I answered a similar inquiry to this issue on a previous thread a long time ago. Here was my response:
I think most of us have sought to discern God's will over many issues in our life, from the trivial to the most significant, but we forget the bigger picture of what God's ultimate will really is: To have a relationship with us, that we may be conformed to the image of His Son.
In every aspect of our lives, our social life, our area of work, our family life etc. etc. God plans it so that this ultimate goal may be achieved. We have to remember something, and that is God is more concerned about our journey rather than our destination. God uses our journey, full of decision making , according to His will to ultimately transform us into the likeness of His Son. So for example, God may lead a student to an engineering course rather than the law course he always wanted - for God is not ultimately concerned with whether this student becomes an engineer or a lawyer, but rather God knows that the journey this student will take in his engineering course - the things he learns, the people he meets, the places it takes him etc etc will ultimately work towards His ultimate goal. In the Kingdom of God, the journey may be the very purpose, and as hard as it is to fathom, the final direction we take may not even matter at all. The kingdom of heaven has a much radically different perspective for us, than the results-oriented-driven society we live in.
As God says: Deuteronomy 29:29 "The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law."
The Word of God clearly tell us very simply, how we can be assured that God's will is taking place in our lives: Trust and Love - the two most important aspects of any relationship.
1) Love:
Deuteronomy 6:5 "And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might."
Once we perfect this, St Paul tells us:
Romans 8:28 "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. "
2) Trust:
Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."
It's important for us to grasp and settle matters between ourselves and God before we go on to consider trivial matters of our own life such as our earthly relationships and issues. God sent His only begotten Son to purchase us with His own precious Blood. We are purchased with a price - an infinitely costly price at that. Christ The reason that its important for us to yield to this matter is because, when we do so, God WILL ABSOLUTELY fulfill every desire that He's placed in our hearts.
We must begin with God, since the answers to every step lie in Him.
Matthew 6:33 "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."
you wanna be sure he's in your life.. Look around you.. Look at your wonderful parents, you siblings your blessed home, your churchh, your father of confession, communion, the Holy bible, this website.. you think God would just give any person this blessing, he gives it to all, butits those that have him in their lives that recieve it.. yoou've recieved it by actually posting things on this site showing interestin the coptioc community.. Trust me he is in your life...! Just pray just prayy
You have the power, in Christ, to do what God wills. Example: The alcoholic will probably get drunk when he drinks, so the Christian who is an alcoholic and wants to stay in God’s will must make sure he never takes another drink. Say no to your emotions and yes to communion with God during these times where your not sure.
In reading the Bible, praying to God, and thanking God for his love, you ate saying that: *God’s Word, not my present emotional outlook, is my authority and my will In thanking God for bringing you through the worst of times, you are also exercising your faith in God and in his Word, precisely at the moment you don’t feel like doing it. Try to keep from making any major decision when ur not feeling well. I’ve learned that life looks a great deal more bleak when your depressed. Therefore, any decision I make during this time is bound to be colored by a false sense of what’s going on in my life.
Thank God for taking care of you and loving you even when you can't see it.
know this:
You can trust God to take care of you and bring you through safely. If you can believe he loves you even when you don't feel loved, that's faith. In fact, perhaps the person fighting hard times who trusts in God has the greatest faith of all!
"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for” (Hebrews 11:1-2).
“We live by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7).
Remain true to God even in the midst of emotional storms and I guarantee he will remain true to you.
i believe if he hasn't shown you in some way, he approves. because he knows we are humans and cannot just guess what he wants, he will show us what he wants and doesn't us to do, because we simply, cannot, in any way, know...
By the way its presented to you. Say its a peaceful dream and when wake from it you feel really calm inside. Something so peaceful cannot come from the devil can it? Or say its through Abouna, that's definitely from God. Don't worry about it. Abouna once said, God will not give you something to handle that is greater than you. Christ knows you more than anyone else, even yourself, and he will present it to you in a way that you, for surely, will understand it.
[quote author=MarMar91 link=board=1;threadid=2333;start=15#msg36848 date=1125637503] I know, but the way he chooses to show us? I know no one cud possibly answer that cu u guys aren't Him, but I mean, how can I tell if its Him tlaking or the devil trying to trick me?
sweetie let me tell u a story about what had happened to me.......
I had hit a point in my life where i thought i would never decide what i wanted to do...to be...i was so confused because at the same time i was not relying on God.
I was trying to take the easy way out and thought i should be a teacher because i thought i loved kids and ofcourse i didnt care what anyone thought because it was MY choice.... But you know what I realized? Everyone is afraid and almost everyone makes their life based decisions on their fear... and that is exactly what i was doing.... i was making up excuses that i would love teaching children when the truth was .....it was that i was afraid to fail...afraid if i tried science ..somthing i always wanted to do since childhood ......i would fail.....
and do you what got me into seeing the truth?.....i was praying and going to church nonstop....i stopped relying on myself and left it all to God....to his will.... all these excuses i had made ....fights with my family all because i was afraid to see the truth.....
Jeremiah 17:5, 7: "This is what the Lord says: ‘Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the Lord...But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him.'"
In verse 8 of 2 Corinthians 1, Paul states that "We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia." He then goes on in that verse to say, "We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life." And then in verse 9, he says, "Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves, but on God, Who raises the dead."
The purpose of the hardships that Paul suffered was that he might not rely up himself, but that he rely on God.
Dont ever think you can take on anything on your own...life is a mystery because God wanted it that way.... just leave it all on him and do your best.....sweetie you'll be fine....
i hate to be the one to say this but you must struggle you must fight and defeat your self -that is your sinful, human self- and submit your will to god, then you will know.. how? that is unexplainable. you just will and you'll know the message is good wen u see it.
[quote author=MarMar91 link=board=1;threadid=2333;start=15#msg36869 date=1125639627] I'll just have to then be clueless about my life then I guess.. I hear what u guys are saying, but they kinda were different to me, like what arabian eyes said: I did what was what I wanted from the beginning..
then Entaio said: fight urself n ur desires..
so like, I think I didnt get it right, tell me if I didnt..
You battle the desires of the flesh and follow that of the will of God and he will lead the way for you.....
i had gone back to my faith in God and went for it.....stopped being afraid of what could happen...because the devil is what puts those fears and doubts into your head......
thinking i could do it all myself and that I didnt need anyone let those fears and doubts rise into my head in the first place.....
i believed in God and let him lead the way.....that was my protection and barrier against those things....its what saved me..... what led me to do the will of God...and you will see it happening in your life...sooner or later ....you will.....
[quote author=MarMar91 link=board=1;threadid=2333;start=15#msg36879 date=1125640848] what about the battles of the heart?
the will of God IS in your heart...always has been hun... you just got to be strong enough to listen to it....strong enough not let anything get in the way of following your heart because that is truly the will of God..... ;)
i see... ok. in that case you want to talk to abouna, and he will intercede to God for you, but if anybody was afraid to get married or go into college because it might not be God's will for them then we'll end up not even moving, you have to know that God understands us and knows how far we can understand him. he will show you, just leave it up to him... ;):)
wow! i know exactly wat u mean. i found a perfect verse "But seek first the kingdom of god and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." matthew 6:34
[quote author=EpNomos EnTaio link=board=1;threadid=2333;start=30#msg36905 date=1125643860] wow! i know exactly wat u mean. i found a perfect verse "But seek first the kingdom of god and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." matthew 6:34
follow this and you will have no problems ;D
[move]TAIO[/move]
sorry i was gone........lol back though.......that is one of my favourite verses...and is perfect for this situation.....
Follow God and all will fall into place for you hun.....
aww dont.. ur not alone in any of this, besides whatever god wants for you, he will guide you in a way that you want it too. u still have time ms. almost 14 lol ;D ;)
[quote author=MarMar91 link=board=1;threadid=2333;start=30#msg36918 date=1125648747] awesome! cuz ur right, if I am always afraid to move, Ill never get anywhere..
So I will do what my heart belives is rightand God will be my navigation, like telling me when to turn and make a u turn, go left, right, or keep going, I guess the only question left is when and how when= in His time and when He sees best How= no one knows..
I GUESS I just wanna be sure when my feeling come from God or he devil trying to make me think its from God.. how about that?? :-\
there we go, you have to be able to move on your own, because if you dont, you wont even be giving go a chance to tell you whether to make a turn or not, i think you got it there. ;):)
Comments
HOLY BIBLE
I answered a similar inquiry to this issue on a previous thread a long time ago. Here was my response:
I think most of us have sought to discern God's will over many issues in our life, from the trivial to the most significant, but we forget the bigger picture of what God's ultimate will really is: To have a relationship with us, that we may be conformed to the image of His Son.
In every aspect of our lives, our social life, our area of work, our family life etc. etc. God plans it so that this ultimate goal may be achieved. We have to remember something, and that is God is more concerned about our journey rather than our destination. God uses our journey, full of decision making , according to His will to ultimately transform us into the likeness of His Son. So for example, God may lead a student to an engineering course rather than the law course he always wanted - for God is not ultimately concerned with whether this student becomes an engineer or a lawyer, but rather God knows that the journey this student will take in his engineering course - the things he learns, the people he meets, the places it takes him etc etc will ultimately work towards His ultimate goal. In the Kingdom of God, the journey may be the very purpose, and as hard as it is to fathom, the final direction we take may not even matter at all. The kingdom of heaven has a much radically different perspective for us, than the results-oriented-driven society we live in.
As God says: Deuteronomy 29:29 "The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law."
The Word of God clearly tell us very simply, how we can be assured that God's will is taking place in our lives: Trust and Love - the two most important aspects of any relationship.
1) Love:
Deuteronomy 6:5 "And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might."
Once we perfect this, St Paul tells us:
Romans 8:28 "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. "
2) Trust:
Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."
It's important for us to grasp and settle matters between ourselves and God before we go on to consider trivial matters of our own life such as our earthly relationships and issues. God sent His only begotten Son to purchase us with His own precious Blood. We are purchased with a price - an infinitely costly price at that. Christ The reason that its important for us to yield to this matter is because, when we do so, God WILL ABSOLUTELY fulfill every desire that He's placed in our hearts.
We must begin with God, since the answers to every step lie in Him.
Matthew 6:33 "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."
Peace.
Example:
The alcoholic will probably get drunk when he drinks, so the Christian who is an alcoholic and wants to stay in God’s will must make sure he never takes another drink. Say no to your emotions and yes to communion with God during these times where your not sure.
In reading the Bible, praying to God, and thanking God for his love, you ate saying that:
*God’s Word, not my present emotional outlook, is my authority and my will
In thanking God for bringing you through the worst of times, you are also exercising your faith in God and in his Word, precisely at the moment you don’t feel like doing it.
Try to keep from making any major decision when ur not feeling well. I’ve learned that life looks a great deal more bleak when your depressed. Therefore, any decision I make during this time is bound to be colored by a false sense of what’s going on in my life.
Thank God for taking care of you and loving you even when you can't see it.
know this:
You can trust God to take care of you and bring you through safely. If you can believe he loves you even when you don't feel loved, that's faith. In fact, perhaps the person fighting hard times who trusts in God has the greatest faith of all!
"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for” (Hebrews 11:1-2).
“We live by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7).
Remain true to God even in the midst of emotional storms and I guarantee he will remain true to you.
I know, but the way he chooses to show us?
I know no one cud possibly answer that cu u guys aren't Him, but I mean, how can I tell if its Him tlaking or the devil trying to trick me?
sweetie let me tell u a story about what had happened to me.......
I had hit a point in my life where i thought i would never decide what i wanted to do...to be...i was so confused because at the same time i was not relying on God.
I was trying to take the easy way out and thought i should be a teacher because i thought i loved kids and ofcourse i didnt care what anyone thought because it was MY choice....
But you know what I realized? Everyone is afraid and almost everyone makes their life based decisions on their fear... and that is exactly what i was doing.... i was making up excuses that i would love teaching children when the truth was .....it was that i was afraid to fail...afraid if i tried science ..somthing i always wanted to do since childhood ......i would fail.....
and do you what got me into seeing the truth?.....i was praying and going to church nonstop....i stopped relying on myself and left it all to God....to his will....
all these excuses i had made ....fights with my family all because i was afraid to see the truth.....
Jeremiah 17:5, 7: "This is what the Lord says: ‘Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the Lord...But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him.'"
In verse 8 of 2 Corinthians 1, Paul states that "We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia." He then goes on in that verse to say, "We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life." And then in verse 9, he says, "Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves, but on God, Who raises the dead."
The purpose of the hardships that Paul suffered was that he might not rely up himself, but that he rely on God.
Dont ever think you can take on anything on your own...life is a mystery because God wanted it that way.... just leave it all on him and do your best.....sweetie you'll be fine....
I'll just have to then be clueless about my life then I guess.. I hear what u guys are saying, but they kinda were different to me,
like what arabian eyes said: I did what was what I wanted from the beginning..
then Entaio said: fight urself n ur desires..
so like, I think I didnt get it right, tell me if I didnt..
You battle the desires of the flesh and follow that of the will of God and he will lead the way for you.....
i had gone back to my faith in God and went for it.....stopped being afraid of what could happen...because the devil is what puts those fears and doubts into your head......
thinking i could do it all myself and that I didnt need anyone let those fears and doubts rise into my head in the first place.....
i believed in God and let him lead the way.....that was my protection and barrier against those things....its what saved me..... what led me to do the will of God...and you will see it happening in your life...sooner or later ....you will.....
what about the battles of the heart?
the will of God IS in your heart...always has been hun... you just got to be strong enough to listen to it....strong enough not let anything get in the way of following your heart because that is truly the will of God..... ;)
i found a perfect verse
"But seek first the kingdom of god and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." matthew 6:34
follow this and you will have no problems ;D
[move]TAIO[/move]
wow! i know exactly wat u mean.
i found a perfect verse
"But seek first the kingdom of god and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." matthew 6:34
follow this and you will have no problems ;D
[move]TAIO[/move]
sorry i was gone........lol back though.......that is one of my favourite verses...and is perfect for this situation.....
Follow God and all will fall into place for you hun.....
awesome!
cuz ur right, if I am always afraid to move, Ill never get anywhere..
So I will do what my heart belives is rightand God will be my navigation, like telling me when to turn and make a u turn, go left, right, or keep going, I guess the only question left is when and how
when= in His time and when He sees best
How= no one knows..
I GUESS I just wanna be sure when my feeling come from God or he devil trying to make me think its from God.. how about that?? :-\
there we go, you have to be able to move on your own, because if you dont, you wont even be giving go a chance to tell you whether to make a turn or not, i think you got it there. ;) :)