Getting beyond the guesswork (3)

Here are two more ways to know God’s will for your life: 1) Providential circumstances. When God is leading, the way will open up for you. When He sends you, He goes before you (see John 10:4). His Word says, ‘When I open a door, no one can close it. And when I close a door, no one can open it.’ Who opens the right doors? God. Who closes the wrong doors? God. The right doors lead to blessing, but the wrong doors lead to pain and loss. Plus, nothing but unbelief can keep a door closed once God commands it to open. The only help God needs from you is: ‘Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you’ (Exodus 14:13 B 1995). 2) Inner ‘traffic lights’. The old-timers in the faith would say, ‘I always watch for the “checks” in my spirit!’ You’re a new creature with a new spiritual nature that’s ‘alive unto God’, equipped to sense God moving within you (see Romans 6:11). And while the counsel of wise and mature Christians can help, the last word must be spoken in your own heart. ‘It is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfil his good purpose’ (Philippians 2:13 NIVUK). If your will is surrendered to God, He is at work in you directing your will and behaviours. Believe it, because He declares it! He will give you the ‘red light’ when He wants you to stop, and the ‘green light’ when He wants you to go. Don’t go on red! Don’t stop on green!