The Value of Garbage is Still Zero (Part 3)
Thy will be done
The Lord’s prayer offers insight for the bewildered saint who is struggling for answers, for it offers hope of clear vision through clouds of personal interests and biases. This clear vision can be found when we fall to our knees with a heart that cries “thy will be done.” The cry relinquishes all personal control, transfers it wholly to the Father, and submits to His sovereignty, which is an act of faith in His goodness coupled with a distrust of self’s ability to perceive things clearly. God’s will then engulfs our own and nails self to the cross to die.
Be Thou My Vision
Then we see, and we can at last trust in the Lord with all our heart, not leaning on our own understanding, but following the straight path of His will. Only humility paired with faith will lead us to this straight path found on the stones of surrender that break the heart of its arrogant attempts to trust its own vision.
Approaching God’s Word
This surrendered attitude leads us to come to God’s Word in communion seeking His will instead of coming to the Bible as a self-help reference book of proof texts useful for justifying our fleshly desires. If these fleshly desires are willing to be counted as rubbish if God labels them so, then we are free to read His Word more objectively in search for guidance. Our difficult decision will not suddenly become easy, yet the Truth can shine light to enable us to discern rubbish from treasure. All that glitter is not gold. In low light, tin foil gum wrappers gleam. Oh how we need our righteousness to be brought forth like the light as we walk a path committed to the Lord. As we walk that path, God’s Word is the appropriate nourishment for for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil .
2 Tactics for decision making
Because we believe God’s Word holds the key to spiritual discernment, we will use tactics based on Scripture when endeavoring to separate rubbish from treasure.
1. Seek God in the quiet. Since it is difficult to hear the Holy Spirit through the noise- audible or mental- that busyness creates, it is best if we will slow down and be still before God. To-do lists sitting on the desk, music blaring from the iPod, deadlines pulling us into a rush, inboxes overflowing with email, texts that demand a response, and our many other activities add to the busyness and keep us from ever having an uninterrupted moment to meditate in quiet wonder upon the glory of God. Yet God promises wisdom to those who will come before Him and make their request. Another Biblical idea that I am still exploring is seeking God in His sanctuary, literally. In Psalm 73:16-17, things become clear in God’s sanctuary. It was also where Hezekiah went to seek the Lord after receiving a difficult letter from the King of Assyria. The letter was laid before God on the temple steps, and God guided Hezekiah (Anyone have thoughts on that? I will try to explore it more, and maybe even give it a try next time I face a difficult decision).
2. Seek wise counsel. We are in a position of weakness whenever our heart is in the matter. Because we can be easily deceived and hardened by sin, we must go to someone who is willing to be honest with us. Qualities to look for in our counselor are spiritual insight, a gift of discernment, a strong relationship with God, and knowledge of the Bible. It is spiritual arrogance to believe we can find the answer from the inside without help from the body. Sure, we might find the answer alone, but two can stand stronger and a three-fold cord is not easily broken.
The bottom line
We need spiritual discernment, not a cookie-cutter 3-step solution for dealing with difficult spiritual decisions that the heart has tangled with justifications and excuses. For example: “Is the Lord telling me to give up my lawful, yet unprofitable rubbish?” Spiritual discernment to know the difference between unprofitable rubbish (even if lawful) and profitable treasure is developed by feeding on God’s Word. The question ought to be brought before God in the quiet, and before a brother or sister in Christ who advise me from outside the tangle.
One last note
Let’s give God room to work His will. We must listen to what He wants to say, not only what we want to hear. The answer may hurt or break us, plowing up follow ground in order for the rain of righteousness to pour down. We may feel insecure and helpless in the fact of vast uncertainty, as Abram might have felt when God called Him to leave his home and go to a land untold.
What would these principles look like in practice?
In the next post in this series, we will dissect a difficult decision, a recent story of God breaking my own heart and revealing sin. We can see what went wrong, and what worked. We will see that my story is not a story of my faithfulness, but of God’s faithfulness in spite of my lack.
What are your thoughts? What has helped you sort out difficult decisions?
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Related posts:
- The Value of Garbage is Still Zero (Part 2)
- The value of garbage is still zero
- Once a stock trader – The Value of Garbage is Still Zero (Part 4)
Hey Daniel,
Thanks for this careful discussion guided by God’s Word. As I study Scripture more, searching for understanding and wisdom to APPLY what I learn, it is very helpful to use these types of posts as direction for Bible study and soul searching. Writing/reading has been something I personally question as not being unlawful but perhaps unprofitable for my relationship with God for two reasons: (1) I love to read and can easily fall into reading for pleasure or for a momentary intellectual exercise rather than using it as a way to enrich my soul and actually seek CHANGE within myself and (2) my focus in college, career, and free time is writing, and sometimes it can be a distraction or a source of pride. I continue to question this and try to balance how much time I devote to these activities and how I use them in my life. According to my current understanding through prayer and study, reading, with seeking God in mind, is very helpful because as you remind us here, seeking wise counsel is one way in which we can grow closer in our walk with Christ. Writing is a way for me to explore my own thoughts and make them coherent as well as a way for me to give back a gift that God gave me, which I have not always used for His glory.
Since so many of your comments here remind me of God’s truth and help me see it more clearly, I won’t go into them all, but one of these that stood out to me most is this: “Only humility paired with faith will lead us to this straight path found on the stones of surrender that break the heart of its arrogant attempts to trust its own vision.” And, of course, the points with which you open and close this post are what seeking God hinges on: crying to God “Thy will be done” and making space for that to happen. Well brought together point!
As circumstances in my life have changed and as most of the brothers and sisters in Christ whom I knew in college or elsewhere have drifted out of my life, much of my counsel and fellowship with the Body happens on-line. I am constantly wondering what I should do about that and asking God to lead me in this, but in the mean time, He has introduced to me some very special brothers and sisters to consult with and learn from. Thanks for being one of those.
Ruth,
The issue of online accountability vs. in-person accountability and fellowship is important. We’d probably all agree that in-person, face-to-face relationships are preferable, but not always possible. Having walked where you walk, I can sympathize with you (and will before His throne in prayer for you), and can appreciate the work God is doing in your life with the online community.
Do you have a church that you attend?
Yes, face-to-face relationships are definitely preferable for many reasons!! Thank you so much for praying for me in this matter; it’s one of the many areas in which I need guidance right now. The simplest answer to your question is “no, not right now.” The church I grew up in closed; I heartily miss it, but the memories are special. After being in a very personal, unique church, I was surprised to be ushered into circles in which “church” didn’t look very different from the world and where fellowship with “church people” distracts me from focusing on God as much as interaction with other people. Seeking an assembly of believers has been an odd combination of learning not to judge others’ spiritual walk, desiring an authentic group of people to help me in this healing/growing process, and wanting to belong but remembering to look for where God wants me to be, not where I want to be. It’s been a bumpy road… Thank you for your prayers!