It is usually no problem to make decisions in the little things of life such as whether I’ll brush my teeth in the morning or not or whether I’ll eat cereal or yogurt for breakfast, but what about the big decisions of life? You know the decisions like who to marry, where to live, whether to have a child or not, whether to buy the house or not, whether to accept the job offer or not. Those can be lifechanging decisions that will alter the trajectory of your life. So, how do you go about making those kind of big decisions?
In Bible times in Israel they cast lots, which no one knows for sure what that looked like. For example the early church drew lots to determine who would be the 12th apostle to take Judas Iscariot’s place (Acts 1:29). They prayed and the Lord honored the drawing of lots by choosing Matthias. Were lots different colored stones? Were they different length sticks? No one knows for sure. Also remember the High Priest of Israel? In his priestly garments he had a pouch attached to the breastplate containing the Urim and Thummim (Exodus 28:29, 30). Evidently the Urim and Thummim were used by the High Priest to discern God’s will. Again, no one knows what they were or how they were used by the High Priest to discern God’s will. We assume that they were a black stone and a white stone and if something was the Lord’s will, the High Priest would draw the white stone. If not the Lord’s will, the black stone, but to be honest we don’t know and we’re left to speculate.
Since we don’t have lots or Urim and Thummim, how can Christians in the 21st Century know the will of God? Would that there was only one way to know the will of God but the Bible affirms several ways.
1. In Acts 13:2, 3, the Holy Spirit used prayer and fasting by the leadership of the early church to choose Paul and Barnabas. So, prayer and fasting is certainly one of the ways to discern God’s will.
2. A second method is dreams and visions. At the birth of Christ Jesus, God used dreams to alert Joseph of Herod’s murderous plot to kill all the babies in and around Bethlehem (Matt. 2:13, 19, 22). It is my experience that this method is pretty rare. God typically uses other methods to alert us to His will for our lives.
3. A third method is 2-3 wise, older counselors who know you. Counselors have the advantage of having known you and your strengths and weaknesses. The Bible says that “Without consultation plans are frustrated but with many counselors they succeed” (Proverbs 15:22, 11:14). I specify 2-3 counselors because too many voices simply confuse, plus the Bible affirms that 2-3 witnesses confirm every fact (2 Corinthians 13:1).
4. A fourth method is prophetic utterance. In Acts 21:10-12, Agabus, a prophet in the early church, takes Paul’s belt and binds his hands and feet with it. He declares that the owner of this belt will be bound in Jerusalem. Like dreams and visions, this method is rare.
5. A fifth method is through the written Word of God, the Bible. In its pages are instructions for how to live life. No, it doesn’t address specific situations but it gives the principles and values necessary to make wise, godly decisions (2 Timothy 3:16, 17).
Okay, Irv, you’ve given us 5 methods for discerning God’s will. How do you and Elsie determine God’s will for your lives in the big issues? We pray and fast. Then we ask a “yes” or “no” question about the decision (i.e. should we move to Florida?). Once we’ve asked the question then we write our answer on a 3x5 card. Because the Bible says a husband and wife are one (Genesis 2:24), we should match. If we don’t, we simply pray and fast until we are both on the same page.
Irv