Discerning The Will of God

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Moses is doing what shepherds do.  He is taking care of his sheep.  But he notices something on a mountain nearby and he goes to check it out.  He finds a bush, that is on fire, but it is not being consumed.  Then this happened. 

Exodus 3: 4 - 6 4 When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” 6 And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. (Emphasis mine.)

Moses was afraid of God.  He was afraid to be in His presence, he was afraid to hear His voice.

Then after he has led the Nation of Israel out of Egypt and to Mount Sinai we read:
Exodus 34: 29 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God.

What happened?  The shy man on the side of a mountain is now sitting in the presence of God so much that his own face is glowing? 

Moses was a changed man, no doubt about it.  But what changed him?  His total dependence on hearing God direct his actions and securing the freedom of the Nation of Israel.  From the time he left the burning bush to Mt., Sinai, he not only could hear the voice of God clearly, but he was also comfortable with it.  

That's our goal for today.  To hear God's will and follow through with it.  But how? 

Practice:  Keep listening.  The more you listen, the easier it gets. 
Silence:  God will not shout at you like the world does.  Turn the world off and allow God's voice to ring true in your heart. 
Understand how He speaks to you.  According to Mark Batterson, in his book Whisper, God has seven love languages.  

Signs - Moses and a burning bush.
The Bible - The New Testament relied on the Old Testament to guide their way. 
Desires - Paul encourages us to use our God-given gifts to pursue God-given desires. 
Doors - Paul and the Macedonian call. 
Dreams - Jacobs dream at Bethel 
People - Paul and Timothy 
Promptings - Mordecai and Queen Esther
Pain - Job, Sarah, Hanna, David and many more. 

Determine to discern the will of God today, tomorrow and every day from here on out.  Soon you will be doing what you never thought could be possible. 

PRAY:  Dear Jesus, help me to discern Your will today.  AMEN  





Comments

Rev. Blogger said…
Thanks, this was good and an area of interest to me. Here's just a thought along the lines you described: If we'd actively pursue to accomplish the revealed will of God, such as is described in Sermon on the Mount, fruit of the Spirit, Great Commission and more, I suspect that the personal will of God, or what might be known as a specific will of God, will become automatically obvious as is referenced by Paul in Romans 12:1,2. The action associated with pursuing the revealed will of God will necessitates renewing of the mind which tunes our mental capacities to discern God's good and perfect will.
May 22, 2018 at 9:06 PM
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