Lord, What is Your Will?
Scripture Reading: 2 Samuel 2:1-4

I remember the days when one of my uncles would hold out both of his fists and make me guess which one was holding a quarter, a piece of candy or any other object of delight. If I didn't pick the correct hand I was teased and made to guess again until I got the prize.

  

Somehow I developed the idea that I was supposed to guess God's will when I needed to make a decision. I thought if I guessed right, I would please God and be blessed. However, if I guessed wrong, God would be mad and I would miss out on what He had for my life. Clearly, this perception of my loving Father was not accurate. God has not called us to play His guessing game, but to seek His face and His will.

  

How greatly we would profit if we would take to heart David's example in the first verse of 2 Samuel 2. He inquired of God before he took a single step in his journey to the throne over Judah.

"David inquired of the LORD. 'Shall I go up to one of the towns of Judah?' he asked. 

The LORD said, 'Go up.' 

David asked, 'Where shall I go?' 

'To Hebron,' the LORD answered" (2 Samuel 2:1, NIV).

  

Did you notice that David kept asking until he had a specific answer from God? He did not want general directions. He wanted God's exact will for his life. David wasn't interested in simply getting to the throne. He wanted to get to the throne God's way.

Can you identify times when you acted because of a hunch rather than the confirmed will of God? I certainly have! At times I have asked God's direction, then assumed my first hunch was His will for my life. I'm learning to be more patient and to allow God to be more specific if He wishes. No matter how long we may wait for direction, we are wise to ask before we advance. We do well to imitate Moses who said, "If your presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here" (Exodus 33:15).

  

God is not going to speak to us from the clouds, nor can we toss the Urim and Thummim, but we have something they did not have: His written and completed Word. God will speak specifically to us through Scripture if we learn how to listen. God has taught me a method that never fails. It may take time but it always works. The method I use consists of four general steps:

1. I acknowledge my specific need for direction. For example, "Lord, I have

been asked to serve on the pastor's council. I need to know whether this is your will for my life at this time." I almost always write my question in a journal so that I can keep a record of God's activity in the matter.

2. I continue to pray daily and study His Word.

3. I ask Him to help me recognize His answer. He usually helps me recognize His answer by bringing His Word and the Holy Spirit He has placed within me into agreement over the matter. In other words, I resist reading into my situation everything God's Word says. I specifically ask Him to confirm with His Word and His Spirit what He desires to apply to my life. One or two weeks later I might be studying a particular passage of Scripture and His Holy Spirit will draw my attention to it and remind me of my question. The Holy Spirit almost seems to say, "Look, Beth, that's it!"

4. I ask for confirmation if I have any doubt.

What if the Holy Spirit still hasn't given me an answer when the deadline comes?  I usually assume the answer is no.

Second Corinthians 2:9-10 says, "However, as it is written: 'No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him'—but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit." God has picked out your destination and prepared the itinerary for your journey of walking with Him. The best part about it is that His Spirit is going with you, showing you the way and keeping you company. He will not set you before a fork in the road and say, "Child, pick which road you think I want you to travel." That is not His way. Trust Him to guide you today.

  

Sweet Father, thank You for being such a personal God. I depend on You to show me the way I should go and the decisions I should make. Thank You for Your loving care. In the name of Jesus, Amen.

  

Adapted from A Heart Like His, by Beth Moore, pages 125-127. Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1999. Used by permission.