How to Know God’s Will, Part 3: Your Own Perspective
"What is God's will for my life?" is one of the most often asked questions that comes up when a person considers whether to be a GOER to the nations for the sake of the Gospel. This blog series will help you identify how God wants you to invest in the nations - whether that be as a GOER, SENDER, or a MOBILIZER.
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As a Christian who has the indwelling Holy Spirit, what your “gut” says you should do matters. As you grow in maturity in Christ and as you grow in your prayer life, you will grow in your understanding of God’s character and His desires. Your desires will begin to align with His desires. This is not to say that your “gut” is a totally reliable guide, but it is certainly not to be disregarded. The Holy Spirit speaks within us… we should expect to hear from him. 1 Cor. 2:12, “Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.” Often, the Holy Spirit reminds us deep within us of something from the Bible. John 14:26, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”
In Christian cultural lingo, your own perspective is often referred to as your “peace”. Christians often say that they do or do not have “a peace” about a certain matter. This internal “peace” matters in our decision making because the Spirit of God indwells His people and aligns their consciences and feelings closer and closer with God’s will.
The apostle Paul made decisions by considering his internal feelings.2 Cor. 2:12-13“When I came to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ, even though a door was opened for me in the Lord, my spirit was not at rest because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I took leave of them and went on to Macedonia.”
Now pay close attention to Paul’s decision making rationale in this text. Paul recognizes that “a door was opened” by God for the preaching of the Gospel. This likely means that there was a chance to preach the Gospel effectively or that people were receptive to his Gospel message. But Paul does not walk through this God-given open door! Paul did not have “a peace” about staying in Troas because Titus was there, and Titus bore a news update about the condition of the Corinthian church.
At first glance, it would seem that Paul is disobeying God by not walking through the open door in Troas. But I do not think that Paul was disobedient for two reasons. First, there is no negative commentary within the Scripture about Paul’s decision. In fact, there only seems to be positive commentary. Paul follow up the Troas narrative with a doxological exclamation: “Thanks be to God who always leads us in Christ!” Paul tells “the rest of the story” in 2 Cor. 7:5-7: Paul left Troas for Macedonia, meets Titus, and God comforts Paul with the coming of Titus and the news about the repentance of the Corinthian church. The second reason that I do not think that Paul was disobedient in leaving Troas and heading off to Macedonia is that Paul’s decision was influenced by his maturity in obedience to God’s Word. Paul’s “gut” feeling came under the leadership of the supreme authority of God’s word. Paul was concerned about the church in Corinth (7:5-7) and about Titus, his brother and co-laborer in the Gospel. Paul’s maturity in Christ led him to make a “on the spot” decision based on what he knew about God (God loves His church) and what he knew about the church (the church is like a Body, when one part suffers, all suffer). 2 Cor. 2:12-13 is, thus, an anecdote of Romans 12:1-3 working itself out in Paul. Years of renewing his mind in God’s Word and listening to the Holy Spirit influenced Paul’s decision and, thus, he was able to “discern what is the will of God” (Romans 12:2) in a very real, daily situation.
Therefore, if you have sincere rest or unrest in your “gut feelings” about a certain decision then these may in fact be indicators of the Holy Spirit speaking and telling you what you should or should not do.
ASK YOURSELF: What does my “gut” tell me that I should do?
What do I feel like doing?
Do I have any unrest about the options before me?
Do I have “a peace” about any of the options before me?
Does my "gut" feeling fall in line with the teaching of the Bible?