'still waters' of God's guidance (three gracEmails)
Recently I was impressed, on reading Psalm 23, with the statement that God leads us beside the quiet or still waters. He does not require us to live frantically, to pick desperately between alternative paths, or to choose our course in a panic.
There are seasons to our lives and the decade 1972-1981 was a season of many changes for Sara Faye and me. At one point . . . I asked a friend his thoughts about how to balance our own efforts and waiting on divine intervention. He smiled, and . . . observed that he thought God found it easier to guide a moving object.
A gracEmail reader in Texas writes, "Hebrews 11:20 says that 'by faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.' Yet . . . Jacob disguised himself as Esau to mislead his blind father and . . . the blessings seem more the result of deception than of faith. What about this?"
Fifty years ago American churches purchased property in Southeast Asia, and the missionary evangelist placed title in his own name. . . . The original donors say they intended to benefit the Asian church and not the evangelist personally. Should the church take legal action . . . or is that forbidden by Scripture?
A gracEmail subscriber enjoys his work as a teacher and counselor but can barely pay his bills. He has been offered a more lucrative sales position for which he does not feel particularly suited. "Should I continue to rely on the Lord's faithfulness," he asks, "or should I find a way to earn more money?"
A sister in New Mexico asks for comment concerning Psalm 139:16, in which the Psalmist writes: "Thine eyes have seen my unformed substance. In Thy book they were all written, the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them."
A college Bible professor expresses doubt whether God will actually guide us in our everyday choices and decisions. He believes that is "micromanaging" and far too "individualistic," although he believes that God somehow guides the larger Christian community.
A gracEmail subscriber writes that he is worn out in his work for God. He started a local church about a decade ago, and has no help in carrying it on. He preaches, leads singing, serves Communion, teaches Bible class and leads prayers. Can I offer any encouragement?
A Christian sister writes: "I attend a United Methodist Church. We have raised our children and are now empty nesters. I continue to feel God's call to professional ministry. . . . My gifts seem to always revolve around exhortation. My pastor is extremely busy . . . . and he doesn't have time for any personal mentoring. Any practical suggestions?"
He faced a career decision and he wondered if I could offer any spiritual wisdom. His years of hard work were paying off financially. Now another company was dangling a golden carrot . . . . The move would mean more money and less managerial responsibility, but more hours away from home and family.
A gracEmail subscriber writes to say that he took a job which seemed to come in answer to prayer, but that he never felt assured that it was God's will. He finds it fulfilling and lucrative, but it takes him away from his family and church . . . . How can he discern the Lord's leading?
An acquaintance was recently asked to lead a committee charged with producing a five-year plan for his Lutheran church. He searched the New Testament but found nothing about long-range planning. . . . Throughout the Gospels, for example, Jesus' . . . miracles and parables, his encounters and teachings, occur almost incidentally. "As he was going along," the Gospel writers will say . . . and . . . something happens about which we still read and talk 2,000 years later.
A gracEmail reader asks about the biblical practice of decision-making by casting lots. "My wife and I sometimes narrow the choices based on our best judgment, pray, then cast lots for a final decision. Does God still work that way today?"
A gracEmail subscriber from Michigan writes: "I've been feeling like I don't know how to discern truth and righteousness. Is there a right stance to take on various issues? How can we better discern God's ways and truths in our actions and focus?"
After visiting a psychic to learn the future, the friend of a gracEmail subscriber wonders whether to adjust her life to fit the psychic's reading. The gracEmail subscriber asks what the Bible says about fortune-tellers, whether a Christian should consult with them and, if so, what use to make of their pronouncements.
A gracEmail subscriber writes: "Sometimes I feel like God is playing a giant game in which we are just the pieces. He already knows how my life will turn out. Why does it matter if I struggle to be close to him or to serve him? Does prayer really change things, or is everything predetermined?"
It is Sunday, November 17, 1996, approximately 4:20 in the evening. I have . . . preached this weekend at a little church in the southern Arizona desert, and the Tucson traffic has almost made me miss the plane home. I . . . check in at the American Airline ticket counter, then run . . . to the departure gate marked "Dallas."
A gracEmail subscriber writes: "What would one have to do . . . to hear God speak as the prophets did? I hear God through the Scriptures and . . . in my conscience, but what is keeping me from hearing God as Jeremiah did -- distinctly and in direct quotation?"
God's will for individual lives
Some teachers at a Christian college expressed surprise that many students expected to find God's will for their individual lives -- in selecting a mate, choosing a career, deciding where to live. "Where does this type of thinking come from?" one asked.
A gracEmail subscriber in Texas writes, "One afternoon I heard a television talk-show host say, 'I believe that intuition is the voice of God.' My mother has reminded me though, 'The devil speaks to you, too.' What do the scriptures say about intuition?"