To Terra & Trinity . . . on knowing God's will

You both have a deep love for God already.  You read your Bibles a lot, you like to pray, and you want God in your life.  This is, I think, much more than I taught you. 

When you love God and want to do what God wants, I think you’re halfway to knowing God’s will.  Wanting to know God’s will is the first half.

There will be many decisions ahead:  what to take in school, what career, who to date, who to marry, where to live.  Each time you will ask, just as I did, “What does God want me to do?”

Already you (Terra) often ask, “How do you hear God speak?”  Too rarely I know the answer.  So I’ll answer with a story.

• When I was in grade 12 I wanted to know what to do.  I got a firm confidence to move to Edmonton and start university.
• When I wrote my last exam in university I was single, soon to be homeless (having given up a lease), no job, and no certain direction.  A week later God told me to go to seminary, I started dating your mom, and a family invited me to live with them for free.  God let me know.
• At one point I considered doing foreign missions for two years.  I was scheduled to share my testimony in front of the church and tell them my plans.  I prayed and prayed, and heard nothing.  So I stood in front of people and told them nothing.  Three minutes later God tingled through my body and told me not to go anywhere.
• The night before I got married I lay in my bed staring up at the ceiling thinking, “What if this is a big mistake?”  Yet I loved your mom and it made “sense”.  So we got married.  Almost 15 years ago.  It’s been great.
• There have been many other decisions:  Moving to Edmonton, leaving the ministry, coming back to being a pastor.  Lots of decisions.  Lots of times I looked up at the sky and asked God for some direction.

Every time it’s been the same.  Lots of thinking and analyzing on my part.  Lots of asking God.  And somewhere, someway, a gentle voice pointing the way, or affirming me as I go.  God has always spoken.  He has always made me think about the decision, and he made me listen, really hard.  But he has always spoken.

So that’s all I can tell, really.  Ask.  Keep asking. Think.  Listen.  Wait.  Act.  Ask, and listen.  God will tell you.

How to Discern God's Will

Discovering God’s will for your life is one of the most frequently asked questions for Christian living.  After all, isn’t it the key to having a purposeful life? 

1.  God does have a plan for you.  And he’s keen to tell you about it.  Spend time listening and asking, and God will let you know.  Every time I have needed God’s direction, he has revealed his will to me.  Every time.

Caution:  It’s not always on my schedule.  Sometimes he tells me before I’m interested in knowing, and sometimes it’s SO last minute.  Apparently God has terrible time management skills.  But he always tells me when I need to know.  Read the story of God speaking to Moses in Exodus 3.

2.  It’s not as simple as we would like.  It would be nice if you sent God an email, and then downloaded the answer the next day.  Sorry!  God seems to keep us guessing just enough to keep us close.  The reason we all ask this question is because the answer isn’t that obvious.  So it’s normal if you have to search a bit.

3.  God provides a travel guide, not a road map.  A road map shows us exactly where we want to go, all the possible options to get there, and gives us total control.  A travel guide is an expert on the city.  He knows where you need to go – usually better than you do – and the best way to get there.  He enriches the experience enormously.  You have to stay close to the travel guide to be rewarded on the journey. 

4.  God gives you enough direction for today, but rarely enough for tomorrow.  Wouldn’t it be nice if God gave you the schedule for the next 20 years of your life?  Keep dreaming – he doesn’t.  He only tells you what you need to know for right now.  It’s probably a good thing too – you might be quite intimidated if he told you everything.  “What?  I can never do that, God!” 

5.  You are in a process of development.  God ‘s main priority early in life is shaping you.  You will learn things now that will be critical later on – you just don’t know it yet.  Work hard, accomplish much, and if you don’t know everything, that’s all part of the plan.

6.  Follow your form.  You can try using a blender as a hammer, but it won’t work.  You make smoothies with a blender, and pound nails with a hammer.  You will get quite frustrated if you try it the other way around.  The way God made you in part determines what God intends you to do.  S – Spiritual Gifts H – Heart A - Abilities P – Personality E – Experience

7.  Be creative and think; God usually doesn’t micromanage.  You were made with freedom and creativity.  Sometimes God expects you to use it.  God opens up possibilities and says “What do you want? If you love me, pick whatever you want and I’ll make something beautiful out of your life.”  Sometimes God is very specific with what he wants us to do; but sometimes he would rather see what good we can come up with. Think:  God has more anticipation than expectation.

8.  Life is an airport, not a busstop.  We’re all scared we won’t get on the right path. You stand at the busstop of life.  There's one bus that comes along, and either you get on it, or you miss God's plan.  Instead, think of life as an airport.  God takes you to the departure board and asks, "Where do you want to go?" He opens up possibilities and lets us choose.  Certainly not everything is good, or Godly.  But God gives us more freedom than we're comfortable with.

9.  Do you love the things that God loves? Do you want to use your life loving other people? Be careful about your ego and ‘what’s in it for you’.  Success does not mean you’re in God’s will.

10.  Be ready for the unexpected.  God often does the unexpected, and invites us to come along.  Don't expect God to speak in a certain way, because he won't.  Don't limit what he can say, because he will tell you something else. God is much more creative than the box you put yourself in.  God can contradict everything above, and that's ok, because he's God and you're not.

To Terra & Trinity . . . on priorities

When you’re a kid your priorities are simple.  Who will you play with at recess?  Can you buy a set of stickers at the dollar store?  How many times can you slide down the hill in our yard before school? Will you get your homework done?  

Sometimes life is more complex than that.  You ask questions about friends.  One friend wants to play with you all the time, but the new girls has no one to play with.  Do you spend all your allowance, or save some for later? 

Most, however, are trivial (from an adult perspective at least – not from yours!).  It doesn’t matter much if you buy bubble gum or Magic Markers.  I’m aware, though, that whatever you do, it’s creating habits, and it’s creating a person.  And these things will be part of you for the rest of your life; in fact, these things will create the rest of your life. 

So you notice the new girl has no one to play with. Maybe she will make other friends.  But you will become the girl who sees the lonely, or the girl who turns her back. In Jr high you will sit with the girl in the cafeteria who eats by herself, or steal her lunch and laugh at her. 

When you’re young, everything that happens today shapes who you are later on.

The good thing is that you adapt so easily.  You’re not stuck in a routine – hey, neither am I, I’m just saying.  You adapt and learn to easily.  (This is your second week of skating lesson; already you’re so much better than last week.) 

The scary thing is that you learn too much from me.  I can talk about priorities, but it’s what I do that you really learn.  If I play on my computer when you try to talk, you understand that you’re not important.  If I spend my money on toys for myself, you learn that toys are what really counts.  If I want you to be great parents one day (and look after me when I’m old and forget your name), I have to spend lots of time with you now and not take you for granted. 

In a way, my priorities become your priorities.  So I really need to be careful.