Christian Message Boards: Does God Do This??

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Posted by J4Jesus (Member # 1367) on :

does God tell people to go a certain route?

like does God tell someone what they should do after high school and all that? to go to a certain place?

Posted by EL3LN3TN (Member # 6021) on :

Most likely, some "person of authority" in the immediate environment will inform you that: "The Lord is leading in this-or-that direction" or just flat-out tells you - "Do this or that(!), in accordance with God's plan for your life(!)..etc"

A person would be one of the very fortunate few indeed!, who just suddenly experiences an upwelling of inspiration on a vocational calling, and it turns out successully over the course of years.

Posted by PapaJim (Member # 6067) on :

Generally, God directs through the Holy Spirit.

He has given you inherent talents and gifts. It is His desire that you choose a path that can utilize them...not necessarily all of them. He will then use you as you travel that path and sometimes "nudge" you in a slightly different direction in order to accomplish a task He has for you but YOU must take the first step in faith. He will not abandon you if you make a mis-step.

In my experience, God's Will has manifested Itself in many ways including external influences(persons of authority, etc.). Many times, however, it will be a small, quiet voice that you can almost (but not quite) dismiss that directs you.

In all cases, He is an awesome God and will give you direction that you will know is from Him if you stay in His Will.

Posted by J4Jesus (Member # 1367) on :

cool because I've joined the Military recently and i'm anxious for Military action.

And i know people say stuff like "well it might not be God's will", etc...

Posted by Primoa1970 (Member # 1016) on :

J4J.....God is in control of everything.
Nothing happens apart from His perfect wisdom and foreknowledge. I know I may get some flak for this one but I'll say it anyway:
Every decision we make is prompted by God....even the bad ones. I'm not declaring that we are robots or anything, I'm simply saying that nothing happens apart from God's permission and will. God is not the author of evil nor the creator of it......evil is the absence of good...not the opposite of it.

As for you and your military decision.....good for you, brother! It's people like you who make this country of ours a much safer place to live in. Go and fight the war on terror.....and win.....and may God be with you every step of the way!!
-Primo

Posted by David (Member # 1) on :

This is a very interesting subject. I was just reading a book by Frank Viola on this subject and he explained it the best way I have every heard it explained. I have posted a quote from the book below. It is very eye opening.

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FINDING LIBERTY IN A PARKING LOT

Imagine a public parking lot, would you? Notice that a parking lot has boundaries. We know by the boundaries where the parking lot begins and where it ends. We know what is inside the parking lot and what is outside of it.

The beauty of the parking lot is the freedom it displays. There are many choices within the parking lot. The drivers may freely choose between many parking spaces. So long as a parking space is not taken, nor reserved for specialized individuals, drivers may freely select the space in which they wish to park their car.

Certainly, some choices may be wiser than others. If it is raining, it's probably wiser and more advantageous to park in a space that is closer to the building than one that is far removed from it. On the other hand, many parking spaces are equally expedient. One is no better than the other.

I want to probe the subject of God’s will a little deeper by considering the very first command that God gave to man. This is the first time that God revealed His will to a human being. And I believe it is loaded with insight.

A Visit to A Certain Garden

Go with me to a certain garden. The Lord has just put His man into the beautiful garden of Eden. And He says the following to Adam:

Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die. (Genesis 2:16-17, NKJV)

Now let's look closely at this command. The Lord says, "You may eat freely from every tree in the garden. The exception is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil." In other words, "Adam, you may freely choose to eat from every tree in this garden. Just keep away from this one particular tree."

I see a parking lot here. To keep with the metaphor, I hear God saying, "You may park your car in any space in this lot. Just stay within the boundaries of the parking lot. If you park outside the boundary, it will mean trouble for you. Every tree in the garden is within the parking lot. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil is outside the lot."

With that thought in mind, let us move on with the story.

God opens Adam's side, and Eve makes her debut. Adam, being the responsible husband that he is, instructs his dear wife on God's commandment about the trees. Eve nods her head and says, "No problemo. Got it, Honey-Bunny."

As the day progresses, Adam says to his lovely wife, "Eve, Sweetheart, I'm really hungry right now. I'm the father of the male species, therefore, I don't have the first clue about how to prepare a meal. Would you mind preparing something for us to eat this evening? I want to tend to this garden a little while longer."
Eve replies, "Sure, Cupcake."

As Eve beholds the forest of trees that fill her horizon, she is overwhelmed with the different types. She pulls some apples from one tree. Some pears from another. Some oranges from another. And some peaches from another.

Twenty minutes go by, and she calls for her husband. "Love-Angel, would you come over here please? I've got a question." "Yes, dear," Adam replies.

Eve continues, "I don't know which one of these fruits I should prepare for the meal. Can you ask God which one I should use? I don't want to mess up and miss His will on this first decision that I'm going to make."

Adam says, "Fine, Darling."

Adam gets alone and lifts his eyes to the heavens and says, "Lord, the wife that you gave me says that she doesn't know which fruit to use to prepare a meal for us."

Heaven is silent. Adam repeats the question. But still, there is only silence.

After waiting fifteen minutes, Adam returns to Eve saying, "The Lord didn't respond to me, Honey-Buns. I went back over the commandment He gave me, and I guess you can pick whatever fruits you like so long as they didn't come from the forbidden tree."

Eve shrugs her shoulders and decides to use the peaches. Ten minutes pass and she calls for Adam again, "Sweety-weety, I've got another question. How am I to prepare these peaches? I mean, should I peel them or leave them the way they are? Should I slice them, dice them, quarter them, bake them, make a pie out of them, make peach cobbler, mashed peaches, peach-bread, or a peach smoothie? Can you please ask God how I'm suppose to do this?"

Adam retorts, "All right, fine. But I doubt He'll answer me." Adam retreats to a place alone and beckons the Lord to answer his wife's question.

For the second time, Adam meets the silence of God. Suddenly, a thought arises in Adam's unfallen mind. He thinks to himself, God is not answering me because I already know the answer!

Let that statement marinate for a moment.

Adam returns to Eve and says, "Listen, Pumpkin. God isn't answering me. I believe it's because we already know the answer. It's your choice. The Lord said we may freely eat from any tree in the garden except for the forbidden tree. So long as we don't eat from the forbidden tree, you may prepare these fruits any way that you like."

Now there's a point in this imaginative story. God's will is like a parking lot. You can miss God's will by being outside of the parking lot. But as long as you are in the parking lot, then you may freely choose any parking space you wish. Put another way, you cannot miss His will in the parking lot!

The parking lot represents God's moral will. In the garden scene, God's moral will was to eat from any tree in the garden except for the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Beyond that, which tree to eat from, how to eat, when to eat, and how to prepare the fruit was left to the choice of the first man and the
first woman.

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This was quoted from a book by Frank Viola called Rethinking the Will of God

http://www.ptmin.org/will.htm

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The more you get to know the Lord, the more you will intuitively know if a decision is inside or outside of His moral will.

Posted by Primoa1970 (Member # 1016) on :

David....
I do agree with almost everything in that perspective.....it was a very interesting approach to explaining the will of God (and quite funny, too). Let me reiteratre that I do not believe we are robots or puppets. But you would have to agree with the fact that if God is truly in control....which we all believe He is.....then that means that even our decisions are under His control as well. Why? Because all things work together for good (Romans 8:28). "All things" means exactly what it says...."All things".....good or bad.
This is always a tough one to swallow wouldn't you agree?
I always have to throw the Romans chapter 9 curve ball into this one as well....where God said that He raised up Pharaoh for this very purpose...and hardened his heart. This is quite the quagmire.

I'm so glad that we're saved by grace through faith.....and even that had to be prompted from an outside source: The Holy Spirit of God.
You're my brother in Christ, David.....and I love you.
-Primo

Posted by J4Jesus (Member # 1367) on :

Man what a Disappointment this is man.

Why would God give me bad vision?

One, i need glasses and all that but that's ok for being a Soldier, but ON TOP OF THIS, i'm COLOR BLIND!

And now i can't do ANY Gung Ho stuff for the Military which drives me insane.

I'm really disapointed.

Posted by Eden (Member # 5728) on :

Hi, J4Jesus.

You said: does God tell people to go a certain route?

Like does God tell someone what they should do after high school and all that? To go to a certain place?
_______________________

Eden here:

The Bible also says this:

Matthew 10:27
What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops.

Also, now that you are a bornagain Christian, the Holy Spirit has rejoined you and the Holy Spirit is now also giving you advice.

And thirdly, The Word of God is our advice:

Psalm 119:105
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

And fourthly, we can also decide to follow a wise word that another bornagain Christian says to us.

Be blessed, J4Jesus. Be of good cheer, for He has overcome the world and is coming back for you and me.

Eden

Posted by Adv.Christian (Member # 3453) on :

Hello all it’s been awhile; [wave3]

J4J as to your question of rather God guides our path in this life I would have to go with yes in that we are indwelled by His Spirit. 1 John3 and 4 addresses this rather well by explaining the involvement of God’s Spirit in our lives but also warns us to be aware of false spirits. Satan would love to misguide God’s children by falsely showing them a path which is contrary to God’s Will. John tells us that if there is if in our hearts we feel it is true then we stand in compliance with God’s will for God is greater then the heart.
If you feel as though God is taking you down this path then do it with your all to the glory of God. As always my love to all [hug]

and May God Bless. [Prayer]