With apologies for an exceptionally long post…

I have argued that the quest for a “special whisper” from the Holy Spirit amounts to a search for further revelation. God’s Word is sufficient. The Holy Spirit works through the Word and through wisdom acquired from the Word to lead us in our decisions. And so, while God may direct us in extraordinary ways, we shouldn’t expect this. After all, extra ordinary isn’t ordinary.

Nonetheless, I have had a few questions about Bible verses suggesting that the Holy Spirit will give a tangible word of guidance in the more critical decisions. I promised to take time with these passages, so here goes.

Here are some specific questions I have been asked:

(from Missionary Matt Northcutt) What do you do with passages that seem to indicate that God does, indeed, give peace as an arbiter as we follow Him in faith (such as Is. 26:3, Phil. 4:6-7, and Col. 3:15)?

Continue reading “Can We Expect a Special Whisper from the Holy Ghost?” →

You might wish God would communicate every step you should take each day. Anytime you had choices, God would telegraph His will for that decision. God would make His choice known if you had to decide between McDonald’s and Denny’s, pick between mowing the lawn or washing the car, or take the job at the bank or the local flour mill. Such a deal!

Now, you might be thinking that this would be wonderful. You would never make a wrong choice again. You would immediately know God’s first choice in a spouse, in a job, in a house, in a car, in a church, and so on down the line. This plan, it would seem, would be the very best way to keep all God’s children in line.

So, why doesn’t God provide us with a CPS – the celestial version of a GPS? First, we have to say that since God doesn’t equip each of us with our own personal ephod, it must be contrary to His will to give us this kind of direction for our every decision. In fact, such micro-direction wouldn’t help us grow into maturity or measure up to the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:13-15). Divine micro-managing would keep us in a perpetual childhood, which must be contrary to God’s will.

You might object that nobody wants this kind of guidance for every little inconsequential decision. We only need God’s clear direction for the major decisions we have to make. And that is fair enough. Of course, we don’t always know when a decision qualifies as “major.” Some decisions would obviously count, like choosing a life’s partner or a life’s calling. But major decisions sometimes sneak up on us. Without recognizing the significance of the decision, we take a step and then learn, to our horror, that we can’t walk it back. The guy who lost his leg in a motorcycle accident didn’t know what a fateful decision he made when he chose to go riding that day.

Continue reading “He Shall Direct Thy Paths, part 3” →