Over at Smulo Space, John Smulo wrote an interesting post entitled Lost and Found, in which he asked for input on the following:

I’d appreciate hearing some of your thoughts on this subject. When it comes to discerning God’s direction in your life, which of the following describes your thoughts best?

1. I wait till God shows me a sign.
2. I believe God has given me a brain. I use it.
3. I wait till I have a sense of God’s peace about something.
4. I talk to those who know me best and then follow their guidance.
5. I knock on “doors” and wait to see what opens.
6. I think through the spiritual gifts and natural abilities God has given me, and feel free to do anything consistent with this.
7. A combination of the above, including numbers…..
8. Other

There has been some great discussion there and others have offered input on which number or numbers best fits their thoughts on God’s direction for their lives.
This question really motivated me to think about what I would answer and I came to the conclusion that my answer wouldn’t fit very neatly into one of the categories listed:

Great questions, John and an interesting subject. I may sound really simplistic, but I think the point is to have an ongoing, moment by moment relationship with God. In doing so, you know His voice and He will speak to you in what direction to go. I’m not saying that I always live there, but shouldn’t that be the goal…to have a sincere relationship with God?
Thanks for this post!

As I said earlier, some really great discussion ensued and as I was making another comment, I realized that it was becoming way too long and was better written as a post for this blog.
The question was raised that maybe situations that arise do not fall so neatly into the category I’ve presented. Hebrews 11, 1 Corinthians 13 and the book of Job were used as situations where God did not speak clearly to people of great faith. I’d like to talk about each of those examples:

“All of these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance.” Hebrews 11:13

In my understanding of this passage, the focus is on the faith that they exhibited. By faith, they knew the direction to go in their lives because of God’s promises to them. They may have questioned the legitimacy of the experiences they were going through, but by faith they knew what to do.

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” Hebrews 11:1

In 1 Corinthians 13, it is stated:

“For we know in part, and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears” 1 Corinthians 13:9-10

Will there be times where we don’t fully have the knowledge required? I believe the answer is yes. Do we have all that we need in that moment as God reveals it to us? I believe the answer is also yes. I believe that sometimes we tend to think that we need the entire answer to a question or situation. I know that I have attempted to gain answers in that way in my life. But I have come to realize that God has given us all that we need for that moment…whether it be physical, emotional or spiritual. The bottom line is that the end result can be attributed to what we choose to believe and follow according to the will of God.

I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t fully understand the book of Job. Job was characterized as a great man of God and suffered unimaginable things during the span of his life. But I believe the bottom line of the story of Job is that God was speaking to Job the entire time, and his desires came to pass after he saw God and submitted before Him. In the end, everything was restored to Job, his health and his wealth… and his family grew. I believe this reveals the character of God, one that desires to reveal truth to His children, not one that is in the business of hiding revelation or gifts from his children. In the New Testament, James writes about Job’s affliction:

“As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy” James 5:11

This is the only reference I could find to Job in the NT, which indicates the importance of focusing on the reality of God’s provision and guidance in our lives, not necessarily what he didn’t receive.

So, to anyone that reads this blog, I leave it open for dialogue. What are your thoughts on following God’s direction in your life?

(I sincerely hope that I have represented the thoughts of others accurately and if not, I am open to correction.)

Be very blessed today!