Ephesians 5:17-21
“Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”
The mystical method of discerning God’s will is also dangerous because it makes a person vulnerable to misinterpreting and being misled by external factors and situations. Trying to interpret events and situations as indicators of God’s will is enormously subjective, especially in light of the fact that God has already spoken clearly in scripture.
Trying to evaluate situations as “closed doors” or “open doors” and therefore signs of God’s will is not what scripture teaches. Open doors are opportunities that the Lord gives us, but they are not signs of his will which we are obligated to obey.
Consider what Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 2:12-13: “When I came to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ, even though a door was opened for me in the Lord, my spirit was not at rest because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I took leave of them and went on to Macedonia.”
In other words, the Lord provided an opportunity (an open door), but Paul chose not to take it because he felt unsettled. Did Paul fail to obey God’s will? No, he simply made a different decision based on the circumstances.
Further, the mystical method is dangerous because it undermines the Spirit-driven process of renewing the mind. It weakens a Christian’s thinking and decision-making skills. When people abdicate personal responsibility for making decisions and opt instead for a subjective and mystical method of seeking signs from God, their ability to think atrophies and declines.
This works against the very process of mental renewal that is at the heart of Christian growth and maturity. The mystical method makes you spiritually weaker, not stronger.
A wise father teaches his children the basic principles of life. He teaches right and wrong, wisdom and foolishness. He trains his children to make their own decisions within those moral guidelines. He is overjoyed when he sees his children grow into mature adults who make wise decisions.
It is the same way with God our Father. Do we seek his guidance? Yes, and he provides that through the principles of scripture. Do we seek his wisdom? Yes, and he provides that through the presence of the Holy Spirit and the experience and insight of mature Christians in our lives.
Paul addresses our thinking skills in 1 Corinthians 14.20: “Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature.” This echoes the message in Ephesians 5: “Do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”
I fear that when it comes to God’s will, many Christians today are childish and foolish in their thinking.
God has given us scripture. He has given us a redeemed and renewed mind. He has given us the Holy Spirit. He has given us the fellowship of the saints. He has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. Let us then tap into these incredible resources and make wise, truth-directed decisions in order to walk in a way worthy of the calling to which we have been called.
“My son, keep my words and treasure up my commandments with you; keep my commandments and live; keep my teaching as the apple of your eye; bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart.” (Proverbs 7.1-3)
“Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” (Psalm 119.105)
Here is a link to Amy Grant singing this great Psalm:
