Life: A Short and Fevered Rehearsal
Shifting to a biblical paradigm involves great risk, because it challenges everything our culture reinforces.
Shifting to a biblical paradigm involves great risk, because it challenges everything our culture reinforces.
Ken Boa looks at eight common misconceptions about God’s will. 1. “I must pray about each decision I make.” 2. “God’s will is often contrary to human reason.” 3. “To submit to God’s will I must give up my happiness.” 4. “If I follow God’s will, my problems will be over.” 5. “If I stray too far from God’s will, He won’t be able to use me again.” 6. “If I commit my life to God, He will want me to go to seminary.” 7. “I must have special confirmation before making important decisions.” 8. “God wants me to respond to every need.”
Communication is the main way in which we discern the will of God. It involves immersing ourselves in Scripture and coming before God in prayer. God will not guide us to do something contrary to Scripture. As we seek to discern His will, we must constantly be in prayer and examining our decisions in light of Scripture. If we think we hear God’s voice telling us to do something that is clearly contrary to Scripture (e.g., commit adultery), then it is not from God.
The discernment of God’s will does not come from employing certain techniques. To discern God’s will is to understand how to please Him and to be watchful for His daily guidance. This requires an ongoing and genuine relationship with the Lord. In particular, there are five facets of our relationship with Him that are prerequisites for receiving His guidance.
You are here for a purpose. Ephesians 2:10 says that those who are in Christ “are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” God intentionally made you with specific purposes in mind. It is His desire that you “walk in” those works He has prepared for you.
Does God have a specific will for your life that you can know? Does He prompt you with personal direction by the Holy Spirit? Or does He only reveal His will in a general way?
Ken Boa answers questions concerning the problem of evil, the age of the earth, lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, and more.
The human tendency is to rely on our own resources instead of the Lord. Knowing this, God made it abundantly clear to Gideon that His hand alone would save Israel—it was not human might that defeated Israel’s enemies.
How do we know what our lives should look like? The world tries to pin many identities on us, but Paul makes it clear: Scripture is our guide.
God grants His ordinary disciples the privilege of being involved in His work. It’s not fame but faithfulness that God calls us to. Even a small, unknown person can be used by God in magnificent ways.
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