Does God Give Specific Directions?

Memory verse: He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God. (John 8:47)

A common teaching today claims that God does not give you clear instructions. Instead, He merely sets your life in motion, and you try to figure out the directions, using your God-given mind. For these people, freedom to choose is the highest good. This implies that a Christian always thinks correctly and according to God’s will. It doesn’t take into account that the old nature constantly battles with the spiritual nature. Our ways are not God’s ways (see Isaiah 55:8). Only God can give you the kind of specific directions to accomplish His purposes in His ways. From God’s perspective, doing His will is the highest good and results in the greatest joy. 

After God spoke to Noah about building an ark, Noah knew its size, the type of materials to use, and the way to put it together. When God spoke to Moses about building the tabernacle, He was extremely specific about the details. When God walked on the earth in the Person of Jesus Christ, He gave specific directions to His disciples: where to go, what to do, how to respond, and what to say.

What about when God called Abraham and said, “go to the land I will show you (Genesis 12:1)? That was not very specific. That required faith. But God did say, “I will show you”. God always gives you enough specific directions to do what He wants you to do now. When you need more directions, He gives you more in His timing. God later told Abraham about the son to be born to him, the number of his descendants, the territory they would inhabit, and that they would go into bondage and eventually be delivered.

The Holy Spirit gives clear directions today. Because God is personal, He wants to be intimately involved in your life. Therefore, He will give you clear guidance for living. You may say, “that has not been my experience.” Base your understanding of God on Scripture, not on your personal experience or lack of it.

Think about the suggestions in the following paragraph that will help you look to God for direction in your life

If you do not have clear instructions from God in a matter, pray and wait. Learn patience. Depend on God’s timing, which is always right and best. Don’t get in a hurry. He may withhold directions to cause you to seek Him more intently. Don’t try to skip over the relationship to start doing something. God is more interested in a love relationship with you than He is in what you can do for Him. If God is having you wait, He may want to develop a deeper relationship with you before He gives you your next assignment. He may have you wait because the timing is not yet right.