MY WILL OR GOD'S WILL

By Arnie Cole, CEO

Ever since I became a Christ Follower, I have struggled with knowing if that tiny voice I hear once in a while is really the Holy Spirit nudging me forward or my own convoluted, self righteous, self-satisfying will—trying to fool me.

You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to know that we are all pretty much self-centered and very selfish if left to our own devices. For many of us, it’s just a matter of degrees of difference between the two. If left unchecked, we default to: “It’s all about me, you see.”

Too easily, I can blind myself to Holy Spirit opportunities at work or in daily life, too. Sometimes, I can also get fooled by either listening to Satan while posing as the angel of light, or following my own desires disguised as feelings of righteousness. Therefore, I’m cautious to claim that something is from the Holy Spirit. When it’s so hard to tell, such claims can be a very dangerous thing.

These have been some of my concerns and questions leading to determining God’s will for our lives and the Holy Spirit’s part in it. The Bible sets up very clear criteria about both. To name a few, I’m talking about things like:

• Alignment with Scripture;

• Sensing that “peace that passes all understanding;” and

• Confirmation through wise counsel.

The exact reasons why and when the Holy Spirit talks to us, much less how it happens, will always be partly a mystery. However, we can trust and know that the Spirit is at work because God promises it. Why is this the process, and how do we better understand? I think we have to answer both questions before we can expect to clearly understand God’s will for situations we’re in or His calling to tasks He has for us to do. For example, what is His will for someone getting back to church if they have stopped, reaching out to someone who needs Jesus, leading a small group, or so many things He wants us to be aware of and do outside of ourselves. Being in the Bible at the life-transforming 4 or more days per week is an essential starting point. Memorizing Scripture is also a huge help to the Holy Spirit getting our attention—it is like fuel to the fi re He is trying to start in our hearts.

If you'd like to learn more, please help me by starting with an assessment. Learning what you and many others are thinking will allow us to create the right resources. That's the only way I see us as "the church" helping more people grow closer to Jesus and become disciple makers themselves.

The Holy Spirit’s guidance is essential for a vibrant Christian life, yet we can gradually become less sensitive to His leading without realizing it. Just as physical blindness often develops slowly, spiritual blindness can creep in through subtle choices and habits. This assessment serves as a spiritual health check-up. Let it help you identify where you might be unknowingly resisting the Holy Spirit’s work in your life. It can also help you identify patterns in your spiritual life that could be diminishing your sensitivity to God’s voice.

Stay tuned for much more. The study I’ve been putting into determining God’s will and our sensitivity to the Holy Spirit is going to take a book to communicate. Thanks for considering helping gather as many responses as possible.

PS: Be sure to check out all of the great Bible teaching content at www.backtothebible.org or, from your mobile device, click this link GOtandem.