My article series on things I wish would change among Independent Baptists provoked a fair amount of discussion and raised more than a few questions. In particular, the article on “Holy Spirit Kookery” gave a little heartburn to a few readers. As one commenter asked,

How would a man know if he is called to preach if God does not lead him through the Spirit?

How could I have perfect peace that my wife was God’s choice for me if He did not impress this upon me by His Spirit?

As I have committed to answering these and similar questions, I invite you to hop aboard, buckle up, and keep your arms and legs inside the ride at all times. The question, as I see it, is not whether the Holy Spirit directs us, but how, and how do we know He is the one leading us and not just our baser impulses or (worse yet) an evil spirit back of those voices in my head.  

There can be no doubt that God guides His children. The Bible repeats this fact enough times to ease our minds.  

I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye. (Psalm 32:8)

For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death. (Psalm 48:14)

A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps (Proverbs 16:9)

Thus saith the LORD, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the LORD thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go. (Isaiah 48:17)

The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way (Psalm 37:23)

Nevertheless I am continually with thee: thou hast holden me by my right hand. Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. (Psalm 73:23-24)

But the most familiar passage of all is found in Proverbs 3:5-6.

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

The question cannot be whether God guides us. We find example after example in Scripture of God guiding men. He guided Noah to prepare an ark to the saving of his house. He called Abraham away from his idols to a place God would show him. He called Moses from the burning bush. He called Israel out of Egypt. He guided Joshua as he conquered the Promised Land. He guided David when he hid from Saul, when he thought to build the Temple, and in all his wars against Israel’s enemies.

God said of Jeremiah, 

Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee; and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

In every era, in every time, God provided a way for His people to know His will. He spoke through His prophets, guided through the Urim and Thumim, and sometimes spoke directly to His people.  

And men knew that the Lord was leading them, including the men of the New Testament. God directed Peter to the house of Cornelius and Philip to meet the Ethiopian Eunuch. Paul knew that God was leading him in his Macedonian vision, his visit to Jerusalem, and his response to his thorn in the flesh. He knew that God was guiding him.

And when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, The will of the Lord be done. (Acts 21:14)

Others knew it as well.

And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good report of all the Jews which dwelt there, Came unto me, and stood, and said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And the same hour I looked up upon him. And he said, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth. (Acts 22:12-14)

Paul often introduced himself by referring to God’s will for his life. 

Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God… (1 Corinthians 1:1) 

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother… (2 Corinthians 1:1) 

Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;) (Galatians 1:1) 

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus: (Ephesians 1:1) 

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timotheus our brother, (Colossians 1:1) 

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus, (2 Timothy 1:1)

We have every reason to believe that God guides us now, the same as He directed men then. Scriptural arguments make this abundantly clear. God has an eternal purpose for us.

According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: (Ephesians 1:4)

Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: (Ephesians 1:9)

To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord: (Ephesians 2:10-11)

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. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. (Romans 8:28-30)

Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, (2 Timothy 1:9)

The Bible teaches us to pray for guidance.

For thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore for thy name’s sake lead me, and guide me. (Psalm 31:3)

Many places in Scripture promise guidance specifically:

He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. (Psalm 23:3)

And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. (Isaiah 58:11)

O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me. Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed: let them be ashamed which transgress without cause. Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths. (Psalm 25:2-4)

Good and upright is the LORD: therefore will he teach sinners in the way. The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way. All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies. (8-10)

Paul prayed that the church would know God’s will. 

For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; (Colossians 1:9)

Romans 12:2 speaks of the way the transforming power of the Gospel enables us to know God’s will.

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Clearly then, the question is not whether God leads us but how He leads us and how He makes His will known to us. Can we know God’s will for our lives? Can we be sure of it? What should we look for? How do we know?  

Frequently, believers have insisted that God was leading them to do or not to do a thing. They have prayed about it, and God gave them some indication of His will, either through a feeling sense of peace about a decision or, in some cases, through a direct statement of instruction – thus, people will insist that “God told me” to do this or not to do that.  

It is not uncommon for Christians to wait for some answer from God when they have a big decision to make. They will ask God to give them peace or a word of direction or instruction. They wait for Him to provide some tangible answer, trusting this to give them the guidance they need.  

I know this desire well. I have felt that same longing for clear direction. I have prayed for it intensely. I have asked God to show me His will.  

J.I. Packer included an entire chapter on this topic in his masterpiece, Knowing God (my debt to him in this article should be evident). In it, he gets to the root issue for the believer. The problem isn’t that we don’t want to know God’s will. The problem is that we fear we will miss it altogether.

To many Christians, guidance is a chronic problem. Why? Not because they doubt that divine guidance is a fact, but because they are sure it is. They know that God can guide, and has promised to guide, every Christian believer. Books, and friends, and public speakers, tell them how guidance has worked in the lives of others. Their fear, therefore, is not that no guidance should be available for them, but that they may miss the guidance which God provides through some fault of their own. (p. 209, emphasis mine)

I believe that this fear – the fear of missing God’s guidance – moves us to look for signs and evidence, for a feeling sense of peace or a special whisper from God that we can interpret as the direction God has for us.

While I understand this desire from a human perspective, I also have to say that God doesn’t teach us to look for such a thing, doesn’t make a promise to that end, and doesn’t lead us this way.

The burden of proof is mine, though I don’t think it should be. The quest for a special whisper is too entrenched in our thinking, especially in the minds of Independent Baptists. The Bible doesn’t tell us what that special whisper would sound like, what the tangible marks of guidance might be. But we have been thoroughly indoctrinated into expecting it, looking for it, waiting on it.  

So, in the next few posts, I intend to make the case for seeking wisdom from God, seeking His guidance, trusting the Lord, but not looking for God to “tell us” what to do.  

For the moment, I will only point out that the Bible makes this very simple. Trust the Lord, and He will direct your paths. That isn’t sexy, I know. It isn’t sensational. It’s hardly even exciting. We want it to be more than that. But this is what the Bible says. Trust the Lord, and He will direct your paths.

If God guides us primarily through our feelings or some sort of direct revelation, we would expect to find that spelled out for us in the Bible so that we would know how to recognize it. Yet, Scripture offers no such direction. We do not have a New Testament version of the Urim and Thummim. In fact, we find in Scripture that God has eliminated such external things in the New Testament. God intends for us to walk by faith. Trust in the Lord, and He will direct your paths.  

We’ll say more about this soon.