When God's Will Feels Confusing

When Seeking God's Will Feels Confusing

We're talking about God's will. If you're a Christian, you certainly want God's will—but I wonder how many of you have ever had a decision to make, prayed about it, looked in God's Word, maybe even taken wise counsel, and still felt unsure.

Sometimes I just want to say, "God, make it obvious." You're the God who writes on walls, the God who speaks—just send me an email from heaven. "Dear Chad, ask her out. P.S. Stop eating grocery store sushi."

You're praying for direction and you wonder: Is that God leading me, or is it just my own thoughts? Did God prompt me, or am I being overly emotional? Is that the Holy Spirit speaking, or is it the sushi I shouldn't have eaten so late last night? How do I know?

Sometimes it's even tempting to over-spiritualize it or to make a deal with God on our own terms.

A Confession About Making Deals With God

I confess I've done that. When I wasn't yet married to Amy, I was praying about a future wife—God, show me, lead me.

A girl who made fun of me to my face also made fun of Amy. She'd never met Amy; she'd only heard about her. She said the same thing about Amy that she said about me: "You're so weird, you're overboard for God." And then she said, "Her name is Amy—you two should get married and just be weird together."

When she said it, the weirdest thing happened. I thought, Okay, that's God's will. So I started telling everybody, "I'm going to marry this girl named Amy." She went to another school. I'd never met her, never seen a picture of her. I just kept telling everyone.

I told so many people that they started asking, "Have you called that girl Amy?" I'd say, "No, no, I'm nervous." So finally I made a deal with God: "Whenever three people ask me about her on the same day, I'll call her that day."

One day two people asked me. So I went over to my friends Rich and Anna Dozier's house, because I knew they would ask me—and they did. And I called her.

Do not try this at home without angel supervision.

Rethinking How God Guides

A lot of times we just want God's will to be a burning bush or a sign in the sky. And sometimes God does work supernaturally. But what I'm going to tell you today may go against what we often think:

• God's will is not always whispers from heaven—sometimes it's just wisdom on earth.
• God's will is not always an open door of blessing—sometimes it's a closed door of protection.
• God's will isn't always a spiritual calling—sometimes God just gives you a practical choice.

Father, we thank You that You're a good God, that You guide our steps. We want to honor You in all that we do. Show us Your will, show us Your ways, and help us to be faithful to honor You in all that we do. In Jesus' name, amen.

Where We've Been

In week one, we looked at the different aspects of God's will:

1. God's sovereign will — His big blueprint, His overarching plan for the entire universe. No one can stop it.
2. God's moral will — His will for how you live. God's will for you is to be holy, set apart. This is revealed in His Word.
3. God's permissive will — Because God loves us, He gives us free will to choose to love Him. But because we can choose to love and obey, we can also choose not to. We don't always understand His permissive will, but He uses even what He permits within His sovereign will.
4. God's personal will — God knows you, created you, loves you. Before you were even born, He had good works prepared specifically in advance for you to do. If you want to know God's will, you need to know God's heart.

Last week we said: God's will is more about a who than a do. Before God is concerned with what you do professionally, He cares about who you are personally—your heart, your character, that you're being conformed to the image of Jesus. So if you want to know God's will for your future, one of the best things you can do is live faithfully for Jesus today.

Learning From the Apostle Paul

This week I want to get very practical and show you how God often guides and directs us. We're going to look at the Apostle Paul.

Outside of Jesus, Paul is arguably the most Spirit-led person in the New Testament. He went from persecuting and killing Christians to being radically saved by the risen Christ. He performed miracles, raised the dead, encountered angels, preached across the Roman Empire, started churches across Asia Minor, and wrote 13 of the 27 New Testament books. Unquestionably, Paul experienced the supernatural presence of God.

But more often than not, God led Paul in ordinary moments, in ordinary ways—much like God leads most of us on most days. Whenever Paul was trying to figure out what to do next, God usually guided him in one of four ways:

1. Open doors
2. Closed doors
3. Frustrated plans
4. Everyday choices

The same God who guided him will also guide you.

1. God Guides Through Open Doors

During Paul's third missionary journey, he wrote:

"I'm going to stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost, because a great door for effective work has been opened to me... and there are many who oppose me."

The first part is good news; the second part is bad news. So why did he stay at Ephesus? There was no supernatural dream, no prophetic word, no angelic visit. There was just a wide-open door—a clear ministry opportunity.

Chances are you have your own version of this. You weren't looking for a job, and someone came along and said, "Here's this job," and it fit your gifts, talents, and passions. You didn't force it—God just opened the door. Or you thought, Maybe I should serve at church, and then your pastor said, "Maybe God has been speaking to somebody about serving." Me, me, me! That wasn't something you forced. That was God opening a door.

It's not random. It's not a coincidence. It's a God-ordained open door.

An Open Door Doesn't Guarantee a Smooth Path

Paul said God opened the door—and that many opposed him. When God opens a door to serve Him faithfully, be aware that your spiritual enemy is very likely to push back.

Mark it down: the bigger the opportunity, the greater the opposition.

This is where a lot of us get it mixed up. God opens a door, you say, "This must be God's will," you walk through it, and it's not easy. There's opposition. Everything seems to go wrong. So you think, Well, this must not be God's will after all.

Remember: the devil doesn't waste his time fighting those who aren't a threat. If you're facing opposition, that doesn't necessarily mean you're out of the will of God. In some cases, it may be confirmation that you're right in the middle of it.

2. God Guides Through Closed Doors

Acts 16 shows us God working through closed doors:

"Paul and Silas traveled through the area of Phrygia and Galatia because the Holy Spirit had prevented them from preaching the word in the province of Asia at that time."

What does that mean? We don't know exactly. It could have been something practical—a closed road, sickness, a headache, someone stopping them—that they attached spiritual meaning to. Then:

"Coming to the borders of Mysia, they headed north for the province of Bithynia. But again, the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them to go there."

Paul wasn't being rebellious, sinful, or selfish. He was trying to preach the gospel—and the Holy Spirit said no. Twice. His motives were pure. He was trying to do what he thought was God's will, and yet God closed the door.

God's No Is Still Direction

This is comforting to me, because sometimes I can be stubborn and hard-headed. What I want so much, I tend to project onto God, thinking my desires must be His will. But what I want is not always God's will.

Just because you feel like it, just because you want it, doesn't mean it's what He wants for you.

I love that God loves me enough to protect me from me. Some of you ought to say, "Thank You, God, that You love me enough to protect me from myself."

As a father, I don't always let my children do what they want. When my son Steven was younger, he came to me and said, "Dad, I want to see how many gummy bears I can stick in my nose." Sounds fun, but the answer is no—and take out the four you already have in there, and don't add a fifth.

God's No's on the Way to a Yes

Let me tell you about God's no's on the way to the yes of starting Life.Church.

I was a new Christian on fire for God. I felt called to ministry, so I graduated and went to get a ministry job—and everybody said no. So I took a job in sales, selling burglar alarms. I did everything as unto the Lord and led several people to Christ there.

Eventually my pastor hired me, and within the first year God opened a door—but there were some who opposed me. The board actually tried to have me fired because I kept turning the pastoral prayers into announcements: "God, remind all the single adults to show up Friday night at 7:00 outside the south doors, and bring $10 for bowling and Bible study, in Jesus' name."

Then I went to seminary. I did a whole year at an extension branch, and at the end they said, "Sorry, our bad—that doesn't count. You have to start over." A couple years later I was up for ordination, and they said no. Finally, years later, I graduated and was ordained, and I asked, "Could I start a Methodist church?" And they said no.

A lot of people would say, "That must not be God's will." But those no's got me to the yes of starting Life.Church.

God can close the wrong doors to get you to the right place. He loves you enough to close even the ones you want to go through.

3. God Guides Through Frustrated Plans

Some of you are there right now. You thought you knew what God's will was, and you thought it was going to happen. You knew you'd go to that school—and you couldn't. You knew you'd take that job—and you didn't. You knew you'd marry that person—and things didn't work out.

The door shut, the plans broke down, and you wonder: Did I miss it? Is God mad at me? Did I do something wrong? Is there sin in my life? Do I not have enough faith? Is God holding out on me?

Maybe God's no wasn't His rejection—maybe your frustrated plans were actually His protection. Maybe when He redirected you, He was steering you toward a better yes.

I promise there are at least a couple of people here who know this. Years ago you just knew you wanted to marry that boy. Fast-forward several years, and now you look at your spouse and think, Thank You, Jesus, I didn't marry him—because you're sitting next to your better yes.

Not Certain and Not Nervous

Watch Paul through his ministry and you'll see two consistent mindsets: he's not always certain, and he's not nervous. He isn't sure what he's supposed to do next, but he isn't battling anxiety either. In 1 Corinthians 16 he writes:

"After I go through Macedonia, I will come to you... Perhaps I will stay with you for a while, or even spend the winter, so that you can help me on my journey, wherever I go... I do not want to see you now and make only a passing visit; I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits."

Do you see it? He's not sure, and he's not nervous. "If the Lord wills, I hope..." Why could he say this? Because he was the same man who wrote:

"We walk by faith and not by sight."

He didn't need absolute certainty to live with absolute trust.

You don't have to know the next five steps to trust God with the one right in front of you.

The problem is that many of us are waiting on the whole map. But the whole map isn't coming. Why? Because if God showed you the whole map, you wouldn't take the trip. If God had shown me the whole map through Life.Church, I'd have walked out the other way.

Instead, God gives you what you need to take the next step:

"Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path."

A lamp unto your feet—not a spotlight over the whole map. We say, "I want to see steps seven, eight, and nine before I take one, two, and three." God says, "I won't show you seven, eight, and nine until you take the first six. Then you'll be able to see step seven." You don't need to see the whole picture. Just trust Him and take the next step.

4. God Guides Through Everyday Choices

Sometimes God doesn't give you a sign—He just gives you a choice. Watch how Paul describes his movements:

"I decided to stay there for the winter."

"When we could stand it no longer, we decided to stay."

"Let's go back and see how they're doing." (Acts 15)

Not "the Holy Spirit told us." He just made a decision. When you're living in the moral will of God—loving people, being faithful, confessing your sins, becoming like Jesus—under the sovereign will of God, sometimes God simply lets you choose.

Just like my son Steven now. He's grown up; he's not going to put gummy bears in his nose anymore. So when he asks, "Dad, what do you think?" I can say, "Do whatever you think. I trust you." Because he's grown in responsibility.

Sometimes God says the same to us. You want to move to a different city? Choose—as long as you're living for God there. This job or that job? I'm more concerned with your character when you take it than with which one you take. Serve on LifeKids or on the hosting team? Your choice. This life group or that one, this school or that school, majoring in this or that—

"Whatever you do, do it for the glory of God."

But What If I Get It Wrong?

You might say, "Okay, but what if I totally mess up?" Good news—here's what Paul says:

"We have received an inheritance from God... who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will."

Even if you make a mistake, my God is so good that He works in all things to bring about good. The open doors, the closed doors, the thing you wanted, the frustrated plans, your wise choices and your unwise ones—His sovereign will is so unstoppable that He works in all things for good:

"...to those who love God and are called according to His purpose."

You want a map? He gives you a lamp. You want certainty? He wants you to have faith—because you can't please Him without faith. You want the most detailed plan? He gave you something better: the person of His Son, Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd who guides the sheep.

"The Lord is my shepherd... He makes me lie down in green pastures... He restores my soul... Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life."

So when God gives you a yes/no option and you say yes, you're not just saying yes to what you want—you're saying yes to trusting Him.

God Will Show You the Way to Go

Remember the verse we started with in week one:

"I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with My loving eye on you."

That's God's promise to you. Sometimes it's supernatural writing on the wall. A lot of times it's open doors, closed doors, frustrated plans, and everyday choices.

So my plea to you as a person of faith who wants to follow Jesus: just take the next step. The same God who guided Paul will guide you, and His will for you is better than your will for yourself.

You don't have to be certain to be faithful. You just have to take the next step.

Prayer of Response

Father, we put our faith in You and ask for Your Holy Spirit to guide our steps.

If you're a Christian actively pursuing Jesus and you want to be faithful in your next step, lift your hand.

God, thank You that You are so good—that we don't have to see the whole plan to trust You with the next step. I pray that every person here would have the faith to do whatever is next. It might be to invite someone to a meal after church. It might be to apologize for something we did. It might be to give what You told us to give a while back. It might be to humble ourselves and confess our sins. Whatever it is, give us the faith and the courage to take the next step. Help us wake up every day and say, "Just direct my steps." We don't have to be sure, and we don't have to panic, because You love us. You'll guide us. Not for our comfort, but for Your glory we pray. Amen.

An Invitation to Surrender

Now I want to talk to those of you who aren't sure if you're a Christian. Often I'll ask someone, "Where are you spiritually?" and they'll say, "I kind of think I'm a Christian." If you think you are but don't know you are, I want to suggest to you—there's more.

Chances are you feel guilty for some things you've done wrong. I know I did. Welcome to the human race—we've all sinned. And sometimes in our shame we don't give our whole life to God because we want to clean up first. But He wants you to come to Him right now, as you are.

Surrendering your life simply means saying, "I don't want to be in charge of my life. I want Jesus to be in charge. I need forgiveness. I know I've sinned." When you confess your need for Jesus, He forgives all your sins and makes you brand new. The old is gone, you become new, and the Holy Spirit moves into your life and directs your steps.

Some of you are being drawn toward God right now. That's the Holy Spirit of God drawing you. Don't say no. Step away from your sins and pray with me:

Heavenly Father, I give You my life. Jesus, be my Lord—first in every way, my Savior and my guide. Fill me with Your Spirit so I can know You, hear Your voice, and do Your will. Direct my steps. My life is not my own; I give it all to You. Thank You for new life. Jesus, You have mine. In Jesus' name, amen.