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Monday, August 3, 2009

How Do You Interpret Your Circumstances as They Concern God's Will?

God is working all the time. He is intimately involved in His creation. He does not cause everything that happens but He certainly knows about it and uses it for the good of those who love Him. This means we can understand some of what God is doing by looking where He is taking us.

God's actions are best interpreted through His Word. A regular time with the Lord each day will help your discernment concerning His will. You will know how to recognize what He is doing today by knowing what He has done in the past. His revealed actions through the scriptures are like the Rosetta Stone for interpretation. The actions in the Bible have been certified as His actions. There is no doubt where and how He has acted. They reveal His character and, thus, what He is doing today.

Look at the past actions in your life from this knowledge of the scripture. Name the times in your life that you are certain that God has worked. Write those things down and look to see where He is taking you. I have found that God uses many circumstances in my life to prepare me for something greater. He even uses the tragedies to strengthen me and/or put me on a different path.

Note how you have been prepared. Your past experiences, education and observations have prepared you for something God has for you. Moses was in Pharoah's court learning how to be an administrator. He would need this knowledge and skill to lead God's people out of Egypt. You are no less important to God than Moses. You may not have the magnitude of influence he had but you certainly have the magnitude of confluence for the will of God. You are part of a great action that God is doing.

Ask God for direction even when it appears you know what to do. God can change circumstances at any time. He can bring people back from the dead. He can remove a boss that will not promote you. He can change your economic future overnight. Mary and Martha had faith in Jesus but they never considered that their brother, Lazarus, would be brought back. Sometimes God can do something completely outside of our logic box.

Talk with spiritual friends who will also evaluate your discernment of the circumstances. It may be that you want things to look a certain way, therefore, you are interpreting them that way. Truly spiritual friends can give you another understanding of those circumstances. Listen to them but do now go against what you are sure that God is telling you. Job would have been in a world of hurt if he had listened to his friends.

Sincerely ask God to stop what you are about to do if you are going in the wrong direction. You eventually have to take action. You have read the scripture, interpreted your circumstances and made your decision. Trust that God will stop what you are doing if you are taking the wrong path. God can always step on the brakes.

Finally, always rejoice in what God is doing. Each day may not be momentous, however, each day is a gift in which God is teaching us something. Look for God in each day and praise Him for being with you. This may prepare you more than anything else for understanding what He is doing.

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