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Knowing God’s Will for Your Life

Knowing God’s Will for Your Life

Have you ever struggled to know what God would have you do in a given situation? Have you ever been in a circumstance in which there was no absolute right or wrong and you needed to make a decision, but you weren’t sure what to do? You wanted to honor God, but the situation wasn’t one that God’s Word gives any specific wisdom about. The facts and evidences before you were not sufficient for you to know which course was best. Such decisions as: Should I attend this church or that church; go to this school or that one; which car should I buy; should I accept the job offer and move to another city; should we sell our house or buy a house or rent?

Many of life’s decisions have no specific direction from God’s Word and are left up to us. Yet, we don’t want to squander God’s blessings; we don’t want to waste resources; we don’t want to dishonor God; we want to be good stewards because we believe in God and love Him. Too often, we struggle with the dilemma of believing in God yet not knowing what He would have us do in any given situation.

We might even have a history of making decisions on our own and getting burned by the outcome and, having been burned, we are doubly hesitant to make new decisions. We might be gun-shy and overly cautious. If you have such a history, have you reflected on what your past experiences can teach you, where the decision-making process broke down, and how to update the process in order to reduce the likelihood of moving in directions that are outside of God’s will?

As I look back on my life, I have discovered that sometimes I have been like King David, filled with love for God, moved with awe, overwhelmed with admiration for my incredible Creator and Savior; humbled and inspired by some new insight, experience, or intervention, my love for God motivated me to take action. And like David sought to build the temple, I launched into some project to honor the Lord. But then, like David, I discovered that in my enthusiasm, I was running ahead of God; I was jumping to conclusions, initiating actions or joining projects that were indeed good projects, that were for the Lord’s cause, but they just weren’t what God wanted me to do.

At other times, I have been like Jonah; my heart was convicted of God’s will, of what He wanted me to do, but the direction God was leading went against my wishes, cut across my desires, offended my inclinations, and so, like Jonah, I ran away from where the Lord was leading. And as a psychiatrist, I have discovered many ways that people run away from the Lord. We can run into good causes—just not the causes God has for us. We can run into sinful living seeking to silence the conviction of the Spirit. We can run into entertainment, relationships, or shopping. But no matter where we run, we will not be at peace until we stop running from the Lord.

But God is gracious. Even though I, at times, have run from God’s calling, He has never stopped chasing after me. I might have been hiding in the bushes, covering myself with fig leaves, but He always came for me, calling my name. But, like Jonah, sometimes I was stubborn and didn’t respond to His gentle calling, so God graciously allowed the storms of life to overwhelm me as I fled from His presence. And then I realized that no matter how hard I fought to stay afloat, without the Lord, I couldn’t. Whenever I have run away from the Lord, I always found the ship sinking and my only recourse was to jump into the sea and throw myself fully into the Lord’s care. Like Jonah, I found that I was lost without the Lord, drowning in my problems, suffocating in the darkness of guilt and shame, powerless to deliver myself. But in every case, when I surrendered myself to God and trusted Him with the outcome, He delivered me. He led me out of the dark depths back into the light. He took away my guilt, freed me from shame, and opened avenues to success, providing the resources to overcome, and solutions to my problems that I never even considered; then He put me right back on the path He had called for me to fulfill—and, oh, what joy filled my soul!

And then, at other times in my life I have been like Martha, not moved by awe into running ahead of the Lord, or running away from known revelation, but simply too busy with life’s real responsibilities to sit at Jesus’ feet and spend time with Him, listening to Him, communing with Him. One of the devil’s traps for those of us whom he cannot get to directly choose evil is to overburden us with good things so that we crowd out the essential—our time with Jesus.

As I look back on my life, I have discovered that being like David and running ahead of the Lord leads to disappointment; being like Jonah and running away leads to defeat; and being like Martha and running around in business leads to exhaustion.

As I reflected on these three Bible characters, I realized that in no case did these people reject God. They were not unbelievers; they had not lost faith in God. They had merely stopped listening. They had allowed their circumstances to stir up emotions that motivated them to act without first going to Jesus. It wasn’t a lack of faith in God; it was a lack of a moment-to-moment living connection with God.

David was a believer whose belief inspired him to seek to do a great work for the Lord—it just wasn’t the work God wanted him to do. Jonah had faith in God, knew God had called him, but he just didn’t like what he was called to do. And Martha was working to prepare a meal for Jesus, not because she didn’t love and trust Him, but because she did; she just didn’t stop to let Him feed her with the bread of life.

In each of their lives, they had moments when they were overcome with emotion—David with love and awe, Jonah with fear and anger, Martha with stress and a frantic sense of being overwhelmed. And they allowed their emotions to immediately move them to action, to direct them, to determine their choice. They didn’t merely allow the emotions to energize them and go to the Lord for His direction; instead, they allowed the emotions to launch them, to initiate their course, to form their conclusions. I have discovered that I have made the same mistake in many places in my life.

And then I remembered Elijah. After his great victory at Carmel, he was threatened by Jezebel and so overwhelmed with fear that he ran away discouraged and hid himself in a cave. And in that place of discouragement …

A great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave (1 Kings 19:11–13 NIV84).

I have learned that it is during times of great emotion that I am tempted most to run ahead, or run away, or run around, but it is exactly at those times that I need to “be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). It is in times of great emotion that I need to seek the Lord and pour out my feelings to Him. It is then that I need to find that quiet place where I can hear the voice of God speak to me. For when emotions are strong, it is often difficult to listen—to hear what God is saying.

So, I have discovered that when my emotions are running high, I must go to God. I must praise Him when filled with awe; pour out my complaint to Him when I am burdened with frustration, anger, or hurt; and cry out to Him for help when I am overwhelmed with stress. And then I must stay with Him, abiding in His presence, allowing His hand to touch me, until I find that quiet place of surrender and can hear the still small voice speaking to my soul.

What I have discovered is that few Christians actually lose “faith” in God—few stop believing that God exists, or that God is love, or that He is powerful, or that He is anything less than a God of miracles capable of great and wondrous things. No, most Christians don’t struggle with this (at least not on a day-to-day basis). What most of us struggle with is the difference between the general faith in God and maintaining a daily living connection with God, an active experience of knowing God personally, of being able to hear the still small voice directing our paths. That is because maintaining a living connection requires that we spend daily quiet time with Jesus. We must step away from the digital world, lay down the daily burdens, pause from “doing” for God and start “being” with God.

So don’t be like David and run ahead, or like Jonah and run away, or like Martha and run around; instead, choose to spend quiet time with God sharing your heart with Him, but then listening to hear His voice. Then, when uncertain with what God would have you do, run to Jesus and just be with Him. Get away from the business, the screens, the news, the problems, and the stress and just spend some quiet time with God. Ask for God’s presence, wisdom, direction, comfort, and healing, and it will be given to you; seek to know God personally, intimately, and fully, and you will find He has been waiting for you to come home to Him your entire life. Knock on heaven’s door, and the storehouse of God’s blessings will be open to you.

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Testimony 42

I am just writing to say that I have been so blessed by the teachings of Come And Reason Minitries recently. I watched last week’s bible study lesson on Youtube and am thankful that the error in the printed lesson guide you use was pointed out and this week’s study was of equal benefit, if not more so. My understanding of God’s nature has been very confused of late and I am so grateful for clarity in this matter. I have never really fully understood previously how a good God can cause bad things to happen and now I realise that He doesn’t, it’s a natural consequence of sin. May the almighty Father and His Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ, continue to bless your ministry.

Laura P., United Kingdom

 

Testimony 51

I Love This Ministry!!!!!!! I see first hand how this message is desperately needed, how erroneous beliefs about God and His Character negatively affect humanity at every level. I thank God for your ministry, as I was searching on my own and was discovering some of your same beliefs and was blown away when I found your ministry. I know you hear it all the time, but it is truly life changing. May God continue to reveal His Will to you and Bless you!

Eric S., Sanford, FL, USA

 

Testimony 69

After reading your book, ‘Could It Be This Simple,’ someone was explaining Christianity in a way that made sense to me for the first time in my life. One morning, I simply prayed “I’m sorry and I love you.” As soon as I silently said that, I could literally feel God’s presence and light flood down on me from above and fill me up with love and joy. I sat there crying my eyes out, because I was so overpowered with this feeling of love and joy. It was just so incredible. I hope that more people can read this book and get a blessing from it. It’s really amazing.

Rachael H.

Testimony 28

I have been following your Bible study class for about a year now. I must say I am impressed with how your ministry has grown. I took it upon myself to listen to all your lesson podcasts from the past and they have both enriched me physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. I have learnt a lot from this class. I have also noticed how the class has grown in spiritual strength. One of the things that benefited me is that now I am not afraid of God. I use to be, but now it has melted away. The second thing is that you helped me to have a real life relationship with God. Now He is my friend that was always there and I love having him with me all the time. Thirdly, because of this class, it inspired me to take over and lead a class. I have called it “Let Us Reason Together,” adapting your inquisitive style and creating a class of free thinkers.

T. Banda, Malawi, Africa

 

Testimony 15

I have been sharing Come And Reason Ministries Bible study lessons with several folk. You have such a beautiful view of the plan of salvation. If we had this message preached when I was young, my generation would still all be in church.

H. R., New Zealand

Testimony 39

[This ministry is the] biggest blessing I have ever received! Your DVDs and lessons could not have come at a better time in my life. I have experienced in the past year many difficulties that, if it wasn’t for this wonderful view of God that I have discovered through this ministry, I would not have been able to respond in love and forgiveness. My heart is being transformed everyday by the Calvary-looking God you teach. Hallelujah!! I have tears in my eyes as I write, because my life has taken a complete turn from where I was heading.

I am from Central America. Most of my family is scattered in different parts of the world and all have the same view of God that I had growing up; a distant, exacting, and ready-to-punish-us-with-tragedy type of God. So, I have been translating lessons for my family and, to my surprise, they have also been sharing them with others! I can already see the difference. My brother has often said, “Thank you for sharing, I have never heard it this way!” My other family members are taking an amazing turn from a message of “repent or burn” towards a loving God, pleading to us that we won’t reject him because he loves us eternally.

Bless you for all you do.

Sofia S., Ashfield, MA, USA

 

Testimony 54

I had a lot of pressure, as a pastor’s kid, to conform and be “good.” I was good at being “good.” I thought my life was going along well until it all started falling apart and I could not figure out why! In my search for “why is this happening to me, God?” I came across your book, “Could it be this Simple,” and God started revealing to me the many distortions I held about His character, His principles, and how He has designed His universe to operate. I remember thinking, “Wow, I have had this all backwards.” I was happy and angry all at the same time. Happy to have the light of truth break through the darkness, revealing a wonderful, beautiful way of understanding God and His plan for His children, and angry, because I felt deceived and cheated by the church, my family, and myself!

My heart thrills when I listen to your bible study lessons. Literally I have gone from death to life. It is a journey I look forward to every day, as God reveals areas this distortion affects. Praise GOD! I will ever be grateful to God for this ministry and your cooperation with the Spirit!

Karen S., Portal, AZ, USA

 

Testimony 62

I would like to express my thanks to the C&R team for creating a platform from which people can learn to trust in God and grow. My life is a witness to the effectiveness of this ministry. Without believing the truth about God as you have shown, I don’t know what my life would be like. I had given up on God helping me with certain sins – it was all useless. Given that the scripture is clear and God is so good, how could I have betrayed him so many times? I was a yo-yo christian; spinning up and down. My faith and enthusiasm was driven by discoveries/threats that prophecy is about to be fulfilled. But when I watched your “Healing the Mind” seminar, it was like a light finally went on. I could see God had no plan to hurt me, the danger came from sin, and that He is working to protect me and strengthen me. Thank you for allowing God to use you. The message God gave C&R saved my life!

Antony N. – Hobart, Australia

 

Testimony 2

I continue to enjoy your lessons every week. The more that I research your conclusions, the more I am convinced that the Holy Spirit has lead you to distill out the essence of human redemption. Thank you for your courageous stand for the truth.

S. G., TX, USA

 

Testimony 4

I’m a youth leader in South Africa. We as a youth group are currently using a lot of the material on the Come and Reason site. Since we’ve started using the material, our youth group has grown.

R. V. N., South Africa

 

Testimony 59

I’m a native Ghanan, but am currently in France for my master’s degree. Prior to this, during my final years at undergraduate studies in Ghana, I was introduced to your ministry and I’ve been immensely blessed by what you share, especially about the Design and Imposed Laws. God richly bless you for that.

One of the first things I did when I arrived in France was to buy all four of your books. They not only helped me, but those I shared them with. I shared the message with an atheist student and I marveled at how God worked mightily in his life. Today this person shares the Love of God with others and debunks theories of who God is not. I want to share what you present in your “Heavenly Sanctuary and Investigative Judgment” pamphlet, because the message brought rest to my soul and I live today as a healthy person.

God bless you so much and your ministry.

Michael A., Ghana

 

Testimony 46

Over the past couple of years God has been expanding my view of Himself and His character. Along my approximately 40-year journey, I have often had questions, but was hesitant to voice these and step outside the traditionally accepted thinking, for fear of admitting that I may in fact be eternally lost. In the recesses of my thinking has been the thought – if one blindly accepts (which is widely regarded as “real faith”) and does not question, is this really ‘truth?’ I often find it challenging to grapple with very theological ‘speak,’ but Dr. Jennings has a real gift of explaining spiritual concepts with clear practical examples. The weekly discussions are growing my Christian experience and slowly changing my view of how to live as a child of God in today’s complex world. Finally the whole Old Testament sanctuary teaching moved in my mind from fantasy to reality!

Beverly S., South Africa

 

Testimony 13

I borrowed “Healing The Mind” DVDs from a friend and showed them at my home for a small gathering of women friends. Neither of my friends are Adventist, but they both enjoyed and embraced the messages you taught. In fact, one of the ladies prayed out loud in our group and that was the first time she had ever had public prayer.

J.B. ,Dalles, OR, USA

 

Testimony 60

Just watched watched lesson 10 in the 1st quarter 2021 bible study classs on Isaiah. I want to thank you for your intellectual spirituality; it’s not an oxymoron! From the point of view of a teacher I also enjoy seeing how much personal pleasure you clearly take in not just tasting, but feasting on God’s word – it reminds me of Jeremiah not being able to hold it in! It makes me smile that your cup is so full and overflowing that you make it to Tuesday’s lesson (on a good day). It just goes to show the richness of God’s Word.

God bless the Come and Reason Team from our church here in Great Britain.

Andrew H., Great Britain

 

Testimony 68

Your message of design law vs imperial law is so uplifting and makes so much sense- it is a game changer for me. The fact that Jesus’s death is not a big payment by an angry God is , quite frankly, a relief.

Laura G., London, Ontario, Canada