Direction From Above

December 8, 2015

I get asked all the time, “What is the biggest struggle that students face today?”  When I started into youth ministry over a decade ago, this answer was not so uniform in my mind.  Several things popped up: drugs, peer pressure, and the eternal struggle “if God is real.”  While all of these things still exist today, I do not see this as the number one problem our students face.  The culture has begun to shift and the openness of the ideal of God is ripe in the student’s mind.  The questions I hear the most are, “How do I know that it is God talking to me,” “What is God’s will in my life” and “Why does this person hear from God when I don’t?”  Our students are hungry for direction from God as I think most of the younger generation falls into this category.  They long for guidance and direction as they venture into their unknown futures.  They seek clarity from and to the One who is supposed to know everything.  While this sounds like a great problem to have, students seeking the will of God, it does bring new complications and perspectives to the journey.  The phrase, “God told me to,” has become abused and overused today!  This often gives conflicting experiences and hurts the very name of God when not applied in the right way.  I have found myself saying more and more to “Give God what is His and own up to your own garbage.”  While it might be God that tells you to date someone, it could also be the hormonal driven mind of a teenager.  So, how do we help to distinguish if something is indeed hearing and seeing the voice and will of God or not?  This is where the hard work comes in.  This is the opportunity to disciple someone face to face and ask the hard questions and quite frankly, these are some of my favorite parts about being a pastor.  I remember being a teenager trying to figure out this feeling of God leading me to being a pastor.  I had no idea what a pastor did or what that meant for my life.  I felt like I had no one to talk to about it, so I didn’t.  It took many years and lots of guidance before I was able to fully understand what God was trying to say to me.  So, how was I able to understand God’s will for my life and how can we help others to do the same?

1. A personal relationship with God.  While there have been times where God speaks truth and gives guidance to non believers, the majority of the time information comes through believers of God.  It is much easier to recognize and understand God’s will and direction, if first, we understand who He is.
2. A desire to hear from God. Now I know that this sounds like a no-brainer, but often times we have preconceived opinions about what we want to hear before we hear it.  We have to make up our minds that we really want to hear what God wants to tell us, even if that means, we are not going to like it.
3. Check with scripture. If God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow then who He is has not changed.  If He has not lead someone in this direction before, chances are He is not doing it now.  Also, just to clarify that the hard work does not stop here.  Do not go pick up the closest jaw bone and slaughter an army.
4. Seek Godly council. Most often we want to run to those closest to us or those who will give us the answer we want to hear.  Seek the council of someone who has in fact learned to discern the voice of God in their life; someone who has been down the path that you are going and if at all possible, find more than one.  Samuel did not understand who was speaking to Him until he asked for guidance.
5. The larger plan. Believe it or not, you are not the center of the universe.  God has a much bigger plan than any of us can fully understand, but you play a part in that plan.  What God is trying to tell us also plays a bigger part into His plan!  Ask the questions: How does this play into my relationship with God?  How does this work into His plan for the local church?  How will this affect the kingdom focus of what God is trying to accomplish in this world?
6. Watch out for spiritual ADD. We all have “ah ha” moments when we think that we have it all figured out, where everything in the world just seems to make sense to us and life just clicks.  This is not a time to stop asking or seeking God’s voice.  The easiest way to get back on track is to ask for God’s perspective on the current situations in your life and start back at step one.
7. Remember that this is a relationship. You will not figure this out in one day, and as you grow close to Him, it will be easier to hear and understand.  Take one day at a time!  Always striving to get to know God more through scripture, life experience and prayer.  There will be times that you misinterpret or misunderstand, so be cautious how you use “God told me to!”

While the process seems overwhelming to a point, it is also one of the most rewarding parts of being a Christ follower.  A seemingly unknown, unseen God is in fact present in our lives, has a purpose and direction, waiting for us to ask and receive.  I pray for you today that you will come to a place of willingness to hear from God and a humbleness to do the hard work to clarify the will and direction that God has for you.