we will not have complete perfection on this earth.

Paul wrote in Galatians 2:20: “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” We crucify the old man of sin, bury him at baptism (Romans 6:4-6) and are raised to live a new life—Christ living in us. It is a life of faith, founded on the word of God (Romans 10:17). This demands that we study what Christ did and emulate Him.

Getting Started With Personal Bible Study

Preparing to Study

  • Make time to study.  Study time will not “just happen.”  There are too many things that can help us waste time.  We must set aside time every day to focus on God’s word.
  • Have a place to study.  An ideal place will have adequate lighting, minimal interruptions, and study resources available.
  • Have a plan for study.  The plan should be realistic and flexible.  It may be the study of an issue or a section of scripture. This will help us focus your study.

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  • Get help when needed.  Don’t be afraid to ask someone for help in understanding a passage.  Check the answer with other scriptures to make sure that it is true.
  • Pray to God for wisdom, James 1:2-8.  We are told to pray to God for wisdom for He gives liberally and without reproach.  Knowledge comes from study, wisdom is the ability to use what is studied.  We cannot hope for wisdom if we do not study.  When we study we should not neglect to ask our benevolent God for wisdom.
  • Study with an open mind.  We must be willing to do what God commands.  We must have a “speak Lord, Thy servant hears” attitude.  James likens it to a man looking in a mirror, examining what is pleasing and what must be changed.
  • Use common sense.  The Bible is written in logical language and was written to the common man.  We can understand it.

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Approaching the Text

  • Rightly divide the word.  Realize the difference between the Old and New Testaments, the physical and the spiritual, etc.  The context will help determine the difference.
  • Read, re-read, ponder, and read again.  Take time to just read the scriptures and absorb the ideas.  Think about what is being said.  Some passages will become clearer later in the day, in a sermon or class where the text is discussed, or much later through increased knowledge.
  • Be patient.  Some passages are difficult to understand the first couple of times they are read.  Be patient with yourself.  As you know more you will understand more.
  • Look at the context of the passage.  Examine the previous paragraphs and sentences to get the gist of the message.  Ask the probing questions: Who, to whom, what, where, why, how.  Some things are not applicable to us today (i.e., build an ark) but teach important principles.
  • Notice the “little” words and connecting words.  Little words like “if (then),” “so,” “for,” “and,” “but,” etc. are significant for understanding a passage.  Some words like “except,” “therefore,” and “because” link thoughts and arguments.  The omission of these words can drastically affect the meaning.  This part of study cannot be overemphasized.  It is critical to understanding the word of God.

Do I Have To Love Other Christians?

God commands us to love our brethren.  Loving my brother is not an option, nor is it a command that I can follow selectively.  Although we realize that some brethren’s personalities clash with ours, or they have habits or idiosyncrasies that bother us, we must work harder to overcome these minor things to be brethren.

Some have the attitude, “I have to love him but that doesn’t mean that I have to like him.”  Perhaps they wish to reconcile the command to love our brethren and the reality that some brethren can be obnoxious, overbearing, insensitive, and annoying.  How can we truly have love for our brethren if we do not make significant attempts to overcome the natural reaction to avoid these people?  Will we show true hospitality, help, love, and concern for someone we love but whom we make conscious efforts to avoid?  A better approach is to look past character traits to the soul within.  Perhaps the gentle rebuke made in sincere love could chisel away some undesirable characteristics to make the brother lovable to others.  Certainly, there are people who grate on our nerves but we probably grate on the nerves of others as well.

Paul addresses the need to make a special effort to love the unlovable in Colossians 3:13: “bear with one another.”  The word “bear” here is used elsewhere of God suffering or bearing with us (Matthew 17:17, Mark 9:19).  In 2 Corinthians 11:1,19, the same word is used in a sense that we might translate as put up with.  There is a great need for us to suffer with, forbear, put up with, and bear with one another.  We come from different backgrounds, geographical areas, financial situations, educational levels, etc.  We are a dissimilar people unified into one body under one head.  It is essential that we bear with one another and not willfully withhold our full love for some brethren because we do not “like” them.  “What do you do more than others?  Even the tax collectors love those who love them,” Matthew 5:46 (paraphrased)