As disciples of Jesus Christ we want to live by faith everyday. But the Bible does not speak directly to many mundane "everyday" issues and questions.

For example, a lady that took our Bible Correspondence Course asked this question: "How do I know what God wants me to do if He won't tell me?" She continued by acknowledging that she already knows that God wants her to "witness, help churches, pray and fast, and the things in the Bible", but other than that, how do we know what He wants us to do?

I know what she means. She was asking how does she determine what God wants her to do on a daily basis as decisions of life are to be made. How does one who is living by faith answer questions by that faith such as "Does He want me to take this new job opportunity, or remain where I am?" "I want to donate some time and energy to a worthy cause - which one would He prefer that I help?" "Should I let junior play Little League, or soccer, or both, or neither?"

While the Scripture does not specifically answer every conceivable question, it does provide help to us in finding the right, and even best, answers. In order to live by faith, we must know God's word (Hebrews 5:11-14). When we give the word of God the degree of importance that it deserves in our lives, then all of our thoughts, decisions and activities will be influenced by the desire to please the Lord first. Our decision making processes will be enhanced, and we will grow spiritually, grow in our discernment, and be a blessing to our loved ones.

Men and women of faith revere, love, and have confidence in the Lord (Proverbs 9:10-12; 1 John 5:3-4; 1 John 5:13). So, in every decision, the priorities of the Lord are kept as our own. So, for example, to a questions such as "does the Lord want me to take that new job or stay with the one I already have?" there are a lot of criteria to consider. For example, one making such a decision might ask the following questions:

"Does it pay more?" "Does it require anything of me that will be a disadvantage to my spiritual growth and duties?" "Does it have better hours?" "Does it require me to disobey the law of Christ?" "Does it have good benefits?" "Will I still be able to be present in my home to take care of my responsibilities to my family?" "Is there potential for advancement and promotion?" "Will it become necessary for me to neglect some aspect of my responsibilities to the local church?"

Which of the questions should be asked first? A worldly person's priorities will have him rating the relative importance of these questions differently from the godly person's arrangement. Faith will simply cause one to put the questions in the right order as the decision is being made.

A mature faith also means choosing the best when deciding between two good choices. The most difficult choices for those who love God are not the choices between good and evil, but between two good things. Sometimes choosing a good thing can be the wrong choice if there was a better choice that needed to be made (Luke 10:40-42). Having the word implanted will help us choose the excellent over the merely good for our families and ourselves. (1 Peter 2:9-10; 12).

By Jon W. Quinn
The Final Page
From Expository Files 14.5; May 2007

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