As Christians sometimes we come across hard decisions we have to make, and start to look else where, rather than just user what God has given us (namely, a bible and a brain).
Or even more confusing could be that we receive “signs” or “dreams” from “God”, and don’t know what to make of them..

Well here is a simple explanation of what God wants for us.

God’s will for us is very simple indeed, and the Bible is quite clear on what it is.
Colosians 1:26-27
the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Hebrews 1:1-2
In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.

Ephesians 1:9-10
And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ. (even Christ == Christ is that head)

Basically (from the passages above) God’s will for us is to become Christians.
It is that simple.
Once we have become Christians, we must aim to become more “Christ like” in everything we do.

God’s will is as follows :
If you are not a Christian : become one (through his sovereign grace of course).
If you are a Christian :  Glorify God (What is the chief end of man? Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever)
Or in Jesus’ own words :
Mark 8:34 :
Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

That is why we have the bible today.. That is why we must read and study it. If we don’t, how can we ever Glorify God, when we don’t know how to?
So then what about dreams/visions/the sense that God is telling me something?

Well, again.. Lets look at the Bible :
As we have already seen : God’s will is for us to bring glory and honour to his name by picking up our cross and following in Jesus’ footsteps (by the way, this doesn’t mean to become like Jesus. We can’t do that, we can only strive to live like him.)

Within the boundaries of “Living for Christ”  we are actually  free to do as we please. Obviously there will be choices one must make.
Like choosing between spending a year at home after school, or going to bible college for a year.  Obviously choosing the latter is better in terms of growing in Christ. But the first option is not necessarily wrong!

Or what about choosing a girl friend..What does the Bible say about this? Well God is very clear on this..
Can’t be related, must not be married, isn’t of the same sex and is a Christian (though is more advised than a rule.. But still strongly advised, and I would rather be safe and see it as a “rule” ).

Within these boundaries we are free to choose any female we want too..
The rest really comes down to personal taste.

What if we think God is trying to tell us something.. Well, go to the bible and see if it adds up.
Lets first look at the bible’s examples of dream and visions.

Look at Daniel, every time there was a dream. He interpreted it. (God supplied the dream, and the interpretation)
The same goes for Joseph. He had visions + dreams, and God would allow him to interpret it.
Both of these cases God gave them the “power” to interpret these dreams. It wasn’t by there own power but by God’s.
In both these cases God also used these dreams NOT for their own benefit, but for the benefit of Israel, his nation.

When God spoke to Moses at the burning bush.. God wasn’t telling him.. “Hey Moses.. tomorrow you have to wear a blue toga, and matching sandals.” No, God was telling him how he is going to save HIS people through Moses… and not how he was going to save Moses’.

From these examples we can see that when God did speak people, through dreams or through some other means he did it because he was looking after His nation.
This was because they did not yet know the mystery of God. Like Hebrews 1:1-2 says.
But, we now know the mystery of God, it is Christ.

I would say that the reason people now claim to receive messages from God (in tongues, dreams or otherwise) can be a couple of reasons.. (here are some)
1) The person no longer reads the Bible, doesn’t understand the purpose of God’s will. No longer gets spiritual milk that allows them to grow in Christ (attending Church etc),
and so start adding ideas about God, without backing it up with scripture.

2) A person is looking for answers, and when no answer is given (or the right answer is given but is ignored because they don’t want to hear it), they start looking for answers else    where. The subconscious can very easily create a “dream” supplying you with the “right” answer (though maybe not biblically right) because deep down, that is really the answer the person has been looking for. Again, the Bible is placed to one side, no cross checking takes place.

3) Demonic intervention, trying to take you away from God . (though this extreme, there is no reason why Satan can’t send you “signs” through others.) But again, because we don’t cross check with the Bible, we end up believing in these signs and dreams. Instead of just getting on with living our lives for Christ.

Basically, what I’m saying is this :
God wants you to be a Christian. If you are one, then he wants you to follow in his Son’s footsteps. To do this we need to CONSTANTLY read our Bible’s so that we can know how to do this. When we have to make a difficult decision, we can check the bible.. (in context of course) If the bible has no clear answer on the topic (say, maybe what career path to take).. We can choose what we want..

You can break down our daily choices to 3 sections :
Right/ Wrong (these are choices the bible is quite clear on.. No thinking required.. Just obey, and pray for strength)
Wise / Unwise (these are choices that require a bit of thinking, prayer, and further bible study. Also speak to others around you.)
Who cares : these are everyday choices we make that really don’t require any kind of biblical application (like breakfast :p )

 

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