I got an email this week from my friend Craig, who pastors a Presbyterian Church near New Martinsville, Ohio, and he was telling me about a serious problem that happened in his town. It seems that squirrels had completely overrun the four churches in town. Squirrels were everywhere: squirrels in the basement, squirrels in the sexton’s closet (which is Presbyterianese for “janitor’s closet”), squirrels in the pastors’ study: they even had squirrels in the pews.
Well, this IS the Bible Belt we’re talking about here and the houses of worship began earnestly seeking God’s will of how to deal with the squirrel infestation.
Well, the Luther Memorial Lutheran Church thought the best way to determine God’s will was to consult the Synod: which they did. The Synod dispatched an exterminator who came in with industrial strength toxins and flamethrowers and bombed the church sanctuary. They got rid of the squirrels, but now the Luther Memorial Church is seeking the Synod’s help with funding a new church sanctuary.
The Baptists, perhaps even more than the other three churches, were perplexed at what was happening, so they called for a prayer meeting to seek God’s will as to what to do about the squirrel infestation. And what the Baptists discerned was that this was a mission opportunity, so they welcomed the squirrels and have been witnessing to the squirrels. They even had their choir learn all 14 verses of “Just As I Am” in squirrel-ese. Now, to the squirrels’ credit, they ARE being biblical because they keep being fruitful and multiplying, but the problem is that they’re so many squirrels now that the Baptists don’t have any space to run the AWANA Club.
The U.C.C. in town sought God and God’s will, and the U.C.C. folk couldn’t bring themselves to actually harm any of God’s creation. So what they did was to acquire some squirrel traps—made by a fair trade co-op in Guatemala—that trapped the squirrels humanely. And then they took the squirrels out into an environmentally safe wooded area and released them, but the trouble is that the same squirrels keep finding their way back to the U.C.C. church.
Now, my friend Craig is a godly man and he and his session—which is Presbyterianese for church board—sought God’s will and they came up with the perfect solution. What the Presbyterians did was they brought the squirrels into church membership. And Craig says it’s worked out perfectly, because now the only time the Presbyterians ever see the squirrels are at Christmas and Easter.
Sometimes, there is a BIG difference between knowing
what God wants you to do, and actually DOING what God wants you to
do. This happens when we are facing decisions; when we are
looking at a "y" in the road and don't know which way to go; when we
hear the voice of many counselors and they all seem to blend together
in a milkshake of confusion.
"How do I know God's will?" It isn't easy, but I think God reveals His will to us in five different ways.
First of all, God speaks to us through OPEN AND SHUT DOORS. All we need do sometimes is open our eyes, see what lies in front, and simply walk through it. In the Bible, God spoke to Israel while they were in Egypt through Moses. When the children of Israel were ready to hightail it out of the country, God opened doors: He parted the Red Sea; He rained down manna; He rained down quail; He told them to pack up and follow the cloud by day and the fiery pillar by night. That is what you call God's leading through natural circumstances.
But circumstances are not always what they appear to be. I remember the circumstances in my own life about 25 years ago. I had prayed that God would show me what He wanted me to do. I had a nice job, but after I prayed that prayer I lost the job. So I prayed again "Lord, what's going on here?" I found a job in a different field. It lasted four months and I lost that one. I kept losing jobs, wondering what in the world the Lord was doing. I remember going out with 15 dollars and buying two weeks worth of groceries. Things looked so bleak. And if a person was looking solely at circumstances you would have thought that it was February and the Lord had gone out to Phoenix to play golf in the Longville Open. You would think that my request had been bungled by some bureaucratic, incompetent angel who was filling in for the Lord. But it wasn't the case. You see, it was that summer 25 years ago that God finally had me in a place where I would sit and listen; a place where God could finally reveal His will for my life. It led to circumstances that paved the way for my entering the ministry. If we truly believe and hold on to Romans 8:28: (“For we know that all things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purposes”) then God will truly lead us, even though the open doors may be mystifying.
Secondly, God reveals His will to us through GODLY COUNSEL. Proverbs 11:14 says, “Where there is no guidance the people fall, but in abundance of counselors there is victory.” Psalm 1 tells us, “Blessed is the man and woman who walk not in the counsel of the ungodly.” In the Bible, God raised up prophets, people who have an intimacy with God, a pipeline, if you will, into God and His ways. And for as many of us who have sought the Lord's will, I am confident that God has always had an abundant supply of men and women who walk with God.
I'm going to piggyback onto that first point. While it seemed as if my whole world was falling apart, while I was throwing pity parties for myself and whining around at God, I went to see Denzil, who was a very godly man in my home church, seeking his counsel. Denzil never beat around the bush. He said “Duane, what in the world are you doing putzing around, doing this, doing that, when you know in your heart of hearts what you're supposed to be doing.” You see, I had been trying to finish my undergraduate degree, a little here, a little there. His counsel was to get back in there and finish the degree, because, he said, you need to finish what you begin. The offshoot: I finished my undergrad degree, entered seminary, and today stand in this pulpit your pastor, in part because of the counsel of this very godly man.
God has placed in your midst some folk who try to walk with God and whose counsel you can depend upon. Some may be in this church or they may be in others. But one thing I’ve learned is that if God won’t let you know directly, you CAN ask and He will send someone into your life who will give you godly counsel. Before making decisions, while you're attempting to discern God's will, seek out people who have been walking with God. Folks, they’re a whole lot better than astrologists.
Thirdly, God reveals His will through our INNER VOICE. Call it intuition, call it feeling, call it what you want. It may be the Holy Spirit of God. Sometimes your mind says one thing and your heart says another. You THINK you are to do one thing but you FEEL God is telling you to do something else. This little war may only be a psychological struggle, but sometimes it can be the Holy Spirit of God. Jesus says in John 16:13, “But when He, the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.”
This is a true story: A friend of a friend of a friend prayed that God would lead him to be a witness for Jesus Christ; that God would lead him to share what God had done in his life with others. The next day he was supposed to do something for his wife, but kept feeling, sensing inside that he was supposed to go to the park and sit on this particular bench. He tried putting it out of his mind, but the feeling just would not go away. So he gives up, goes to the park, and sits on a bench. Out of nowhere a kid comes riding a skateboard, crashes, falls at his feet, looks up and says, “Sir, can you tell me how I can get to know God?” This is a one in a million proposition, but this kind of thing happens. God can and does speak to people inwardly through the Holy Spirit.
Number 4 is PRAYER. Matthew 7:7 and following says, “Ask, and it shall be given to you. Seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and to him who knocks it shall be opened.” Do you know how much the average Christian in the United States prays every day? Twenty seconds per day. Do you know how much television the average American watches per day? The AVERAGE watches over 7 hours per day. We will never understand or discern God's will in any situation until we take the time to plant and cultivate a healthy, active, consistent life of prayer.
Number 5, the most important, God reveals His will through the WORD OF GOD: the Bible. 2nd Timothy 3:16 tells us, “All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man and woman of God may be equipped for every good work.” The Bible is the most trustworthy guide you will ever find. If we want to know God, if we want to know God's will; if we want to be led by someone other than Oprah or Doctor Phil, we will have to take time to read the roadmap. Deuteronomy 6:6 says, “These words which I am commanding you today shall be on your heart, and you shall teach them diligently to your sons and daughters and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie in your house and when you rise up; And you shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead; and you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” The Bible is filled with many specific things, but it also contains principle after principle of the things we are to know, do, and live.
Those are five ways God reveals His will to us. Now, allow me to share a word or two about them. First of all, circumstances, in and of themselves, can easily betray us. God may or may not be trying to speak to us through circumstances. So in your circumstances, test them against the other four.
Number 2, even godly people can give you the wrong counsel. I have no doubt that Job's friends knew the Lord, but they gave him pat answers.
Number 3, feelings are important, but feelings - in and of themselves - cannot be fully trusted. Test them against the other four
Number 4, prayer, even the most sincere prayer, will not always bring about the answer we want or think we need. Prayer is a conversation; the purpose of prayer is not to change God’s mind, much less change God Himself. And sometimes, God can be telling us something, but we are so intent on going a certain way, we can be so narrowly fixated on a certain outcome that we aren’t able to hear God’s voice, so check that prayer out against the other four ways.
And number 5, the Word of God is wholly dependable. But be very careful, because it is easy to take a verse or two out of context and build an entire system out of it. Some very well-meaning folk in the Appalachian Mountains have taken a verse from Mark about picking up serpents, have yanked it out of context, and built an entire belief system around handling of snakes. That's why it is so important to become students of scripture, to spend time every day in the Bible: not just devotionally but really studying and meditating on it until it becomes a part of your bone, muscle and sinews.
I've given you five ways that God speaks to us when we want to know His will. Now I want to give you five ways to check out what you think God may be telling you.
First, does it glorify Jesus Christ? You may have been wanting to know if God wanted you to take a vacation to the Bahamas. That may bring glory to Jesus in that it gives your mind and body a chance to rest and gives you a good shot at snorkeling. But could you have perhaps gone elsewhere, saved yourself some money and time? When we make our decisions based on the glory of God, it puts a little different twist on them.
The second check: does it conform to the Word of God? We make many decisions with pure logic. Common sense is a gift from God. But the scriptures also tell us, “There is a way that seems right unto man, but the end therein is destruction (Proverbs 14:12).” Does my decision go along with the words and principles in the Bible?
Third, does it build up other Christians? It’s good to ask yourself how your decision affect others in the church? Faith is not merely a personal thing, just “me and Jesus.” It’s not just me and my wife, my son John and his wife, us four, no more. Every decision we make has causes and effects that touch the lives of others. Every decision we make is like a rock thrown into a pond: the rock may be at the bottom of the pond but the ripples last quite a while and affect every creature in the pond.
Fourth, what are the long-range effects of the decision? The Bible tells us that we are only guaranteed the present moment. Jesus tells us not to worry about tomorrow because the Lord is the Lord of the past, the present, and the future. The Bible also says to make your plans, but it is the Lord who holds them in the balance.
Fifth - and this may surprise you - what are my insides telling me about this decision? Listen to your heart. Faith is a life that is lived in the head and the heart.
We all yearn, I think, to hear the voice of God. Cecil was a six-year-old kid who loved the Lord. He loved Bible stories, he was crazy about Sunday School, and had an active prayer life. One day Cecil gets sick. As he is going to bed his mother brings his medicine to him.
“I don't want to take that medicine!” he says.
“Why not?”
“’Cause it tastes yucky.”
His mom says, “But don't you want to get well?”
Cecil answers, “I want to get well, but I don't want to take that yucky medicine.”
“Well the Lord wants you to get better.”
“But God doesn't want me to take no yucky medicine.”
“Is this something you've prayed about?”
“No, but I'll do that now.”
So Cecil pulls the covers over his head and prays, loud enough for his
mother to hear:
“Lord, do you want me to take my medicine?”
To which a muffled, deepened mimicking voice of a six-year replies:
“No! Of Course not!”
May God give us grace to hear His voice. Who knows? If we
do, we may never have to deal with unwanted squirrels for a long time.