How God Guides — Part 2 March 26, 2012
What does the Bible teach about how God guides us?Should we expect Him to speak through hunches, feelings, circumstances, or a“still small voice” in our heart? “Nope,” says I.
“No?!” you might respond. “But what about all thoseplaces in the Bible where He gave people special guidance? And besides, how amI ever going to know God’s perfect will for my life if He doesn’t guide inthose ways?” Great questions. I’m glad you asked, because many Christians aredeeply confused about this topic. So let’s consider what the Bible actuallydoes teach.
First, the Bible teaches that God has a sovereignwill, which includes everything that happens, and a moral will,which includes all the ethical principles and commands of His word. But itdoesn’t teach a third category—a perfect, individual will for my life. Ifyou’ll notice, Scripture never commands us to find God’s will for our lives,nor are we given any passage on how it can be determined. Does this mean Goddoesn’t have a plan for our lives? Yes, He does, but not one that we have todiscover ahead of time and obey. God’s plan for every individual is part ofHis sovereign will, not a separate, personal “blueprint for life.”
Second, the biblical examples of God’s specificguidance for certain individuals are not normative. Like Moses’ parting of the Red Sea, those situations happened to unique people atunique places in redemptive history. They are not directly applicable to us.Why not? First, because these examples of special guidance aren’t common enoughin the Bible to form a pattern. In fact, most of the time people make decisionsin the Bible, they simply choose based on the merits of the various options. Noone in the Bible ever asks: “What is God’s individual will for me?” and no oneever explains a decision with “Well, I just knew it was God’s will.”
Furthermore, the biblical examples of special guidanceall involved supernatural revelation. God literally worked a miracle. And inmost instances, He spoke in plain words, whether through visions, angelicmessengers, an audible voice, or some other means. Specific guidance was nevergiven through any means other than supernatural revelation. And it certainlynever came through an ambiguous feeling or an everyday circumstance.
So if God doesn’t guide through hunches or randomevents, how does He guide? Stay tuned…