It can happen in the middle of the mess but it can also happen when the chaos is over and you’re left picking up the pieces of your life.

If you’re like me, questions take over your thoughts…

“What now?”
“What’s next?”
“What am I supposed to do?”
“Where do I go from here?”

Or maybe, your questions weren’t caused by a mess. Maybe you’re at one of those forks in the road and you’re not sure which one you should take.

The questions are the similar even though the circumstances may vary.

I want to consistently know God’s will and follow it but I have to admit there are times when it’s not as clear as I’d like it to be. And truthfully, I occasionally have times when wish I could see into the future … but then again, it’s probably better that I can’t.

Because…

Life is meant to be lived one day at a time.

I love the way The Message presents Matthew 6:34…

“Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.”

I love that! And yet, I need to know how to make wise choices today as I prepare to live in God’s will tomorrow … right?

So, what do I do?

I pray to the One who not only knows the future … He’s already there. I pray to the One who not only knows the future … He knows my future.

And He knows yours as well!

Pray with me … I’m asking God to show me His will for today and guide me according to His plans and purposes tomorrow…

5 More Verses to Pray When You Need to Know God’s Will

For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.

Jeremiah 29:11–13 (NIV)

Father, these words were spoken to Your children living in exile in Babylon. Talk about living in a mess! I can only imagine the questions they must have been asking.

And then You speak to them through Your prophet. “I know the plans I have for you … plans to give you a future and a hope.”

Hope! I pray for hope! I pray for You to guide and direct me. I pray that I might claim this promise personally. And with Your Spirit’s help, I will seek You “wholeheartedly.” Please help me love You with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength even when life is hard and distracting. Please help me humbly come to You in prayer and follow Your will as it is revealed in Your Word and fill me with hope as I anticipate a future that is already full of Your loving presence.

My brothers and sisters, when you have many kinds of troubles, you should be full of joy, because you know that these troubles test your faith, and this will give you patience. Let your patience show itself perfectly in what you do. Then you will be perfect and complete and will have everything you need. But if any of you needs wisdom, you should ask God for it. He is generous to everyone and will give you wisdom without criticizing you.

James 1:2–5 (NCV)

Father, it’s hard to be joyful and patient when I’m confused and life is hard. Please forgive me for the times I get so focused on my “troubles” that my faith falls short. Please help me. I need wisdom … a generous supply of Your wisdom. Not quick solutions and easy answers but the truth that lasts.

Please strengthen me to trust and obey Your command to love … to think about myself less and depend on You more. And Father, please give me the hope and confidence I need to know today that You are always with me giving me everything I need.

Show me the right path, O Lord;
    point out the road for me to follow.
Lead me by Your truth and teach me,
   for You are the God who saves me.
   All day long I put my hope in You.

Psalm 25:4–5

Father, teach me and lead me. Give me a hunger and thirst to know You through the pages of Scripture and by the power of Your Spirit, help me trust, and obey without reservation. That will always be the “right path.”

Please bless me with the fruit of Your Spirit. Fill me with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Help me live the words of the Psalmist, “not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to Your name goes all the glory for Your unfailing love and faithfulness.”

Let me hear of Your unfailing love each morning,
   for I am trusting You.
Show me where to walk,
   for I give myself to You.

Teach me to do Your will,
   for You are my God.
May Your gracious Spirit lead me forward
    on a firm footing.

Psalm 143:8 & 10

Father, help me to “be still” that I might hear Your gentle guiding whisper. I trust You to faithfully guide me in love. Help me, by the power of Your Spirit, to humbly offer myself as a “living sacrifice,” willing to do Your will as You reveal it to me. And when I don’t know what to do … help me live each day free of worry, simply doing what I know to do.

Teach me Your will as I study Your Word and sit with You in prayer. And lead me by Your Spirit giving me the courage and strength I need along the way.

Seek the Kingdom of God, above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need.

Matthew 6:33

May this be my daily prayer, Father. Make me a SEEKER first and foremost! I want to KNOW You. I want to KNOW Your will. I want to TRUST and OBEY Your commands. I want to live with gratitude because You have given me everything I need … You have given me Jesus, the One who has made possible my hope and my future. Thank you, Father, in Jesus name I pray. Amen.

One more thing to know God’s will…

The most important thing I’ve learned about knowing and following God’s will is that it is done one day at a time.

It has to begin again each morning with fresh faith in God who is not far off or uninvolved … but close enough to hear every whispered prayer and loving enough to guide every surrendered step.

Click here to read – 5 Verses to Pray When You Need to Know God’s Will.

This Week’s Friday Favorites

Highlight Posts of the Week!

How to be Thankful When You Don’t Feel Thankful

by Debbie Wilson
@ Refreshing Faith

What To Do When You Don’t Know What To Do

by Lois Flowers
@ Waxing Gibbous

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Have you ever followed someone’s advice or went along with what they were doing and realized later that you had made a huge mistake?

Yea, me too.

You went shopping with a friend and overspent your budget so you could get matching bags.
You spent time gossiping with a friend and later learned she was also gossiping about you.
You sat around with other parents and trashed your child’s teacher.
You invested in something that turned out to be a scam.
You jumped to a wrong conclusion and judged someone without knowing all the facts.
You got involved in an ugly social media rant and hurt a friendship.

I’m sure the list could go on and on.

Solomon wrote…

The wise are glad to be instructed, but babbling fools fall flat on their faces.

Proverbs 10:8

Yep, been there … done that! I’ve been foolish more times than I’d like to admit.

I’m guessing, that like me, you don’t want to be foolish. You want to know the wise thing to do and do it. But you also know you’ve got some growin’ to do . . . at least I do.

So what’s next?

What should we do when we’ve decided we want to live with wisdom, but change is neither fast nor is it easy.

We need a plan of action.

So, let’s get started…

7 Important Things to Do When You Need to Be Wise

1. Know What it Means to Be Wise.

Wisdom is not intelligence, knowledge or understanding. Wisdom is knowing what is true and right and applying that knowledge and understanding to life.

My favorite simple definition is…

Wisdom is knowing the right thing to do and doing it at the right time!

Whew! I don’t know about you but I need help if I want to live by that definition.

Solomon began the Book of Proverbs like this…

These are the proverbs of Solomon –

Their purpose is to teach people wisdom and discipline, to help them understand the insights of the wise.

Their purpose is to teach people to live disciplined and successful lives, to help them do what is right, just, and fair.

Proverbs 1:1–3

2. Admit You Want to Be Wise.

I finally decided that I’d spent way too long learning about life the hard way … living out the consequences of my foolish choices. But I couldn’t stop there! I had to admit my foolishness and that I wanted a better way.

A wise person chooses the right road; a fool takes the wrong one.

Proverbs 10:2

I knew I needed help!

3. Know the Truth about the Source of Wisdom.

The Psalmist wrote

The [reverent] fear of the Lord is the beginning (the prerequisite, the absolute essential, the alphabet) of wisdom; A good understanding and a teachable heart are possessed by all those who do the will of the Lord; His praise endures forever.

Psalm 11:10 (AMP)

I love that! It says it all. If I want to be wise I need to live with awe and respect for God, trust that He is who He says He is and that He can do what He says He can do.

The Life Application Bible Notes say the following about this verse…

If we do not acknowledge God as the source of wisdom, then our foundation for making wise decisions is shaky and we are prone to mistakes and foolish choices.

But the good news is … God wants to make us wise. We can go to Him in faith and ask!

4. Ask God for the gift of wisdom.

I ask God every morning to give me the wisdom I need to live that day. I don’t need to know what to do next month or next year … I need to know what to do today.

If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and He will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.

James 1:5

Life Application Bible Notes say the wisdom we need is three-fold…

1. It is practical for life … godly wisdom is profound ideas put into action.
2. It is divine … godly wisdom goes beyond common sense.
3. It is Christlike … godly wisdom is asking to be like Christ.

How awesome is it that God wants to give us wisdom that looks like that?!

5. Seek God’s Word for Wisdom.

Intentionally and prayerfully reading and studying God’s Word has changed my life. I’ve learned from the real-life accounts of God’s people … their successes and their failures. I’ve studied the words of prophets, priests and kings. And I’ve read and reread Jesus own words for life … words that are full of wisdom.

Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and He will give you everything you need.

Luke 12:31

6. Knock – Get Involved and Obey.

This I’ve learned is the hardest part … to actually act on what I’ve prayed for and learned. I know it’s better. I know I’ll enjoy more of the peace, joy, and contentment of life when I do … but like the Apostle Paul, I don’t always do those good things I want to do.

I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. 

Romans 7:15

Praise God! Because of His grace, mercy, and great love … because of Jesus sacrifice I have a clean slate and an opportunity to try again tomorrow.

7. Learn From Your Mistakes.

As long as you and I are here on earth, we will never be perfectly wise. My friends like to call me “the wise one.” Whew … not even close.

But by God’s grace, I know the One who is. I know where to go when I need wisdom. I know where to take my failures and I trust that He will help me turn foolish mistakes into gained wisdom

The Lord always keeps His promises; He is gracious in all He does. The Lord helps the fallen and lifts those bent beneath their loads.

Psalm 145:14–15

And repeat #4 through #7 as often as necessary when you need God’s help to be wise.

Because…

We have a Father who wants us to live with wisdom and understanding for His glory … knowing it is what’s best for us, too.

We have a Savior who loves us so much He gave up everything to show us what a life of wisdom looks like and who sacrificed Himself to forgive every foolish mistake we’ve ever made.

We have the Holy Spirit who has given us the tools we need to help us grow in wisdom.

We have a God who wants to bless us today, tomorrow, and forever.

My child, listen to what I say
and treasure my commands.
Tune your ears to wisdom,
    and concentrate on understanding.
Cry out for insight,
    and ask for understanding.
Search for them as you would for silver;
  seek them like hidden treasures.
Then you will understand what it means to fear the Lord,
    and you will gain knowledge of God.
For the Lord grants wisdom!
    From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.

Proverbs 2:1–6

Friend, it is awesome to know that even though you and I will continue to be wisdom works in progress, we are forgiven and free to keep trying.

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Have you ever noticed that the first emotion Adam and Eve experienced after eating the forbidden fruit was fear and here we are still struggling with it thousands of years later?

I used to think I was in a small group of fear-filled worriers. Almost everyone around me seemed more capable and courageous than me.

But God has graciously allowed me to realize I’m not alone in this struggle … and neither are you.

He is with us. Just look at all the times God’s Word says, “Don’t be afraid…”

Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.

Isaiah 41:10

Don’t be afraid – God will strengthen you, help you, and hold you.

So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.

Matthew 10:31

Don’t be afraid – you are valuable to the Father.

“Don’t be afraid,” He said, “for you are very precious to God.

Daniel 10:19

Don’t be afraid – you are precious and loved.

“Don’t be afraid. I am here!”

John 6:20

Don’t be afraid – God is with you.

“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.

John 14:27

Don’t be afraid – He will give you peace.

If I could have a life do-over, I’d spend less time worried and afraid!

Although I can’t change the past … I can change the future.

Max Lucado once said,  “The presence of fear does not mean you have no faith. Fear visits everyone. But make your fear a visitor and not a resident.”

With God’s help, I can release persistent fear that wants to take up permanent residency and rob me of peace and joy.

I will always have fearful moments. You will too. Life is hard. (I almost made a list of hard things … but honestly, you don’t need my help to come up with things that frighten you.)

Jesus said we’d have troubles. He knew! He experienced them.

“Here on earth, you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”

John 16:33

One of the things I love is that Jesus didn’t simply say, “Don’t be afraid.” He gave the reasons why we shouldn’t be afraid.

Don’t be afraid, because…

I am with you.
I have overcome the world.
You are precious and valuable.

You see, throughout His ministry, Jesus also talked about the relationship between faith and fear.

“Don’t be afraid. Just have faith.”

Mark 5:36

And…

“Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!” 

Matthew 8:26

And the truth is, when I truly believe that I am precious and valuable to the God of the universe, the One who has overcome the world and is always with me and rock solid faith in Jesus, the One who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life … I have all I need to reject persistent fear.

Friend, I’ve been blessed to experience moments when by God’s grace and with His help my faith was greater than the fear in front of me. And in all honesty, I can still have times when my weak faith keeps me from the victory God wants for me.

So, I’ve built a list of things to do that help me reject fear and move forward in faith.

And I thought they might help you as well…

How to Have Faith that is Greater than Your Fear

♥ Identify the Fear

Sometimes I can just get that old familiar “what if” feeling for no apparent reason at all. It’s important for me to decide – am I really afraid or is this an old bad habit rearing its ugly head once again.

♥ Ask Myself if It’s True

Is the thing that’s frightening me real in my life or is it just another “what if” possibility of something that could happen. If it’s not real … I need to let it go!

♥ Pray about It

If it is real – take it to God. I love these verses…

Come, let us tell of the Lord’s greatness; let us exalt His name together. I prayed to the Lord, and He answered me. He freed me from all my fears.

Psalm 34:3–4

I believe that’s a prayer the Lord always wants to answer positively!

♥ Picture Positive Outcomes

Fear often comes from imagining worst-case scenarios. Once I’ve prayed about it … I want to consistently think about God’s love and power and all the ways this thing I fear might have a positive outcome in my life.

♥ Repeat as Often as Necessary – “Fear Doesn’t Change Anything”

It’s a hard truth but I can’t control everything, no matter how much I’d like to!

I can only do what God leads me to do; then I have to entrust the rest of it to His loving care.

♥ Avoid Things that Trigger Fear

You and I are in a spiritual battle. The enemy will use things like the news, websites, tweets, Facebook posts, and anything else he can to send us into the downward spiral of fear.

Part of fighting the battle is knowing the things that trigger my fears and avoiding them as much as possible.

♥ Memorize Faith Strengthening Bible Verses

Scripture is the “sword of the Spirit” for this battle. I’ve memorized many of the verses listed above so I’m ready to fight back whenever necessary.

♥ Get a “Freedom from Fear” Friend.

Sometimes when I’m afraid, it helps to talk with a faith-filled friend who will pray with me and speak God’s encouragement and truth over me.

Friend, I can’t begin to imagine the fear Jesus must have felt as He approached the crucifixion. And yet, He endured the cross and its shame. It is the very thing God used to “overcome the world.”

No fear, real or imagined, is beyond Jesus understanding and compassion. And no fear, no circumstance, no person is beyond His ability to help and to hold.

His victorious right hand is holding you and me, we can be strong and courageous … He is with us wherever we go.

I like these words of Woodrow Kroll…

“Are you facing fear today? Perhaps you are afraid of losing your job, of developing cancer or being left by your spouse. At times all of us experience fear. But don’t allow fear to keep you from being used by God. He has kept you thus far; trust Him for the rest of the way.”

Because when I really believe, when I am full of faith and trust, I can say with David…

Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me.

Amen!

And finally, a huge shout out thank you to Alisa Nicaud for inviting me to be part of the From Fear to Freedom Tour. Please head over and check out 29 other wonderful posts from faith-filled bloggers who want to help you become brave and bold.

Thank you so much for joining me today.

It would bless me so much if you’d take a moment to subscribe to Counting My Blessings so you never miss an update!

And always remember – I LOVE hearing from you! So, please take a minute to say ‘hi’ by leaving a comment. 

You can also…

Leave your prayer requests…

and stop to pray one or two of the requests listed.

If this article blessed or helped you today — would you share it with someone?

Send it to a friend, family member, coworker, or share it through the links below…

I’m asking God to bless you today!