Knowing God’s will – Almost An Author

“Nooooo,” she wailed. “It would hurt too much.”

My eight-year-old granddaughter could not be convinced to soak her foot. I felt sure Epsom salts would ease the swelling from the bee sting. She was sure it was the worst possible torture.

“Do you trust me?” I asked.

“Yes, Gra’ma, but I don’t want to put my foot in the tub.”

“Have I ever done anything to intentionally hurt you?”

“No, Gra’ma, but it would hurt too much!”

Silently I pleaded with the Lord for help. Instead, I sensed Him respond, “I never force My will on anyone.”

Sorrowfully, I dumped the water in the sink and the sobs subsided. I couldn’t force my will either.

I had a nagging feeling this was about more than a stinger. I, too, had been running from God’s best for me—a book languished in my files and ideas lay unattended. I neglected my call to write.

Exercise:

Jonah was a runner. His book tells us he was even willing to pay money to get away from what God called him to do. (Jonah 1:1-3)

What have you been avoiding at great cost to your call?

Elimelech was a runner. He was willing to leave God’s best at the expense of his family. (Ruth 1:1-5)

How have you sacrificed your best for the convenient?

Have you been hiding from God’s call on your life? Maybe what He’s asked seems inconsequential? Isn’t a small obedience still obedience? In a parable about a servant, Jesus said being faithful in little things results in greater responsibility. (Matthew 25:14-29)

In what way will you accept responsibility for your writing?

What if our writing is a treasure entrusted for only a season? We have no guarantees as to how long our eyesight, health or memory will last. Just like I wanted to help my granddaughter, my Father wants to help me. I retreat into His embrace, and He renews, restores, and reaffirms His love.

God is for us. He has given us gifts that will grow our craft.

Instead of running away from what the Lord asks, let’s run toward His call—because the Father knows best.

“For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
Jeremiah 29:11 (TLB)

Are you running from the words God has called you to write?

Over 140 of Sally Ferguson’s devotionals have been published in Pathways to God (Warner Press). She’s also written for Light From The Word, Chautauqua Mirror, Just Between Us, Adult Span Curriculum, Thriving Family, Upgrade with Dawn and ezinearticles.com. Prose Contest Winner at 2017 Greater Philly Christian Writers Conference.

Sally loves organizing retreats and seeing relationships blossom in time away from the daily routine. Her ebook, How to Plan a Women’s Retreat is available on Amazon.

Sally Ferguson lives in the beautiful countryside of Jamestown, NY with her husband and her dad.

Visit Sally’s blog at sallyferguson.net

Better Understand God’s Instruction — Try Triangulation

As a Christian writer in your life or in your writing it is not merely about what you want to say or do. You are an ambassador of Christ. You are a soldier in His command. Therefore, you should be seeking Him consistently, walking in the Spirit so that you know His instructions.

I have no doubt that you are doing this, but being certain we are understanding the Spirit’s guidance is not always that easy. We can hear His voice. We can know that voice as we read in John 10. This is not so much a science, but is an art. It is something that is developed over time. Hearing God’s voice and being certain it is something you can continue to do better.

One way you could do this better is through triangulation.

I highly doubt you have heard this term in a sermon, but maybe you have heard it in an overly technical explanation about your cell phone or a GPS.

I grew up fishing on a local lake. One side of that lake was wide-open with no apparent landmarks on the surface, but underneath there were some serious honey-holes. The trick became finding those spots again after catching fish there the trip before. So to help find those spots we would locate a landmark on the shore. For example, we might chose to line up with the old concrete plant’s smokestack.

The issue would be the smokestack might put us close to the fishing hole, but not exactly. We could be in a three hundred yard circle of the key spot that was no bigger than a bucket. If we added another landmark then we would get closer. So maybe the smokestack on the east and the fourth buoy in the south. Those landmarks would get us close, but still not exactly where we wanted to be, but three landmarks put us exactly where we needed to be. The smokestack on the east, the fourth buoy in the south, and the boat ramp to the west — and we would find that exact spot. The three points of reference created a triangle.

Now days we don’t work so hard. The honey-hole is marked in our GPS and we can go right to it. The reason the GPS works so well is not because a signal from one satellite is locating us, but there are signals from at least three. The GPS uses the same principle of triangulation.

So now back to us hearing God’s voice. How many points of reference are you using to determine His instructions to you?

God speaks to us through the Holy Spirit dwelling inside of us, through His Word, through circumstances, and through other believers. All though through each source of His voice we can know all we need to know, it can be easy to misinterpret. But if we are consistently allowing multiple avenues in which for His voice to speak into our lives, when they line up we can be certain we are hearing clearly.

Each day as I have my “quiet time” with the Lord I don’t rely on just one avenue, but I try to allow for triangulation. I have a prayer journal in which I write my morning prayer and I write down what I feel the Spirit may be speaking to me. I also list circumstances that I believe may be important in determining His Will. So that is the point of reference of the Holy Spirit’s guidance.

During my morning quiet time I read a portion of Scripture. This is a point of reference from His Word. I also try to find a reading plan that someone else has designed that way each day’s reading is objective. If left to me to pick passages I am going to consistently go to Jeremiah 29:11 and dream of that next book contract.

I also do one or two devotional type study books. This I refer to as my teacher point of reference. I am letting God use a teacher to speak into my life. I try to do two such books at a time. I like to have one that is more inspirational and then one that is more doctrine focused. I say a fun one and a boring one.

You may say all this is over kill, but by having usually four avenues for God to speak into my life if they all line up in some way then I feel with certainty I am hearing correctly. Now they don’t always line up, but when they do — triangulation works and I better understand God’s instruction.