Reading The Map

It’s incredible the things we are willing to do when our hearts desire something or someone. We see and hear God in just about everything. The interesting thing is that God does want to reveal His will for your life, but if you truly want to discover God’s will and his directions you need to learn how to read His map.

The Bible is the most powerful tool in seeking God’s direction for our lives. Unfortunately it’s a map that many do not know how to read or even worse it’s a map that many people have misread. The question is, how should I use the Bible to discover God’s will for my life?

Let’s begin by recognizing that when seeking God’s will for our life we don’t think the same way He does. In the book of Isaiah chapter 55 God Himself says that His thoughts and ours are not the same, that they are as far apart as the heavens are from the earth. When it comes to the things that our hearts desire, we don’t think alike and we don’t act alike. The problem is that when we make our decisions we base them on:

Our limited context
Limited to our experiences.

Our perspective

Which is strongly impacted by our desires and fears.

The final results
The end results that we desire hoping and guessing that our decisions will get us there.

It would be impossible to make a bad decision if we had:

A broader context,

A context that would cover all of the human experiences.

An eternal perspective

That covered the past, present and future.

And if in terms of results

We knew how every possible choice we make would end.

That is precisely what the Bible offers us, the ability to see, analyze and mediate on most every situation, then decide according to God’s way of thinking and just sit back and enjoy the end results.

Psalms 119:105 NIV

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

Psalms 119:23-24 NIV

…your servant will meditate on your decrees. Your statutes are my delight; they are my counselors. – King David

In these verses King David teaches gives us three simple things we can do to better understand how to use God’s word to discover His will for our lives.

1.Meditate

To meditate means to focus your thoughts, not to leave your mind in blank. Focus your thoughts on God’s word, analyze them, and study them, allow them to become your spiritual and intellectual guide. King David said that He meditated on God’s word day and night. If you want to discover God’s will you’ll need to learn how to meditate on His words.

2.Delight

The more you meditate on and apply the word of God the more you will learn to delight in it. Initially God’s direction can be very difficult to accept, after all we don’t think the same way God does. But look at what King David said about God’s Word: How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path. – Psalms 119:103-104.

3.Counsel

King David looked at God’s word as much more than simply ancient sacred text, King David saw God’s word as his advisor and counselor. When he needed direction for His life He would look to God’s word for advice. We should also look to God’s word to be our main advisor in all of the decisions we make, big or small.

The more you meditate on God’s word and apply it the more you will find reasons to delight in it and the more you delight in it the more it will become the counselor and advisor for every situation in your life. When this happens you will always know God’s will.

It’s Simple, God’s word should be a lamp to your feet and a light that directs your path.

Heavenly Father, thank you that in your word I find the answer for every situation in my life, as I meditate on it I not only discover your will, but I also enjoy it and I’m glad because I see the results of seeking your direction.