Have you ever met those Christians who are really confident in God's calling on their life. They say things like, "I just really sense his leading in my spirit." And then you smile and nod, all the while thinking, What? How come I can never sense anything in my spirit? Is this guy full of it, or is there something I don't know?
Maybe you don't feel like you have the same highly refined spiritual sniffer that some people seem to have, but that's okay because you don't need it. God has already given you everything you need to know what exactly what direction he wants you to go.
Last week my oldest daughter, Alura, and I were headed home from church. She's currently learning to drive, so she was in the driver's seat, and I was riding shotgun. And she asked, "Dad, I've heard you and mom talk about how you are following God's will for your life. But how do you know what that is?"
What a great question. It's one I wrestled with for a long time. And even though Alura doesn't consider herself a Christian, I'm always pumped to get to speak into her spiritual life.
What a great question. It's one I wrestled with for a long time. And even though Alura doesn't consider herself a Christian, I'm always pumped to get to speak into her spiritual life.
Driving and your spiritual life
In a lot of ways, cultivating a spiritual life is like learning how to drive. In both cases you learn as you go, there are big consequences if you're not paying attention, and, as I explained to Alura, you've got a dashboard filled with instruments that give you essential information.
In your car, the dashboard has gauges that inform you about things like gas, speed, engine problems, air bags, seat-belts, and now a days a most manufacturers are including GPS and a bunch of other cool stuff.
In the same way, your spiritual life has some gauges that will help you determine God's calling on your life. Since Allison and I are both followers of Jesus, we find our gauges in the Bible. Here are the ones that are the ones we rely heavily on.
The 'what I will' gauge. This is the gauge of your willingness to follow God's will for your life rather than your own (James 4:15). It is the first and most important gauge to pay attention to. This one is analogous to your spiritual gas gauge since you won't get very far without it. If you're not following God's will for your life, you'll inevitably follow your own, or worse yet someone else's.
Allison and I find that the best example for this comes from our own lives. In the last 15 years, we have both shipwrecked our lives by trying to do things according to our own willpower. Allison ended up a homeless drug addict, and I left a church in disgrace after my own addiction to sex and porn destroyed everyone's trust in me.
Our experience taught us that we're powerless to control our tendencies to do the wrong thing, and if we want to get anywhere we need to submit our lives to God's will. After all, he does work everything to the good of those who love him (Romans 8:28).
Common Sense-o-meter. Lots of people worry that following God's calling on their lives means they'll have to do something that sounds insane, like quit their job and move to Africa as a full time missionary. And while that does occasionally happen, God's will for our lives is not devoid of common sense. There are even verses that talk about the essential nature of having common sense.
A prime example of this comes from my recent decision to quit my job in order to plant a new church. Some people have said it's irresponsible for me to leave a secure job for one that come with no security. And while there really is no such thing as job security (any business, church or enterprise can fold at any time), my critics do have a point.
As a husband and father, God has charged me with providing for my family (1 Timothy 5:8). For that reason, I'll always do whatever I have to to provide for Allison and the kids. So, while it's good to be ready to do whatever God asks of you, he won't call you to abandon common sense and do something that's dangerous or destructive to the people who rely on you.
The gauge of what I want. Sometimes people misunderstand this one. Since the Bible talks about denying ourselves and pursuing Christ (John 3:30), people assume that it's bad to desire things. But it isn't. The truth is, God uses our desires to help direct our lives (Proverbs 13:12). As Andrew Murray says, "Desire is the secret power that moves the whole world of living men, it directs the course of each."
Desire isn't the only gauge we should use to decide which way we will go. But it certainly is a gauge, among gauges, that we should pay attention to.
Wisdometer. Neither you or I are the wisest person alive. We live in a world populated with men and women who are greater than ourselves. And God used Solomon, who is reputed as wisest man who ever lived, to tell us to pursue wisdom in order to find God's will for our lives (Colossians 3:16).
There are few better ways to pursue wisdom than to find people who have it and ask them how to get it. And if you want to be wise, you'll pay close attention to these people and give them a voice to speak into your life. Also, your spouse counts as one of these people. And one of the best ways to determine what's good for your life is to listen to and work in concert with the person to whom you've committed your life.
What are the gauges you use in determining what direction your life should go? Please leave a comment in the space below
Warmly,
Tim
Allison and I find that the best example for this comes from our own lives. In the last 15 years, we have both shipwrecked our lives by trying to do things according to our own willpower. Allison ended up a homeless drug addict, and I left a church in disgrace after my own addiction to sex and porn destroyed everyone's trust in me.
Our experience taught us that we're powerless to control our tendencies to do the wrong thing, and if we want to get anywhere we need to submit our lives to God's will. After all, he does work everything to the good of those who love him (Romans 8:28).
Common Sense-o-meter. Lots of people worry that following God's calling on their lives means they'll have to do something that sounds insane, like quit their job and move to Africa as a full time missionary. And while that does occasionally happen, God's will for our lives is not devoid of common sense. There are even verses that talk about the essential nature of having common sense.
A prime example of this comes from my recent decision to quit my job in order to plant a new church. Some people have said it's irresponsible for me to leave a secure job for one that come with no security. And while there really is no such thing as job security (any business, church or enterprise can fold at any time), my critics do have a point.
As a husband and father, God has charged me with providing for my family (1 Timothy 5:8). For that reason, I'll always do whatever I have to to provide for Allison and the kids. So, while it's good to be ready to do whatever God asks of you, he won't call you to abandon common sense and do something that's dangerous or destructive to the people who rely on you.
The gauge of what I want. Sometimes people misunderstand this one. Since the Bible talks about denying ourselves and pursuing Christ (John 3:30), people assume that it's bad to desire things. But it isn't. The truth is, God uses our desires to help direct our lives (Proverbs 13:12). As Andrew Murray says, "Desire is the secret power that moves the whole world of living men, it directs the course of each."
Desire isn't the only gauge we should use to decide which way we will go. But it certainly is a gauge, among gauges, that we should pay attention to.
Wisdometer. Neither you or I are the wisest person alive. We live in a world populated with men and women who are greater than ourselves. And God used Solomon, who is reputed as wisest man who ever lived, to tell us to pursue wisdom in order to find God's will for our lives (Colossians 3:16).
There are few better ways to pursue wisdom than to find people who have it and ask them how to get it. And if you want to be wise, you'll pay close attention to these people and give them a voice to speak into your life. Also, your spouse counts as one of these people. And one of the best ways to determine what's good for your life is to listen to and work in concert with the person to whom you've committed your life.
What are the gauges you use in determining what direction your life should go? Please leave a comment in the space below
Warmly,
Tim
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