I think one of the most difficult things that we as Christians have to discern is what God is speaking to us in certain directing-our-lives situations. I was speaking with an older, experienced pastor recently and he said something that struck me as a great bit of wisdom. He said that God’s clarity in direction tends to be equal to the amount of sacrifice He is asking from you. One good example is that of Joseph being directed to marry Mary even though he hadn’t gotten her pregnant. Normally, that is not something that would be a wise decision, to marry a girl you have been engaged to and not having sex with who suddenly is pregnant and has crazy excuses for it. And that was the situation from Joseph’s perspective. God spoke to him by sending an angel in his dream to specifically tell him to marry her. Another instance is Moses being sent back to Egypt. God spoke to him with a burning bush, because what God was asking of him was an incredible act of faith and in the world’s eyes, a very crazy thing to do, to go up to a king of a very powerful nation and command anything, let alone that he relinquish his slave work force. But God’s clarity in speaking to Moses was in direct proportion to how risky a venture God was asking him to partake in.
I would be the last to say that God is not going to call you to do something that will be costly or risky, but there are instances where people have had a good idea, or a crazy idea, and ascribed it to God, and then been devastated when God didn’t come through for them. I know of one couple that felt God telling them to sell all they had and move to another city and that He had something for them. When they got there, it didn’t work out at all and they ended up very hurt and disallusioned. If a certain venture is going to cause your family to suffer as well as you, then you need to be very sure it is God that is calling you to do it.
I appreciate this. I find that alot of what God tells me to do is at opposition to what the body of christ and family and pastors are telling me to do.
Like having my grown son living with me, he had just given his life to Christ and it was a rough two years of transformation and it wasn’t easy for either of us, but we both felt it was Gods will for him to live with me.
I often have God telling me to do something completely opposite to what the church or world says I should do.