The Will of God versus Your Emotions
 

How do you know that you know what the will of God is?

How are you sure that it is the will of God, and not your emotions, or natural wants/needs/desires dictating what you think the will of God is?

Re: The Will of God versus Your Emotions
 

On most occasions one has to check what they are feeling against Scripture. Sometimes God gives a spiritual confirmation that can't be shaken.

However, I'm assured that where ever you are... that's the will of God.

Re: The Will of God versus Your Emotions
 

I believe that scripture is something we must always measure up against, regardless of our emotional attachment to the situation.

However, scripture is always based on personal interpretation, so one can actually twist the scriptures to interpret it to mean what one wants it to mean.

This causes the water to be muddied, when you say, "Back it up with scripture", because there are a hundred different opinions about possibly every scripture written in the Bible.

Who or what do you believe?

We must not forget that even Satan used scripture (his twisted version) against Christ.

How do we know that the interpreted version of scripture with which we've interpreted God's will, is not the twisted version of Satan, or own twisted interpretation?

So then... whose interpretation of scripture is right? How can we really know the will of God?

Re: The Will of God versus Your Emotions
 

That's a hard one sometimes. Personally, I try to look for conformation in a passage of scripture, not one that I'm looking for but one that suddenly shows up at a seemingly random time. Other times another person will confirm what I believe God has spoken to me. Other times, I simply try to obey and trust God to help me out if I'm made a mistake.

Re: The Will of God versus Your Emotions
 

Do you think that the will of God could involve a test? Could it be that God's will may actually seem like a very bad, horrid thing to our flesh, and mind, but yet, be His perfect will in accomplishing something greater in us?

The reason I ask this is because we tend to believe we have found "God's will" when all seems good in our lives... the bills are paid, our health is excellent, family is getting along, and we have a lovely home, vacation planned, and so on. Surely this must be God's will... we think.

However, should something terrible enter our lives, say, a death, or the dreaded disease of cancer, or a division in a family, or in the church.... could these be part of God's will too?

Re: The Will of God versus Your Emotions
 

Yes, I think a testing could be part of God's will at times. For example, about this time last year I had a medical report that was extremely negative. Doctors confirmed it, there was a very very life threatening issue they said. My reaction was to not receive the report, I believed the will of God for my life didn't involve what was being said to me by them. I had promises that were yet unfulfilled, direction in ministry that had not occurred yet and a road ahead that He had put me on that was yet untraveled. All this was God speaking to me, I believe. The report, the testing, was contrary to what God had spoken. So, I chose to believe what God had spoken to me, not what the experts said. Now, almost a year later the critical untreatable, life threatning issue (they said) is nowhere to be found.

That's a very simplified version of my experience. In reality, because of our carnality that battles us, there is a wrestling, a warfare that we must engage in. Did God really speak to me and make those promises, directions, or was it just mental gymnastics? Imagination. Hope without a spiritual basis. I had to decide, literally risking my life (the testing) if I was going to act on what I believed was the voice of God or the reality of the voice of the doctors.

Re: The Will of God versus Your Emotions
 

That is an miraculous testimony JL... thanks for sharing! Praising the Lord with you for the touch of the Lord through this health battle!

In all reality, as believers, we should be aware that the will of God may take us to places, through places, and in places that don't seem fair, right, or good, but in the end... His will and purpose for it can turn it into the greatest blessing of our lives.

Re: The Will of God versus Your Emotions
 

Amen. The decision is whether to trust God in the testings. Surely not an easy and simple thing to do sometimes.

Re: The Will of God versus Your Emotions
 

There are obvious proclamations of the will of God in the Word that many overlook when seeking the "will of God for their lives".

Two examples:

It is not the will of God that any should perish

It is the will of God that we be sanctified and flee fornication

Sometimes people get so caught up in the specifics that they fail the generalities. People are pursuing the will of God for ministry, marriage, and etc. that they end up neglecting some of the weightier matters.

Jesus told Martha that ONE THING was needful: to sit at His feet and learn from Him.

I think we need only pursue God Himself, and not His will, and so, wherever He is, we will be there, too. His will is wherever He is, so, when we get to Him, His will will be present, also.

Re: The Will of God versus Your Emotions
 

Nice.

"So then... whose interpretation of scripture is right? How can we really know the will of God?"

Your interpretation is the only one you need, and the only one that can be right for you. I got Scrip for this. Manana :D

Re: The Will of God versus Your Emotions
 

In a nutshell, what you wrote there is really it. When one focuses on getting as close to Jesus as possible minute by minute throughout the day He will honor that by providing what you need and show you His will for you.

When I first found God and got in church I remember my Pastor telling me something that will always stick with me. Like most I stumbled a little when I first started living for Him and it bothered me tremendously. One day on the front porch of the Pastor's house he told me, "live a victorious life by not sinning day by day, if that is a challenge do it hour by hour, if you have to do it minute by minute."
It was like a light went on and I realized I had to literally talk to Jesus minute by minute to get victory. That's what I did and it changed my life. That is how I started my personal relationship with Jesus. It was a revelation and I was so glad my Pastor said that to me that day because it made me realize the mind is where the battle is on a daily basis but thru simply giving our mind to thinking on Him we can have the victory everyday.

Re: The Will of God versus Your Emotions
 

I think largely, in the culture we came from, we are taught to deny our emotions. It is my belief that the battle for many of us is to recognize our emotions as valid and that that is God's will for us.

Beyond that, I think we have been also taught to try and control God through prayer and our own obedience. It is a challenge to learn to truly trust that God has us in His hands, regardless. My husband had cancer and, as hard as it has been, there have been many blessings in it. I can look back and see where things have worked for good despite the bad. I can't say that of all events in my life though.

When I am trying to find God's will, I look for a place with no condemnation, where I feel good and can trust that God is with me.

There have been times where I have pushed and pushed and pushed, believing something to be God's will.....and I look back and feel I was totally wrong about it. He was still there, but there was damage.

Re: The Will of God versus Your Emotions
 

I feel God gives us three main factors in discovering and following His will.

1. His Word
2. Godly Counsel (pastoral authority)
3. The leading/direction of the Spirit (inner promptings, dreams and visions, prophetic utterances and such like)


I feel that this order is the order that we sould follow. First everything MUST be brought into submission to His written Word. Secondly, when a man of God is in submission to the Word of God and gives counsel based on scirptural principles, God reveals His will through pastoral authority. Lastly, the inner prompting of the Spirit, supernatural revelation through prophetic means can be a means to the will of God when these things are first brought into submission to the Word and secondly to pastoral authority.

Re: The Will of God versus Your Emotions
 

The will of God for each life at best often seems strange...for exampple when I was just a little girl asleep in my bedroom Jesus appeared to me and told me I would be a missionary to Brazil...my father was a drunk and my mother a very simple person. No one had a preachers background or a spiritual background at that point.
Actually we went to christian school because Brother Taylor must have felt sorry for us girls (my sisters and I) he took us to school and Brother Holmes let us go without paying anything!
Who was I to grow up and be a missionary? A little stingy brown haired girl with no contacts whatsoever. BUT God looks way into the future and He saw I would follow...
Some people have the opinion if they ever find the will of God it will be easy. That is not true. The will of God is often a long dificult road however there is something about the will of God that gives an inner peace of mind....You know it is HIS will...

I will be very clear and open only with intention to help other climbers on life's mountain. For me it has often brought tears both of rejoicing and tears of pain...tears when His will had to be tucked in my heart and I have had to just keep climbing without knowing or understanding.

However when life's journey is almost finished and we are almost on the top we can look back on all the often weary journey and see how God carefully wove His pattern in our life's. We have a divine purpose....don't settle for less!

People will often say hard cutting things such as those guys say about me over on the women preacher thread. However I still remember Jesus calling just like it was yesterday. He used me to be a bridge between lost souls and Him... They will never forget who walked into their lives and told them the life changing story of Jesus...

I must press on until the Come UP Higher Call comes....

Re: The Will of God versus Your Emotions
 

For me, finding the will of God was made very clear after I read the book of John, and especially in the 15th chapter of John. The scriptures that stood out to me in particular:

John 15:7-17
7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.
10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.
11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.
12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.
16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
17 These things I command you, that ye love one another.

I hope that I can convey to you what I feel the Lord dealt with me about this issue some time ago.

I was praying, asking the Lord about His will, when the Lord seemed to ask me, this: Was I praying for HIS will alone, or was I praying that my will would become His will?

I pondered that for some time. I began to realize that the will of God is not an elusive thing. It is not something that I need to have a dream, vision, or supernatural manifestation in my life to determine what it is.

The will of God is very simple, and it is found in John 15:7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

If His words abide in me, then, of course the natural things of the flesh that I desire will not be most important to me. The things that mean the most to the Lord, will mean the most to me.

So, first, self has to go. Self has to die out. Selfish needs, wants, desires, and fancies have to be laid aside. Because if I am abiding in Him, and His words are abiding in me, I will want the things HE WANTS, not the things that my flesh wants or desires.

So, in the end, the will of God becomes very simple in understanding. The will of God is to love and desire His will, not mine. If his words abide in me, that means that the two commandments He gave, will be words that mean the most to me in my life. 1) Love the Lord your God, and 2) Love your neighbor as yourself. If those two commandments are first and foremost in my life, I will be doing the will of the Father, and the will of God will be perfected in my life.

If I seek, in all things, to obey those two commandments first, I should never really have to ask God to know His will... because those two commandments are His will, and all decisions, plans, dreams, and desires must first be viewed under the microscope of those two commandments.

When His words (simply the two commandments above) are abiding in my heart, then Jesus says this: Ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you!

WOW! Did you catch that promise there! When I desire His will, and obeying the two commandments are the main goal and focus of my life, then I will not ask amiss, or out of His will, because I can't. I have placed my will into the confinements of those two commandments, and by doing that, Jesus is free to give me freely the things I desire, and ask for, because they will first have had to go through the refining fire of the two commandments. I would not ask amiss for something when the thing I desired had to pass through the refining fire of His words/commandments.

There is an amazing promise there that when we get to this place, of complete submission, and love for His will, that this is where the greater thrill of serving Jesus takes place, because He is free to work through us in a miraculous nature, because we have completely submitted to his will by obeying his commandments, and He is free to give us as we ask, because of our obedience!

Now, when I pray, I know what God's will is. It is for me to love Him, and love others as myself. When there is a need for direction or understanding in my life, I pass that need through the refining fire of the two commandments Jesus gave us. It is amazing what clarity can come forth into a situation when the microscope of those two commandments looks at whatever situation I am facing.

The will of God is not hard to understand, but it is something our flesh fights back with, and hates. Our flesh is the one that will cause us to stumble, and fail to do the will of God.

But, if you remember when you are faced with a decision, and unsure what the will of God is, pass your question, dream, direction, or need through the refining fire of the two commandments Jesus spoke of, and submit your flesh to be obedient to the purpose of God. It is then that the will of God will be able to take place, and along with that will come the promise of great blessing and answers far more miraculous than anything your own flesh could have desired!

Re: The Will of God versus Your Emotions
 

Self has to die out...wow...you got that right!

Re: The Will of God versus Your Emotions
 

Easy to understand, hard to put into practice every day we live! But, there are great promises that await us, when we are obedient, and it is that understanding that makes dealing with self easier.

Re: The Will of God versus Your Emotions
 

wow, great insights all! since JL replied to the bottom here, and you've gotten some also great stuff for the top (i'm in FL w/parents right now to see if i can pass the 'dad' test this time; having always failed before) i'd like to reply (briefly, sigh) to the middle one, and say that a life of no issues might be God's will for the moment, and may even be a Grace blessing, but may also be a test; the 'prosperity test,' i think it's called. Nothing that needs attention can be a living death. i imagine that i can even see clues of this; cluttered corners the same now as when you last saw the prosperous one, etc.

I'm not sleeping a wink, anyway (part of the test, i'm sure :lol) so i'm gonna try real hard to catch up here, awesome stuff.

Re: The Will of God versus Your Emotions
 

That is a wonderful piece of advice! Minute by minute, moment by moment we walk with Him.

Re: The Will of God versus Your Emotions
 

So true. I wonder how many times we mistake the will of God in our lives, when it is really our will we are trying to establish. I'm guilty of the same, many times. I'm still learning, and trying to separate out the difference between what I want, and what He wants.

Re: The Will of God versus Your Emotions
 

I'm going to put this opinion out there as an opinion. I don't know if this is completely the right way to think about this. I think Christians have been taught to deny themselves in a way that isn't correct. I think we are to enjoy life. I think food, color, music, love, friends, hobbies, possessions and many, many other things are to be enjoyed in this life. I think that when I desire something like a candy bar I don't have to feel guilty about desiring it. I don't have to feel guilty about eating it either. I know we need to think about our health but enjoying life is healthy.
I guess what I'm trying to say is, just like the verse in the N.T. that says if a man desires the office of a bishop he desires a good work, we should often follow our desires. I'm not talking about sinful desires. I'm just talking about desires. People say you should have "the call" before you can be a preacher. I'm not doubting that God can call someone. I'm doubting that a specific "call" is necessary if you desire to preach. We need people who desire to preach and teach and pastor more than we need people who feel like they have to.
I'm thinking that way too much emphasis is put on subjective leadings from God. There is enough that the Bible tells us to do that we aren't doing that we need to start doing. We can spend the rest of our lives doing what it tells us to do and probably not need to hear any voices or feel any leadings or sense guidance or receive prophecies or get a witness or a "word from the Lord", word of knowledge, word of wisdom or all those things I wasted about 15 years of my life trying to experience when I should have just delighted myself in the Lord and He would give me the desires of my heart.

Re: The Will of God versus Your Emotions
 

Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us Tater! Too many times we seek the elusive "will of God" as if it is the pot o' gold at the end of the rainbow.

You said:I do agree with this. The will of God is not elusive, and it is not hard to know. We don't have to wait on a dream, vision, or supernatural vision, or other sign or wonder to know what it is. It is simply obeying the 2 great commandments given, and within obedience of those two things, we are responsible for sharing the gospel with our neighbor (if we love our neighbor as ourselves, than of course we would want him to know Jesus). So, sharing the gospel is part of the 2 great commandments, and if we allow Jesus to teach us how best to obey His words, then our lives become a beautiful outpouring of his love through us, which in and of itself, is a beautiful thing.

Re: The Will of God versus Your Emotions
 

Amen! Excellent points. I heard a preacher/missionary say he just decided at a young age he wanted to preach and told God if you don't want me to then stop me. A lot of people go way out on a limb saying God told them to do something and then things change and it makes it look like God didn't tell them or changed his mind.

Re: The Will of God versus Your Emotions
 

LOL... ah yes. I see this mentality far too often. People say "the Lord told me to do such and such"... so as to concrete it in the minds of others as being the right thing to do... but then... if it doesn't work out... oh... well, the Lord said we need to do such and such now.

What it really is, they are seeking to justify their own desires by labeling them "the will of God" thereby making the will of God look as changeable as the wind. They have not found the will of God, they have just labeled something as the will of God, to justify their own behaviors.

This is not at all how the "will of God" works.