Examples:
Better
finish this project today and meet that deadline. - Tomorrow will be good
enough, I work too hard.
I really shouldn’t do this; it doesn’t seem ethical and honest. - It’s just my integrity. Besides, no one will know.
Mom always said I shouldn’t do this. - Maybe I hold my convictions too tightly. Go ahead, it feels right.
I really shouldn’t do this; it doesn’t seem ethical and honest. - It’s just my integrity. Besides, no one will know.
Mom always said I shouldn’t do this. - Maybe I hold my convictions too tightly. Go ahead, it feels right.
Who are you listening to? It easy to see what you
thought was right in many situations, but often life doesn’t paint it so black
and white. And even after you make a decision, you sometimes continue to wonder
if it was the right one, you have knots in your stomach, and you wonder if you’ve
missed some piece of evidence.
How can you have peace in your decisions? It all boils down to Who you’re listening to. But knowing how to listen can sometimes be difficult.
Sometimes you think God has a perfect blueprint for your life and you have to figure out what it is and then do it. You think you can look at circumstances and follow the open doors. Taking your circumstance into consideration is important, but if that’s all you do, you leave out the voice of God.
The flip-side of this extreme is the idea that you can simply immerse yourself in scripture and then you can use your powers of reasoning to apply this wisdom to your life. God gave you your power of reasoning, and you ought to use them, but again, if this is all you do, you leave out listening to God.
Either of these options will bring you to a decision, but if you don’t listen to God during times of decision, you won’t have His peace in the answer.
Hearing God’s voice isn’t always easy. It takes a lot of work. In order to hear God’s voice, it might be helpful first to know how to recognize the false voices that speak to you.
In 1 John 4: Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world. (1 John 4:1-3,)
The false voices are in this world, and so you need to be careful who you listen to. They may masquerade as teachers, acquaintances, or friends. They seek to be the authority in your decisions, whether overtly or covertly. But these false teachers can lead you down the wrong path if you are not careful who you listen to.
Does the guidance you receive fall in line with scriptural teaching or not? Does the life of your guide show evidence of knowing Christ? Have you set your mind to knowing the difference? This is where your God-given powers of reasoning, mixed with prayer, can be very helpful.
The false voices in the world often entice, they are attractive. The type of wickedness a Christian is likely to fall into isn’t the obvious wrong things – at least not right away. If someone asked you out-rightly to kill the person standing next to you or rob the corner store, your likely answer would be no. But the wicked entice – they tempt, persuade, and charm. And when you feel like you’re in too deep, they ask more of you, and it is harder and harder to refuse. That is why you must test the spirits – for sometimes their origin is not immediately obvious.
What is wrong is generally made out to sound very good by the wicked. What trips the Christian up is bad company that slowly confuses your thinking.
If you are seeking God and trying to walk with Him, but you are not experiencing His peace, you are probably listening to the wrong voices.
How can you have peace in your decisions? It all boils down to Who you’re listening to. But knowing how to listen can sometimes be difficult.
Sometimes you think God has a perfect blueprint for your life and you have to figure out what it is and then do it. You think you can look at circumstances and follow the open doors. Taking your circumstance into consideration is important, but if that’s all you do, you leave out the voice of God.
The flip-side of this extreme is the idea that you can simply immerse yourself in scripture and then you can use your powers of reasoning to apply this wisdom to your life. God gave you your power of reasoning, and you ought to use them, but again, if this is all you do, you leave out listening to God.
Either of these options will bring you to a decision, but if you don’t listen to God during times of decision, you won’t have His peace in the answer.
Hearing God’s voice isn’t always easy. It takes a lot of work. In order to hear God’s voice, it might be helpful first to know how to recognize the false voices that speak to you.
In 1 John 4: Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world. (1 John 4:1-3,)
The false voices are in this world, and so you need to be careful who you listen to. They may masquerade as teachers, acquaintances, or friends. They seek to be the authority in your decisions, whether overtly or covertly. But these false teachers can lead you down the wrong path if you are not careful who you listen to.
Does the guidance you receive fall in line with scriptural teaching or not? Does the life of your guide show evidence of knowing Christ? Have you set your mind to knowing the difference? This is where your God-given powers of reasoning, mixed with prayer, can be very helpful.
The false voices in the world often entice, they are attractive. The type of wickedness a Christian is likely to fall into isn’t the obvious wrong things – at least not right away. If someone asked you out-rightly to kill the person standing next to you or rob the corner store, your likely answer would be no. But the wicked entice – they tempt, persuade, and charm. And when you feel like you’re in too deep, they ask more of you, and it is harder and harder to refuse. That is why you must test the spirits – for sometimes their origin is not immediately obvious.
What is wrong is generally made out to sound very good by the wicked. What trips the Christian up is bad company that slowly confuses your thinking.
If you are seeking God and trying to walk with Him, but you are not experiencing His peace, you are probably listening to the wrong voices.
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