What is Gods Will for your life? Part 5 By Zac Poonen ...........(continuation) Self-distrust Do not rely on your own insight or understanding.....and He will direct your paths (Prov. 3:5,6). The one who does not distrust his own natural wisdom in spiritual matters has yet to learn one of the fundamental lessons of the Christian life. Meager intelligence cannot by itself deprive a man of the knowledge of Gods will, if the man leans upon God. But proud dependence on ones own cleverness and foresight can. Paul says in Philippians 3:3 that a believer should be characterized by a lack of confidence in himself. Paul was a mighty intellectual, but he still had to distrust himself and lean upon God. From his own experience he writes to the Corinthian Christians, If any man among you thinks himself one of the worlds clever ones let him discard his cleverness that he may learn to be truly wise. For this worlds cleverness is stupidity to God (1 Cor. 3:18,19-JBP). Worldly wisdom is a hindrance to the knowing of Gods will, and so must be discarded. Lest this last statement be misunderstood, let me add a word of explanation. Rejecting worldly wisdom does not mean the non-use of our intellectual abilities. Paul used his and it is unthinkable that he would ever ask others not to use theirs. Worldly wisdom cannot refer to education and learning for both the learned Paul and the unlearned Corinthians (to whom he was writing) had to discard it. It refers to the measure of trust we put in our own cleverness, whether our learning be much or little. It is a malady that can afflict the learned and the unlearned alike. The Bible likens believers to sheep. A sheep is a foolish animal, unable to find its own way around, and extremely short-sighted. Its only safety lies in following its shepherd wherever he goes. This is a very humiliating fact for self-confident man to acknowledge. His pride will rebel at the very suggestion of his being so stupid in spiritual matters. Yet this utter distrust of self is an inescapable preliminary to knowing Gods guidance in our lives. David took the place of a sheep before the Lord and thereby experienced Divine guidance - The Lord is my Shepherd.... He leads me.... He leads me (Psa. 23:1-3). Unless man humbles himself and takes this lowly place, he cannot know the ways of God. He will teach the ways that are right and best to those who humbly turn to Him, said David in Psalm 25:9 (TLB). Self-confidence may be all right for the man of the world but certainly not for the child of God. Herein lies the reason why many believers miss Gods plan for their lives. Confident of their own abilities, they do not earnestly seek the will of God. They depend instead upon their own genius and are thus led astray. God often allows failure and confusion in our lives in order that we might see the total depravity of our hearts and the unreliability of our fallible intellects, and thus learn the necessity of clinging more closely to Him. One of the chief lessons which the Lord sought to teach His disciples was that without Him they could do nothing (John 15:5). They were very slow in learning this: so are we. The humble man who recognizes his limitations and leans heavily upon God will ascertain the Divine will without difficulty. The self-confident Doctor of Theology, on the other hand, who depends on his Seminary training, will be left groping in the darkness. Obedience in every area In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths (Prov. 3:6). We are sometimes eager to know Gods guidance in one area of our lives, but not so keen on having His direction in other areas. For example, we may earnestly seek Gods will in marriage, but may not do so when looking for a job. Or it could be vice-versa. Or perhaps we may seek Gods guidance how and where to spend our months annual leave, but may never ask Him how to spend our money. This is because we are inclined to want Gods guidance only when it is convenient for us. Selfish motives often lurk, unknown to us, in our hearts. We seek Gods will in some matters because we dont want to make mistakes that might cause us suffering or loss. The motive is not that we might please God but that we might be comfortable and prosperous. Hence we fail to receive Gods guidance, for He has promised to guide only those who acknowledge Him in all their ways, those who gladly accept His direction in every area of their lives. There are many areas in which Gods will is already revealed to us in the Scriptures. For instance, the Bible says that God wants us to be holy and thankful: This is the will of God that you should be consecrated - separated and set apart for pure and holy living.... Thank God in everything - no matter what the circumstances may be, be thankful and give thanks; for this is the will of God for you (who are) in Christ Jesus (1 Thess. 4:3; 5:18). Similarly, we are told that God expects us to love our neighbours as ourselves (Rom. 13:9). If we have received Gods forgiveness and salvation, we should desire the same for our neighbours. Gods will is clearly revealed in the New Testament: we are to be His witnesses (Acts 1:8). Loving our neighbours implies a concern primarily for their spiritual needs, but does not exclude their other needs. God has said, I want you to share your food with the hungry and bring right into your own homes those who are helpless, poor and destitute. Clothe those who are cold and dont hide from relatives who need your help. If you do these things, God will shed His own glorious light upon you.....Then when you call, the Lord will answer. `Yes, I am here. He will quickly reply. All you need to do is to stop oppressing the weak, and to stop making false accusations and spreading vicious rumours! Feed the hungry! Help those in trouble! Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you shall be as bright as day. And the Lord will guide you continually (Isa. 58:7-11-TLB). God delights to reveal His mind to those who are unselfishly concerned with the needs of others. If we fail to obey the Lord in these areas where He has already revealed His will, then we cannot expect Him to guide us in other spheres. It is a principle of Divine guidance that God never grants further light to one who ignores the light he already has. God will not show us the second step before we take the first. As you go, step by step, I will open up the way before you, is His promise (Prov. 4:12 - Paraphrase). He is interested in our every step. The steps of a (good) man are directed and established of the Lord, when He delights in his way and He busies Himself with his every step, (Psa. 37:23). Here is another promise of guidance for the obedient: I will instruct you (says the Lord) and guide you along the best pathway for your life; I will advise you and watch your progress, (but) dont be like a senseless horse or mule. (Psa. 32:8,9-TLB). (The horse is characterized by impatience always wanting to rush ahead whereas the mule is characterized by stubbornness often refusing to move forward. We must avoid both these attitudes). God speaks to us through our consciences when we are disobedient. We should therefore be careful to heed the voice of conscience always. Jesus said, Your eye is the lamp of your body; when your eye is sound and fulfilling its office, your whole body is full of light (Luke 11:34). What did Jesus mean by the eye? In Matthew 5:8, He connected spiritual vision with purity of heart. So the eye must refer to the conscience which when obeyed constantly, leads us to purity of heart. By itself, conscience is not the voice of God, for it is educated and determined by the principles on which a person bases his life. But if it is obeyed constantly and brought in line with the teaching of the Bible, it will reflect Gods standard increasingly. The promise in Luke 11:34, then is, that if we keep our conscience clean we shall have Gods light flooding our lives - and thus we shall know His will. If we fail to listen to the voice of conscience in our daily lives, we shall fail to hear the voice of the Spirit when seeking Gods guidance. Instant obedience to God whenever He speaks to us is one of the secrets of guidance. Recently, I read of a fifteen-year-old boy, blind from birth, who flew and landed an aircraft safely. This remarkable feat was accomplished by his instantly obeying every order given by his instructor pilot. When facing lifes manifold problems, we may feel like blind men trying to land a plane on an unknown and invisible runway. But if we develop the habit of instant obedience to Gods commands, we shall find that we land safely. Continues.. (Culled from Mazino Egbuwokus Facebook Page. Please refer to this page for your questions and / or prayers.)
Posted on: Wed, 06 Nov 2013 10:59:14 +0000
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