Haddon Robinson, in Decision Making by the Book
:If we think about it, peace cannot be the proof that we’re in God’s will. If ever anyone was in God’s will, it was our Lord Jesus Christ. But the Bible tells us that just before His crucifixion, Jesus, sweat great drops of blood. With strong cries and tears He asked that, if possible, this cup be taken from Him (Luke 22:41-44). At that moment Jesus fulfilled the will of His Father in Heaven, but if these are the marks of a man at peace, it’s certainly a strange kind of peace.
Look at a contrasting example. If ever anyone was out of God’s will, it was Jonah. God commanded Jonah to go to Ninevah, which was to the north and to the east. But Jonah, the reluctant prophet, immediately headed to the south and to the west, and boarded a ship sailing out into the Mediterranean. After the boat put out to sea, a tremendous storm arose, and the pagan sailors were terrified.
But Jonah didn’t worry – - he was asleep in the lower deck of the boat. He had peace, perfect peace, i the midst of the storm. Yet the prophet was completely out of the will of God. These accounts of Jesus and Jonah demonstrate that inner peace cannot signal whether or not we are in God’s will, Scripture simply does not hold up such a theory.(HT: Chris Brauns)
6 comments:
Great post.
You inspired me to upload an old satirical song my mate and I wrote years ago, just so I could share it with you:
http://andrewfinden.com/findothinks/2010/10/a-blast-from-the-past-wwje/
just to make it easier:
here's that link again
THANK YOU!!!! seriously HATE when people cop out because of "i have peace.."
Do you think though, that we confuse peace and confidence? In both cases Jesus and Jonah were confident in what they knew the Lord desired them to do, whether they liked it or not they still knew what they needed to do. The thing I would love to know is how were they able to discern the voice of the Lord to know how they should act (whether they obeyed as in the case of Jesus, or disobeyed as in the case of Jonah). I am facing life changing decisions now where I would love that clear guidance and direction whether it causes me "peace" or not. I don't know if it's because my heart is hard or if it's because I just need to jump in one of the directions, the Lord will do the rest?
Linds,
Yes, confidence is a big deal and that confidence comes from God's word mainly. The voice of the Lord usually comes through the Bible and if we know his word well then we'll know what his will is? Does this tell me where I should live, or who I should marry, or what kind of car I should drive? Not directly but it does give some reference to what type of person I want to marry in terms of character and where I might want to live in terms of mission, but God probably aint going to write an address in the sky.
Thus this is where freedom and faith come in. We are free to make decisions after much prayer, seeking counsel and fasting, knowing that God is working in us by his Spirit.
"Love God and do what you want", this is simplistic but not far from the truth. What do you want to do? If you are filled with God's word then you can't miss the mark. He is holding you. Move forward by faith!
z
With regard to your encouragement to Linds, I agree with you, especially your last paragraph. Initially when I read your post I wasn't sure I could agree with the way you made your point, but with your reply to Linds I with you. Commit your plans to the Lord and they will be established (Pr 16:3). That means you need to make plans first, using the God given wisdom you have.
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