I talked with a friend last night concerning this very
subject. When I am praying for guidance
in making a decision or in making future plans, how do I know that what I come
up with is from God – or is it just me?
I know that
I am very strong-willed – sounds better than saying I tend to be stubborn. I also tend to think very logically – look at
things logically. And, I have a lot of
influence over myself – that pesky strong-willed thing. I tend to look for very logical answers to a
decision or when making future plans.
Knowing this about myself, I tend to doubt whether my decisions are God’s
will or my own will. So, let’s go to the
authority – the Bible – and see what we are told about this. Particularly since, strangely enough after
having just discussed this last night, the devotional I received this morning,
compliments of Dr. Charles Stanley and the InTouch Organization, deals with
this very subject. Does God work in
mysterious ways or what??
We first
look at the main scripture for this devotional, I Corinthians 1: 18-29. This passage of scripture plainly tells us
that relying on our own wisdom is foolishness.
In verse 18, regardless of the translation you are currently reading, we
are plainly told that God will destroy the wisdom of the wise. What does that mean to you?
If my
wisdom is destroyed, it no longer matters whether I had a low level of
intelligence, an average level of intelligence or a genius level of
intelligence. It no longer matters what
all I had stored in my trunk of experiences.
If my wisdom is destroyed, my manner of thinking, whether logical or otherwise,
is irrelevant. I will be like a newborn
baby – totally dependent on my Father.
This is
where Faith comes into play. Hebrews
11:1 defines Faith as: “Faith is the
confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance
about things we cannot see.” (NLT) So,
if I am left with no wisdom, no more logical thinking and am as a newborn baby,
then I had better have faith – otherwise I have absolutely NOTHING.
Sounds
ominous doesn’t it? It is exactly at
this point though, that God can start to work in our lives, leading us to sound
decisions and plans – and blessing us along the way.
Given this revelation,
perhaps my prayers should be simply for the faith to await His guidance in
decisions and plans instead of praying for an answer.
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