Category Archives: Christian Life

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How to Know God’s Will; Letter to a Son

Some Motherly Advice

My third son was asking my take on how to know God’s will. He was in the middle of life-changing spiritual growth and was amazed and enthused by all of it. His whole being seemed different, more alive, more in-tune with the spiritual. Even his countenance was freed from looking downcast. My heart delighted in this wonderful change. I’d worried about him.

My son was pondering his future and what God would have him to do. He was curious what I thought. I said a few things but wasn’t fully prepared, caught off-guard by the question. My answer was inadequate. I believe understanding God’s will is not exactly like most Christians tout. There’s no formula involved. Knowing God’s will is discerned through other means.

I wanted to encourage my son, but I also wanted to slow him down a bit without being negative. Sometimes Christians can rush into making choices before adequately discerning the thing. They act on impulse thinking it is God’s will, when it really isn’t. We all can do that, because of our human bent to believe our desires are God’s desires and etc. I didn’t want that scenario to be true for him, but I also didn’t want to impede what God was doing in his life.

After he returned to his home in another state, I decided to write him an email letter. I wished to expand on the points from our earlier conversation.

These concepts are apropos to all people who desire to walk in unity with our Lord. We  can know God’s will and walk in it when we bind ourselves to walking in obedience, faithful to what He gives us, and with intimacy of seeking God with our whole heart–in truth and honest joining (no holding back).

Here is a copy of the letter I sent him. I pray it will speak to you.

Letter to a Son

Dear Son,

God calls people in different ways. He may wish of you a different path than the conventional one. I do caution you to not put too much emphasis on signs. They are easily misinterpreted and misunderstood. God warns us to not put God to the test which we do with some of these. Instead, move forward and ask God to “check”  you if it is not of him. Stop if doubt formulates every time you think on some specific thing, even when it is a good thing.

On the flip side, Satan also causes doubt in order to derail us. The doubt must be figured out, if it is from God or if it is from the Enemy. I am talking in reference to direction and decisions, not about wondering if God will supply the answer.

I have learned that God rarely shows us the future. Instead, he walks with us in the journey and opens the doors when we come to them. If we stay close to the Source, to him, we will be in the center of his divine will, I mean stay really close to him, to where it is an on-going conversation, a relationship, not a one-way, one-sided trajectory.

I am like you, I have thoughts come to me while I am doing my daily tasks. However, they are not always God’s thoughts. Sometimes they are mine even when I’ve requested him to speak to me. It takes time and practice to be able to discern God’s voice even when seeking him intently. I do know, also, that if I have sin in my life, it will block the dialogue and influence the perception.

We have to ask God to reveal our hearts and our wrong thinking. Literally, it can take me an hour to three to get to the place where I know it is God’s voice, not always  but when I am totally serious about something troubling me or an important decision, and still sometimes I don’t get there. It is like I have to pull off the layers of thoughts that crowd in that seem to be God at first. I do ask God if it is him, but not very often. Usually there is a time quotient involved.

Often the answer comes in stages. Many works of God and fulfillment of prayers are answered over years, not days. I now understand this. I used to get impatient. As Treebeard says in The Two Towers, “Now don’t be hasty, Master Meriadoc.” That’s how it works most times. Even the work of God in your life started years ago and is in answer to mine and others’ prayers.

I think of my friend who still prays for you every single day. Not many have a faithful prayer warrior like her. She gets credit in heaven for her faithfulness. I believe God put you into her heart and gave her that desire, a true “God Thing” and just because you remind her of her grandson who has turned away from things of God and that causes her pain.

Another thing I have noticed is this, a restlessness is present when God is wanting a change from me. That has been more true in recent years than in the past. Even in the restlessness, I have to wait, not act, until the time is right. Your future? I do not know, but I do believe you will know when the time is right.

You are to be faithful to the task he has given you to do. See it this way, I will be the best truck driver I can be with God’s enabling as I travel town to town and meet people in every place where I have a truck delivery. If you really want to be daring, surrender your job to him and then see what happens! Ask him to release you from your quietness and to place his words within you when you meet people on your journey.

Start recording the things that are small miracles of God. When you start looking, they start appearing. Small opportunities will happen when you do this. Many little things create big things. I do believe God will stretch you to a greater trust in this process of moving you from one job or occupation to another. He is stretching your faith and growing your godly character. He is creating a new inner person. I see it and believe it. Praise Him! To God be the Glory.

Hope this helps. I’m sharing things with you that have taken me years to learn.

Love you,

Mother

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A Question I Couldn’t Answer

Q & A

YESTERDAY I was asked a question I couldn’t answer. I was tempted to give a pat answer but that is unsatisfactory, and I knew it. Authenticity requires an honest answer . . . and honesty said I needed to think on it.

Two hours later we were still talking, by then I had an inkling of what I wanted to say in reply to her question. I queried for clarity as I danced around the central theme. We zeroed in and it became clear. It was a great question, one that more people should ask. She’d even gone to CBD to see if there were any Christian books that could help.

She wanted to know if I know of any books that explain how to prepare yourself for the stressful event, books that have information that will help you to prepare in advance and help prevent you from going backwards when said trouble comes.

My friend knows she is stronger than she used to be but that doesn’t help when the hard thing comes, when she finds herself returning to that painful place–being strong, then hurting, crying, struggling, regrouping–and then going forward again. She’d like to skip that middle part. I get it. So would I.

My Turn

The same thing happened to me this year. I was slipping backwards and knew it. And I didn’t like it because of the pain, sense of rejection and failure. It bothered me that I wasn’t stronger in my Christian walk, which left me feeling deflated and miserable. How much it reminded me that life is difficult and people are complicated. I knew what she was saying.

See what I mean? It was a key question; how to have victory before, during, and after the troubling event without the disappointment and pain. Is it possible? But I didn’t have much of an answer. I didn’t know of any book that is adequate to meet the need except the Bible, and said so. The Source is God and always will be. The closer we are to Him the better we do. She and I talked about how God walks with us and how He is enough. “Christ is the answer,” I said, and know it to be true.

The struggle is with our emotions, how they sabotage and give brain fog, and then it goes down hill from there because of our distancing from God. Soon it becomes a harder effort to remain living fully “in Christ” even though we wish it. He didn’t move; we did.

It should be possible to be so STRONG in the Lord that we are not blown away by adversity. We learn to recognize the signs, this one’s going to be hard. We know we will make it without falling apart, this is true. We already know lessons are learned in this place of adversity and struggle that stick with us for life. That part of it is good.

People do notice. Her family notices her strength. She was put in a strange emotionally charged situation last week where her strength of will and God’s strength (within her) carried her through in a remarkable way. Her son-in-law was impressed and said so. But the tears came once she was home alone. I’m that way too. I can get through the crisis with my dignity intact but then the release comes once the pressure valve is released (like an air pressure tank, PSSSssssss). You deflate.

I’ll be thinking on this for awhile now. I’m that way. I’ll worry it through until some answers come. Truly, I do believe Christ is the answer.

Do you have any suggestions for her? Seriously.

I’d like to know what you think.