I recently finished reading a book about “hearing the voice of God” – and the biblical teaching about this notion. The book is called Is That You Lord? Hearing the Voice of Godby Gary Gilley. This book was excellent, and I highly, highly recommend it.
One of the things I have struggled with for a while now is this idea that “God has a plan for your life” – the use of Jeremiah 29:11. The way it goes is that God has this unique plan for each of us, and our job is to figure out what it is. There is no specific way to find it – we just have to continually seek God until we do. But how do we know when we’ve found it? What are the criteria for determining that what we are doing is “God’s special will” for our lives? It seems to me that this notion potentially plays into our selfish, self-aggrandizing ideals that we are the center of everything. It has more to do with glorifying me than glorifying God. That may not be the intention, but it can certainly be the result. At least from my view.
I can say from experience that my quest to discover God’s “special will” for my life has led me down some crazy pathways in the last nine years. It was my pursuit of that will that led me to Georgia…to seminary…to doing all kinds of nutty things because I felt that I had this special thing I had to do for God or I was being disobedient (I am not, by the way, calling going to seminary a “nutty thing” – Georgia is another story for another day…). I was always trying to guess what was on God’s mind – stressing over whether or not I was truly “hearing from God”, as opposed to hearing my own voice. I became very disillusioned with God, especially after I left Trinity and nothing I thought was supposed to happen came to pass.
I need to be clear that it was not too much doctrinal precision that caused this problem, but rather the lack thereof. I did not start off my Christian life in a local church setting being taught the basics. I started by watching TBN all the time – drinking in the teachings of people like Joyce Meyer and Bishop Long. Being indoctrinated into the prosperity Gospel that taught that God wants me to be rich and healthy, and that my job is to find my destiny and walk in the path ordained for me. Implicit in this teaching was if I did not find it, my faith was weak, flawed, and that I was not believing well enough. If I did not experience all these positive things, I was failing. And wow, did I fail miserably.
I am grateful to the Lord that He placed in me a passionate desire to know His Word, for it was in that pursuit that I began to question the things I was taking in through these teachers. But even as I navigate what is considered mainstream TE, this notion of God having a specific, unique plan for your life that you must discover is pervasive. It is heard on Christian radio and read in all kinds of books that top Christian bookstores best-sellers lists…and this mystical “hearing the voice of God” is everywhere, in TE and in the new brand of ECM.
A key point that Gilley makes in this bookis that God has indeed revealed His will to us – it is contained in His Word – and it is that we be conformed to the image of His Son. But no where in this Word are we promised a specific, unique plan to be outlined for each individual; we are also not promised that this will is to be revealed in special promptings, with feelings of “peace”, etc. I cannot tell you how many of my decisions I have had “peace” about that were diametrically opposed to any principle found in Scripture or that turned out to be the worst thing I could have done. The heart is deceitful above all things – we can rationalize just about anything if left to our own devices. Even as believers, our sin nature still wars for control – what can keep it in check? I believe that it is the Holy Spirit working through the Word of God.
And so, Gilley says, we should spend our time and concentration on those things God has revealed to us in Scripture because “it is the revealed things that enable us to live in conformity to the ways of God” (p. 51). I know that I want someone to tell me what decision to make in every circumstance – this kind of takes the pressure off, removes my responsibility for the decision when things go awry. But the Lord does not do that. He provides His will – His will to conform us to the image of His Son. His law reveals His character. So if I am going to make a decision about something, I have a starting point, a foundation and boundary lines to make that decision. This is what we should seek, not the mystical “silver bullet” that will tell us exactly what to do and when to do it.
In all things, this should be my desire, that I may “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing in fruit every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God” (Col. 1:10, ESV). May this be our prayer.
Grace and peace…
PS – yes, I know. I have changed my page theme yet again. I’m still trying to find one that I really like. This one might fit the bill. We’ll see how long it lasts! LOL. As you were…
