Applying These Principles
How can we apply the principles in this module to receiving guidance from God? We can do the following:
- Submit our will to God, asking him to take charge of our lives.
- Rely upon the Holy Spirit, as we utilize the primary means available to us (Bible, prayer, church, and circumstances) for guidance.
- As appropriate, apply the other means of guidance from the “Other Means of Guidance” section above.
- Ask God to reveal his work to us, so that we may join him in that work.
We can assess our spiritual state. Do we have peace about what we are doing now? If we are sincerely seeking God’s will, God will not grant peace when we are not in his will. Jeremiah the prophet was called to prophesy, and when he stopped proclaiming God’s word, the word became like a fire in his heart and bones so he could not stop preaching. See Jeremiah 20:9. But if we are not seeking God’s will, we may mistake complacency for peace. We can be satisfied with the path that we are on, but we may not be truly following God. So let us pray that God reveals his will, and as we seek to follow him, we will guide us.
God guides us one step at a time. Prayerfully, we make plans in order to do many things—take a trip, marry, have children, build a house, start a business, and so on. Scripture teaches that some planning is needed. The Bible says that one should count the cost before beginning construction of a tower and one should decide if he could win a battle before confronting an enemy. See Luke 14:28-30. We should make plans, asking God to guide us as we plan. See Proverbs 16:3. Ultimately, the Lord decides the outcome of such plans. See Proverbs 16:9. God often calls us to do something without revealing much of the future.
God called Abraham to go to another land, without showing him the whole journey in advance. See Genesis 12:1; Hebrews 11:8. In the same way, you may be called to be a missionary, and God may not immediately tell you where to minister. As you obey the call to prepare for missionary work, he may then tell you to go to a particular country. When you go, he may then tell you to develop a particular type of ministry—say to a particular culture within that nation. God doesn’t burden us in advance with the knowledge of the whole journey.
Suppose you feel called to missions, but to go would cause you to break one of God’s commandments in Scripture. For example, you would have to separate from your spouse or divorce your spouse, who is unwilling to go to the mission field. Should you go to a mission field without taking your spouse? No, you should pray that God will reveal his will to both you and your spouse. God doesn’t call us to break His commandments.
If we apply these principles of guidance, will we sometimes fail to recognize God’s guidance? Yes. We are human, and as humans, we all make mistakes. When we fail, the important thing is to turn back to God, and again seek his will.