Today’s post is the #1 most popular post here at Counting My Blessings. It’s been read more than 400,000 times. I pray it blesses you!
In case you missed any of the first six posts from the Countdown to #1 Series – you can check them out here:
7 of the Best Verses to Inspire Your Worship of God
25 of the Best Ways to Love Yourself the Way God Wants
The Best Ways to Teach Your Child Humble Confidence
12 Things You Need to Know About God that Will Make You Humble
How to Trust God’s NO When You are Suffering
5 Verses that will Help When You Need to Be Still and Listen
Verses that will Help When You Need to Know God’s Will
And now …
When You Need to Know if Something is From God
Do you ever wonder whether you are following God’s will or plan for your life?
Do you worry that you might be heading in the wrong direction?
Do you wish God would clearly write out His to-do list for your day so you could plan in advance?
Yep, me too!
Throughout his years in ministry, Rev received a number of offers to serve at a variety of churches and non-profits. And I had to decide whether I should go back to teaching full-time, part-time or if I should stay at home with our children.
But career choices were just the beginning!
There were also decisions like…
How many children should we have? Where should our children go to school or should we homeschool? Where should we live? Is that the right house for us? The right church family? When should we retire? How should we plan or prepare for the future?
What should we do?
The questions can seem endless, don’t they?
Sometimes it’s easy to tell if something is from God, if it’s His will, other times are harder.
Life decisions can be one of the greatest causes of stress in our lives.
So the question we all ask is this…
“How can I know if something is from God?”
There are things you and I can do to help when we want our decisions to be in line with God’s will.
Steps to Knowing if Something is From God
♥ Pray
Always begin with prayer. It sounds simple but too often it’s the last thing you and I do, rather than the first. I believe God wants us to turn to Him in prayer right away, asking for His help and guidance, and trusting He will direct us according to His will.
Pray that the Lord your God will show us what to do and where to go. Jeremiah 42:3
♥ Glorify God
Ask — Will this decision glorify God?
“God will never guide you to do something that will not give Him glory.”
Other questions to help you know if a decision will glorify God are: “Does this bless my relationship with my family? Does it make it possible for me to serve others? What will my attitude be if I do this? If I don’t do this? Etc.”
Give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. Romans 6:13
♥ Agree with Scripture
Will the demands of this decision align with God’s will as He revealed it in the Bible?
God’s Word clearly communicates the things that are important to Him. Read it. Study it. Pray it.
All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. 2 Timothy 3:16
God’s will always includes love … love for Him and love for others. If your “something” doesn’t include love, it’s not God’s will!
♥ Be Willing to Wait
Be patient. God’s will is always worth the wait. You can trust His timing.
If something is God’s will, He will help you while you wait. It’s okay to slow down. Don’t rush into things – when the timing is right God will let you know.
Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord. Psalm 27:14
♥ Trust God to accomplish His will in your life
God will fulfill His promises and accomplish His will for you.
The truth is I’ve been impatient more often than I care to admit. But I’m learning I can watch and wait . . . God will do what He says He will do, and He will accomplish His will in His timing.
Now all glory to God, who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Ephesians 3:20
It’s important to know that there will be times when you will do these things and still be uncertain about God’s direction for you.
That’s okay.
You can trust that if God wants something specific in your life He will make it clear.
If you’ve prayed, asked, studied, waited and trusted and still have no clear answer … just keep moving forward.
The good news is if you are trusting and glorifying God with your life you can move ahead confidently.
Rev and I have had times when the choice was clear . . . so clear in fact, we had to change our plans midway.
Occasionally, we’ve asked God to clearly show us His will through specific events that helped to make it easier for us to make a decision.
And I will honestly tell you, there have been a few times when after doing all we knew to do, we still felt uncertain.
So, we just lived each day…
And you can too!
Trust God’s love and lean into His grace and mercy. You can be confident that God will make any specific plans He has for you clear. You don’t have to live in fear of His displeasure when you sincerely seek His will.
Trust God! He is with you!
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:11–13
Seek God’s will and live your life for His glory.
Your Father wants the best for you and He is able to accomplish it!
This Week’s Friday Favorites
Highlights from the Week!
by Christine Wood
@ Living With Margins
by Lisa Burgess
@ Lisa Notes…
How to Avoid Being a Tw0-Faced Christian
by Michelle Skillern
@ MRSDesigns
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