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Determining the will of YHVH

GunnarR

GunnarR

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Hey everyone!
I've been having a question swirl in my head for sometime now and thought I'd present it to the wise council for advice.
How does one go about determining or finding the will of YHVH for their life?
I know seeking Him out and asking Him is one way and laying a fleece out is another.
I've always had trouble with separating my emotions from logic (it has gotten a whole lot better over the years, coping with OCD is not an easy task). With that being said, I used to have trouble making decisions or finding the will of YHVH for me because I thought I would "feel" something (and I know now you can't base faith off of feeling).
So emotions aside, how can one "logically" determine the will of YHVH for them?
 
Hey Gunnar!

That's a question I can relate to because I've struggled with a lot in the past, and rather than provide a straight answer that I'm not qualified to give, let me share some thoughts...
I tend to be 'event based' in my thinking. As in: What work does God want me to accomplish? Where should I go? Who should I talk to? etc etc
Whereas a lot of the time God's will revolves around not answering those questions overtly, and almost never ahead of time.

God's will for your life (and mine) involves things like faith (the substance of things not seen) and perseverance to develop our character, which I believe matter more to Him than specific works.
(Let the record show that I am aware we must produce works in keeping with our faith)

I believe most of our paths involve heavy sprinklings of "wilderness experiences" where there is NO specific work to be done. Nothing to accomplish. Nowhere to go. Just doing the things that you know you should do even if there is no apparent fruit being borne. I'm absolutely not preaching "Don't think about it and stop trying" but recognize that where you are right now is very likely exactly what God has planned for you right now, and tomorrow is not something to worry about.

Some key things to be aware of:
* God "prepared works beforehand that we should walk in them"
* God is capable of communicating those works to us in a manner we can understand
* We should be watchful for when God is showing us what those works are.

* In large part, Prompting God to show you what He wants done is indistinguishable from Seeking His Face.


Just about my favorite passage in scripture is 2 Peter 1:5-11. I won't reproduce the whole thing here, but I want to highlight some things:

1) The list is in chronological order, you do the first thing, then add the second, then add the third.
2) If you abound in them you will be productive and effective
3) If you do them, you will never stumble.

I say that if you do not stumble, and are productive and effective, then you will be walking in the works that God has prepared for you in Christ, whether or not you are told which way to go or what to do before you end up doing it. I also say that accomplishing this is better than simply being told one thing to do and doing it.

If any of this resonates with you, I would recommend the workbook "Experiencing God" for specific training on how to walk with the Lord with a specific eye towards watching for which direction He's taking you
 
My basic aproach is FISH

F ruit does it line up with the fruit of t Spirit
I nward witness
S cripture
H igher gfts and callings ( a parent guides
A child a husband to a wife )

As each of these agree the faith level should increase ultimately it will come down to faith
 
My advice to you would be to soak yourself in the Word, fast and then ask God to show you His will. There are times when I have asked God to reveal to me things or talk to me through dreams. There are times when He answered and times when He didn't. He said that we have not because we ask not. Keep asking and you may get your answer. I remember one time when I pregnant with my oldest, I wanted to go visit my sister. She was dealing with a lot of bad things in her life. I made the decision that I would visit her the next day but that night, I had a dream/visitation. I heard a clear voice," this is Gabriel. Don't go because it will be death to you." Did I head that advice? I sure did and of course, I did not go. Because of that, I named one of my daughters, Gabrielle as the middle name. Pray for God to speak to you in your dreams and keep asking. He may respond. To add that He did show me His will for me in my dreams.
 
Just a word of caution that I’d add. Sometimes its easy to make things happen that we are convinced are his will. More often than not, things that are his will, will be greased with his timing. Doors will open, the sea will part etc when its time for them to. This does not at all remove the human aspect where you have faith and get your feet wet before the waters part. Just be careful that you don’t get ahead or behind in His timing. That can be just as bad as being out of His will.
 
Verifyveritas76 said:
More often than not, things that are his will, will be greased with his timing. Doors will open, the sea will part etc when its time for them to.
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I don't know, when the devil chooses to oppose you it sure doesn't feel like that.
 
@GunnarR Don’t get too worked up worrying that you’ll miss God’s will for your life. He is sovereign, He will direct your path. James 1:5 says to ask God for wisdom and He will give it. Then trust that He does and make the wisest decisions you can think of. If the thing you’re thinking of doing is sinful, well, that’s not God’s will. If it isn’t sinful and it seems like a wise choice for a number of reasons, do that. If you’re asking God to direct your path and give you wisdom, then trust that He will and move forward. If your plans are out of His will, He’s a good Father, He will shut the door and open other opportunities. You can trust Him to orchestrate your life if you love Him and desire to follow Him.

Don’t freak out if bad things end up happening to you, it doesn’t mean you are out of the will of God. Probably 99% of the people we read about in Scripture went through all kinds of awful things while they were smack dab in the middle of God’s will.

You can search the Bible high and low, but you won’t find that christians are called to some special unique dream destiny thingy. Christians are created in Christ for good works (plural). The Bible tells us what good works are. Good works are things like honoring your parents, loving your spouse, teaching your children, providing for your family, being a good employee, helping and encouraging others. God doesn’t need your good works, but your neighbor does :)

Proverbs 3:1-7 KJV
[6] In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
 
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We should do our best to determine the the will of God before we act. I realize this can be difficult, maybe impossible at times, but many approach life with no conviction or persuasion of what the will of God is, or was, in any given situation. Many see 'success' or 'failure' as proof of the will of God in manifestation.

If a church, ministry, or marriage, 'succeeds or fails,' it is then evaluated as whether it was the will of God... or not. This is error! It assumes that the will of God is always done and that everything that happens is therefore the will of God. Just because an enterprise 'succeeds' or 'fails,' that does not mean that either was the will of God. We who are persuaded that the traditional 'church' is in many ways in error surely do not believe their success is validation of their being in the will of God... else why are we contesting the will of God by trying to enlighten and change them! We should join them!

As much as possible, determine the will of God in advance and be slow to change with the appearance of setbacks or even failure. Learn the nature of God, neither embrace every 'success' as proof of God's will.
 
You can search the Bible high and low, but you won’t find that christians are called to some special unique dream destiny thingy. Christians are created in Christ for good works (plural).

@Asforme&myhouse, this is a pretty bold statement knowing God that way. Wow! Such a strong communication with Him. I say this because you cannot make a statement like that unless you were completely sure without a doubt. I am writing this because I am the only one who mentioned dreams and you decided to bring it up. I was given 2 clear dreams. One was sitting at night on Israel's wall keeping watch and I was told that I am a Watchman. I was also given directions to pray where His head angels be placed in Israel. No wonder people are hesitant to answer. Pretty sad
 
FairyLass said:
You can search the Bible high and low, but you won’t find that christians are called to some special unique dream destiny thingy. Christians are created in Christ for good works (plural).

@Asforme&myhouse, this is a pretty bold statement knowing God that way. Wow! Such a strong communication with Him. I say this because you cannot make a statement like that unless you were completely sure without a doubt. I am writing this because I am the only one who mentioned dreams and you decided to bring it up. I was given 2 clear dreams. One was sitting at night on Israel's wall keeping watch and I was told that I am a Watchman. I was also given directions to pray where His head angels be placed in Israel. No wonder people are hesitant to answer. Pretty sad
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Because I said dream destiny thingy, you are assuming i was referring to your comment? Are you insinuating that I personally am to blame if women are hesitant to post? Why would you mock my relationship with God? You seem to be accusing me of being pathetic, by saying “Pretty sad”. Your post was sarcastic, accusatory and hurtful. :(
 
Asforme&myhouse said:
Because I said dream destiny thingy, you are assuming i was referring to your comment? Are you insinuating that I personally am to blame if women are hesitant to post? You seem to be accusing me of being pathetic, by saying “Pretty sad”. Your post was sarcastic, accusatory and hurtful. :(
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Yes, I considered it because you did mention dreams in your post not to long after mine. And no, I not saying you are personally to blame. And I was the only one who brought up the subject of dreams. So it did come off as hurtful to me. I am trying to help someone by my experiences with my Father by explaining how He reaches me and shows His will. And He did do it by a "special unique dream destiny thingy." I am not trying to start an argument. I am a Christian woman who tries to seek God's will and do His will even though I fail considerably. I try to encourage and build up brothers and sisters as I did in my first post. I have a gentle heart and I truly would never accuse you of being pathetic. I am stepping back and placing this in God's hands.
 
Jim an Apostle said:
but many approach life with no conviction or persuasion of what the will of God is,
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Good post, may I add: ...or that He even has one for their life outside of written Scripture.
 
steve said:
Good post, may I add: ...or that He even has one for their life outside of written Scripture.
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Amen! This reminded me of a Bible plan and it talked about when you lose sight of our King and His word, your life begins to devolve into confusion and potential chaos, losing sight of the mission that He planned for you.
 
@FairyLass, don’t take it too personal. He has a habit of attempting to deny that spiritual experiences are actually happening today.
 
steve said:
@FairyLass, don’t take it too personal. He has a habit of attempting to deny that spiritual experiences are actually happening today.
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False.

We are told to test the spirits. How exactly does one test the spirits unless one compares the claimed experience to Scripture? Read what Jude says about people who rely on their dreams.

And for the record, I wasn’t thinking of @FairyLass’ post when I wrote my post, i was thinking of a Joel Osteen sermon. Please be careful not to jump to conclusions.
 
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