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

How's that for a confusing title? Just like that title I have found some of the most confusing teaching in my Christian life has been discerning the will of God. I've never heard God's audible voice but I have had His Spirit confirm with my mind when I spend time in His Word and prayer. Here is the short version of this blog, First, do everything that you already know that God wants you to do. This includes studying the Bible, praying, serving, sharing your faith, being active in His church and being thankful for His blessings in your life. Remember, God will not give you more opportunities until you are faithful in doing the things He has already taught you. He knows that not only will you not be ready for His call, you probably won't even recognize His call. Second, ask God to reveal His will for your life. If you ask, He has promised to answer. "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him." (James 1:5) Third, recognize that God is more than capable of blocking doors that He doesn't want you to open. Walk toward your goals, asking God for confirmation and for Him to make clear if you are going in the wrong direction. His Spirit resides in you and is more than able to communicate with you through studying His Word, prayer, other believers and any other divine intersections He chooses.


In Jeremiah God said to His people, "I will put My law within them, and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people . . . for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, declares the Lord, for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more." (Jeremiah 31: 33-34) This verse is found right in the precise center of the book of Jeremiah. (Quick fact: Did you know that Jeremiah has the most words of any book in the Bible?) Isn't it just like God to place hope right in the middle of this gloomy and very dark book? Despite the people's insistence on doing life their own way, God still provides His grace and mercies. Until time itself is no more, God will always be working to provide His people a way to repent and turn toward Himself. Right in the dead center of the book of Jeremiah we find this covenant promise from God to His people. At the heart of God's covenant/heart transformation is obedience born out of love, relationship and commitment. Jesus said, "If you love me you will obey me." (John 14:15)

Just like in the center of the book of Jeremiah is the core hope of God's covenant, Jesus diagnosed the core of the human problem in the condition of the heart. Remember what Jesus said, "What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person's heart, that evil thoughts come -- sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person." (Mark 7:20-23) It also makes sense that Jesus's sacrifice would announce the dawn of the "New Covenant" that God is entering into with His people. He died for the sins of His own people, and at the same time He brought about the great act of forgiveness prophesied in the book of Jeremiah.

This is why Jesus Himself said the entire Scripture is about Him. He said, "You search the Scriptures, because you think in them you have eternal life; and it is these that bear witness of me . . . For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me." (John 5:39,46) In the Old Testament Isaiah wrote, "A voice is calling, 'Clear the way for the LORD in the wilderness; make smooth in the desert a highway for our God." (Isaiah 40:3) All of scripture cries out for us to hear and obey the Word of God, which has been given to us for our own good. "Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God's promises to be fulfilled."  (Romans 15:4)