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Scripture speaks of God's will in two ways. His revealed will is what he has already told us plainly and is not in doubt: , love, gratitude, obedience. His hidden will concerns the future and is not given to us in advance. The Bible directs almost all its attention to the first, and it teaches us to make wise decisions inside it rather than to decode secret guidance.
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God's answer first
God has already spoken about his will. Read that first, because most of what we want to know is answered there.
The passage that answers this
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When God says what he requires, he names justice, mercy and humble walking rather than a career or a city. Most of God's will is already published and not private.
Read these with it
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A renewed mind proves what God's will is. Guidance comes through a transformed way of thinking rather than a sign in the sky.
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This is the will of God, your . Scripture states God's will directly more often than we admit.
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Why we ask this
The question usually arrives attached to a decision: a job, a person, a city, a course. It feels urgent, and it often carries a fear of getting it wrong in a way that cannot be repaired.
Underneath it is a good instinct. A Christian wants their life to be spent well and not wasted. That instinct is worth honouring rather than dismissing.
But Scripture reframes the question. It says far more about the kind of person you are becoming than about which of two good options to choose, and that shift is a relief rather than a disappointment.
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Historical context
- Written by
- The prophet Micah, an eighth century BC prophet from a small town in Judah
- Written to
- The people of Judah, who were bringing elaborate sacrifices while neglecting justice and mercy in their daily dealings
- Written because
- Micah answers a hypothetical worshiper who is asking with what he should come before the LORD, escalating from calves to rivers of oil to his own firstborn son
Micah 6 is written as a courtroom scene. God has a controversy with his people, and the chapter opens with and hills called as witnesses. Verses 6 and 7 put words in the mouth of an anxious worshiper who assumes God's will must be secured through bigger and costlier , ending with the horrifying suggestion of child sacrifice.
Verse 8 is God's answer to that entire escalation, and it is strikingly plain. He has shewed you, O man, what is good. The prophet is not announcing something new. He is reminding Judah of what the law already required, at a time when the nation had buried that requirement under religious performance.
Reading the verse in this setting changes how it should be used today. It was never meant to answer questions like which job to take or whom to marry. It was spoken to people trying to buy God's favor with religion while ignoring justice, mercy and humility in ordinary life. That is still the most common way people miss God's will, by looking for it somewhere elaborate when it has already been shown plainly.
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Verse by verse
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The imagined worshiper begins reasonably, with the actual the law prescribed. The question sounds sincere, but its direction is already wrong, treating God's will as something to be purchased rather than obeyed.
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The escalation reveals the logic underneath the question. If bigger are the answer, then the biggest possible sacrifice, a child, should surely settle it. Micah lets the absurdity of that logic expose itself before God answers.
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God's answer bypasses the entire sacrificial escalation. What he requires was already shown, not hidden, and it concerns character and conduct rather than the size of an . This is the closest thing in Scripture to a summary of what God's will looks like in daily life.
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Paul locates the knowing of God's will inside a transformed mind rather than a special revelation. A person shaped by the gospel becomes able to recognize God's will as it is encountered, much as Micah 6:8 assumes.
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Paul states plainly what God's will is in this instance, and it concerns of life rather than a life decision. Much of what Scripture calls God's will is moral and already revealed, not hidden and waiting to be discovered.
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James promises wisdom to the one who asks, not a specific answer to every particular decision. Wisdom is the category Scripture actually offers for the choices Micah 6:8 does not directly address.
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What Scripture says
God's will is stated plainly where it matters most
This is the will of God, even your . Whenever the New Testament says explicitly this is the will of God, it is describing character rather than circumstance. Sanctification here, thanksgiving in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, and doing good in 1 Peter 2:15.
Guidance comes through a renewed mind, not a sign
Be you transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Paul's mechanism for discerning God's will is a mind reshaped by Scripture, and it follows a chapter about presenting your body as a living . Surrender comes before clarity.
Wisdom is offered generously and is meant to be used
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that gives to all men liberally. Notice what is promised. Not an answer, but wisdom. God's usual method is to make you wiser rather than to make the decision for you.
Counsel is a normal means of guidance
In the multitude of counsellors they are established. Scripture treats mature advice as one of God's ordinary instruments. Guidance in the Bible is far more communal than our private search for a personal sign.
Paul's own plans changed and he was not scolded for making them
He was forbidden to preach in Asia and then redirected to Macedonia. But he was travelling with a plan when it happened. Scripture shows God steering people who are already moving. Being redirected is not evidence of having disobeyed.
Hidden things belong to God
The secret things belong to the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong to us. This is the single most clarifying verse on the subject. There is information God keeps, and our is confined to what he has said.
Plans are to be held with humility, not anxiety
You ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. James does not forbid planning. He forbids planning as though we were sovereign, which is a matter of posture rather than method.
God works out his purpose even through our errors
All things work together for good to them that love God. This means a wrong turn does not put you outside God's reach. The doctrine of providence is the reason a Christian can decide without terror.
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The words behind the question
thelema
The word used in your will be done and in this is the will of God. It refers both to what God has decreed and to what he from us, which is why careful readers distinguish the two senses rather than blending them.
dokimazo
Romans 12:2 uses this verb for discerning God's will. It was used of assaying metal. Discernment in Paul's vocabulary is a skill of testing, developed over time, not a moment of supernatural download.
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Cross references
God's will already revealed in moral terms
Justice, mercy and humility are named as what the LORD requires, already shown rather than hidden.
is stated directly as the will of God, a matter of holiness rather than a hidden decision.
Giving thanks in everything is called the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning believers.
Doing well is described as the will of God, aimed at silencing the ignorance of foolish men.
Wisdom sought rather than a script demanded
Wisdom is promised liberally to the one who asks in faith.
Trusting the LORD rather than leaning on one's own understanding is the path to directed paths.
Plans fail without counsel, but in the multitude of counsellors they are established.
Paul prays for the Colossians to be filled with the knowledge of God's will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.
Guidance given through providence, not always through voices
Paul's team was forbidden and then not suffered by the Spirit to go into certain regions, guided by closed doors.
The secret things belong to the LORD, but the revealed things belong to us and our children, marking the limit of what we are owed.
God promises to instruct and teach in the way we should go, and to guide with his eye.
A man's heart devises his way, but the LORD directs his steps.
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Common misunderstandings
God has one specific plan and you might miss it
This fear is not taught in Scripture. Deuteronomy 29:29 assigns the secret things to God. Romans 8:28 means a sincere wrong turn is absorbed into his purpose rather than derailing it.
Wait for a feeling of peace before deciding
Peace is a fruit of the Spirit and it is not a decision-making instrument. Paul went to Jerusalem knowing bonds awaited him, against the tearful advice of friends. Sometimes obedience feels like dread.
Look for signs and open doors
Gideon asked for a fleece and the narrative frames it as weak faith, not as a model. An open door in the New Testament describes opportunity for the Gospel, not confirmation of a preference.
Open the Bible at random and read what you find
This treats Scripture as an oracle rather than as revelation. Romans 12:2 asks for a mind renewed by whole books, which is slower and far more reliable.
God's will is whatever makes you happiest
Sometimes it overlaps, and Scripture never makes personal fulfilment the test. Jonah's assignment was unwelcome and it was still God's will.
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Things most readers miss
Every explicit this is the will of God statement is about character
Search the phrase in the New Testament and it consistently concerns , thanksgiving and doing good. Not one instance concerns a career or a location. That distribution is the answer to the question.
Romans 12:2 comes after Romans 12:1
Presenting your body as a living precedes proving God's will. Guidance in Paul's argument is downstream of surrender. Many people want the direction while withholding the sacrifice.
The apostles cast lots once, and then never again
Acts 1 records lots before Pentecost. After the Spirit comes, decisions are made through prayer, Scripture, discussion and consensus, as in Acts 15. The New Testament's method for guidance matures.
God's guidance in Acts is usually a closed door before an open one
Paul is forbidden Asia and Bithynia before Macedonia is offered. Being stopped is one of the primary ways Scripture shows God directing people, which means a shut door is guidance and not rejection.
Psalm 23 says he leads, not that he shows you the map
metaphor assumes the sheep sees the next step and not the route. Guidance in Scripture is companionship rather than a briefing.
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Someone in Scripture faced this too
These are people who wanted certainty about direction and were given something else instead.
Gideon, asking for one more sign
What he or she went through
Gideon had already heard from the angel of the Lord and still asked twice for a fleece. He was frightened and wanted proof he could hold.
How God responded
God gave him the signs he asked for, patiently, and then whittled his army down so the victory could not be credited elsewhere.
What we learn
God is gentle with people who need reassurance, and he also works to move them from signs to trust in his word.
Paul, redirected twice on one journey
What he or she went through
Paul planned to preach in Asia and then in Bithynia, and was prevented both times. His good plans were closed doors, with no explanation given at the time.
How God responded
God gave him a vision of a man of Macedonia, and the gospel entered Europe. The closed doors were part of the guidance.
What we learn
A blocked plan is not necessarily a wrong plan. Paul kept moving while unclear, and clarity came on the way rather than before he set out.
Mary, told what would happen and not why
What he or she went through
She was given news that would cost her reputation and rearrange her whole life, and she was told very little about how it would go.
How God responded
Gabriel gave her one promise, that nothing spoken by God is impossible, and Mary answered by calling herself the Lord's servant.
What we learn
Knowing God's will is often given as a next step plus a promise about God's character. That is enough to obey with.
How it points to Christ
Mary's yes carried the Saviour. The will of God for her life turned out to be the will of God for the world.
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Christ and this question
The will of God has a face and a pattern
Jesus said his food was to do the will of him that sent him. The clearest picture of a life lived inside God's will is not a set of decisions that went well. It is a person who obeyed daily, was often misunderstood, and was killed for it.
In Gethsemane he prayed nevertheless not my will, but your, be done. That prayer is the whole answer in miniature. Guidance in Christianity is not a technique for finding a preferred outcome. It is the surrender of preference to a good Father.
This also means the question shifts. Being conformed to the image of Christ is explicitly named as God's purpose in Romans 8:29. Whatever job or city or season serves that end is not a wasted one.
And because Christ obeyed perfectly, your imperfect discernment is not held against you. You are guided by a Father who has already accepted you in the Son.
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What to do with this
Obey what is already clear
Deal with the parts of God's will you already know. Scripture rarely gives new direction to someone ignoring the direction already given.
Rule out anything Scripture forbids
Most decisions get much simpler here. God does not lead people into sin, so anything requiring dishonesty or the breaking of a vow is settled before it starts.
Pray for wisdom rather than for an answer
James 1:5 promises exactly that. Then use the wisdom, which means thinking hard rather than waiting passively.
Ask three mature Christians who know you
Not for permission, for perspective. Proverbs treats multiple counsellors as the ordinary path to a sound decision.
Weigh the ordinary factors honestly
Gifting, opportunity, family, finances, church, and your own history. These are not unspiritual. They are the materials God gave you to reason with.
Decide, and hold it with an open hand
Say if the Lord will, then move. Paul planned and was redirected. A decision made prayerfully and revised later is not disobedience.
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Study the question further
Does God have one specific plan for my life?
Scripture teaches that God is sovereign over every detail and that he has not given us the details in advance. His revealed will is clear and binding. His hidden will is his business, and Deuteronomy 29:29 tells us to leave it there.
Deuteronomy 29:29
'The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us.' Moses draws a clean line between what God has disclosed and what he has kept, and assigns responsibility only to the first category.
Proverbs 16:9
'A man's heart devises his way: but the LORD directs his steps.' The verse assumes a person planning honestly while God governs the outcome, which is the ordinary pattern of guidance rather than an exception to it.
Jeremiah 29:11
'I know the thoughts that I think toward you... thoughts of peace, and not of evil.' Spoken to exiles about a seventy-year captivity, the promise of a good plan did not remove the long, hard wait. Good purpose and present difficulty coexisted.
How to apply this today
- Are you anxious about a secret detail God has not promised to reveal, rather than acting on what he has already made clear?
- What has God already stated plainly, in Micah 6:8 or elsewhere, that you are avoiding while you wait for more direction?
Father, thank you that the secret things belong to you and the revealed things belong to me. Free me from chasing a future you have not promised to show. Let me obey what I already know instead of stalling for more information.
How do I hear God's voice?
Primarily through Scripture, which is called the word of God without qualification. The Spirit works through the word, through prayer, through the counsel of the church and through providence. Any impression should be tested against the Bible rather than above it.
2 Timothy 3:16
'All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine... for instruction in righteousness.' Paul names Scripture as the reliable, sufficient source for teaching a person how to live, in contrast to private impressions.
1 Thessalonians 5:21
'Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.' Even genuine spiritual experiences are to be tested rather than accepted automatically, which is the New Testament's consistent posture toward guidance that claims to come from God.
John 10:27
'My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.' In context this follows Jesus teaching about the Good Shepherd; hearing his voice is tied to following his teaching, not to receiving separate private messages.
How to apply this today
- Are you weighing an impression against Scripture, or letting the impression override it?
- How much of your search for God's voice has actually involved reading his word carefully?
Lord, teach me to hear you chiefly through your word rather than through private signs. Test whatever I sense against Scripture, and give me the patience to let your word shape my mind rather than my feelings shape my theology.
What if I make the wrong choice?
Romans 8:28 exists for exactly that fear. Scripture is full of people who chose poorly and were still used. God's purposes are not fragile enough to be broken by a sincere mistake.
Romans 8:28
'All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.' The verse does not say every choice is good, but that God weaves even mistaken ones into his purpose for those who belong to him.
- Abraham and Sarah
- Their attempt to secure the promised son through Hagar was a genuine wrong turn, born of impatience rather than faith. God still kept his covenant with Isaac, the child of promise, and did not abandon Abraham because of the detour, though the consequences of that choice were real and lasting.
How to apply this today
- Which past decision are you still punishing yourself for, as though it had put you beyond God's reach?
- Does Romans 8:28 change how you are weighing the decision in front of you now?
Father, thank you that even my sincere mistakes are not stronger than your purpose. Free me from the fear of getting this wrong beyond repair. Whatever I choose, weave it together for good as you have promised.
Should I wait for peace before I decide?
Peace is worth praying for and it is not the test. Paul went to Jerusalem expecting imprisonment. Sometimes the right decision arrives with dread rather than calm, and sometimes calm accompanies a comfortable mistake.
Philippians 4:7
'The peace of God... shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.' Peace is promised as a guard for the heart during a decision, following prayer and thanksgiving, but it is not presented anywhere in Scripture as the mechanism for making the decision itself.
- Paul
- The prophet Agabus warns Paul plainly that bonds and affliction await him in Jerusalem, and the disciples weep and beg him not to go. Paul answers 'I am ready... to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus,' and goes anyway. His decision was not accompanied by ease of feeling, only by settled conviction.
How to apply this today
- Have you been waiting for a feeling of peace as though it were proof, rather than praying for it as a promised guard?
- Could the right decision here actually come with dread rather than calm, as it did for Paul?
Lord, I ask for your peace to guard my heart, not to make my decision for me. Give me settled conviction like Paul's, even if it does not come with ease of feeling. Let me choose by wisdom and obedience rather than by mood.
Is it wrong to make plans?
No. Proverbs commends forethought, and Paul planned journeys constantly. James 4 corrects the arrogance of planning as though we controlled the outcome, not the act of planning itself.
Proverbs 21:5
'The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness.' Planning and diligence are commended directly, in contrast to hastiness, which the same verse says leads 'to want.'
James 4:13-15
James quotes a merchant's confident travel plans, then corrects the posture rather than the planning itself: 'you ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.' The correction is for arrogance, not for having an itinerary.
How to apply this today
- Are you holding your plans with the humility of 'if the Lord will,' or with quiet certainty that you control the outcome?
- What plan do you need to keep making, simply with a more open hand?
Father, if you will, let me do what I am planning, and if not, redirect me kindly. Keep me diligent rather than passive, and humble rather than presumptuous. Teach me to plan without pretending I am sovereign.
How did the early church make decisions without direct revelation every time?
By prayer, discussion of Scripture, and consensus reached together, which is the pattern shown at the Jerusalem council. This became the ordinary means of guidance for the church after Pentecost rather than casting lots or waiting for visions.
- The Jerusalem council
- Facing a genuine dispute about Gentile believers and the law, the apostles and elders 'came together for to consider of this matter,' heard testimony, examined Scripture through James's citation of Amos, and reached a decision they described as seeming good 'to the Holy Ghost, and to us.' The Spirit's guidance came through a deliberative process involving many people, not a single private word.
How to apply this today
- Are you trying to decide this alone when Scripture's normal pattern is prayer and counsel together?
- Who could you bring this decision to, the way the apostles brought theirs to the whole council?
Lord, thank you that you guide your church through prayer, Scripture and one another, not only through private certainty. Give me the humility to seek counsel rather than deciding in isolation. Let your Spirit lead through the ordinary means you have provided.
What is the difference between God's revealed will and his secret will?
His revealed will is what Scripture states plainly he wants from every believer, such as and honesty, and it is never in doubt. His secret will is his sovereign plan for the unseen future, and it is deliberately withheld from us until it happens.
Revealed will is moral and universal
1 Thessalonians 4:3 says 'this is the will of God, even your .' It applies to every believer identically and requires obedience, not discovery.
Secret will is sovereign and particular
Ephesians 1:11 describes God as one 'who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will.' This will governs history and individual lives but is disclosed only as it unfolds, which is why Scripture never tells us to search for it in advance.
Confusing the two causes most guidance anxiety
James 4:15's correction, 'if the Lord will,' concerns the secret will, while the command to abstain from fornication two verses earlier in 1 Thessalonians 4 concerns the revealed will. Treating an unknown future decision with the same certainty owed to a known moral command is where the anxiety usually begins.
How to apply this today
- Which of your current questions belongs to God's revealed will, already answered, and which belongs to his secret will, not yet given?
- Where has confusing the two been the actual source of your anxiety?
Father, thank you that your revealed will is clear: my , my gratitude, my obedience. Free me from searching for certainty about a future you have not disclosed. Let me hold the unknown with humility and the known with obedience.
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Reflection
- Is there anything you already know God has asked of you that you are avoiding while asking for new direction?
- Have you presented your body as a living sacrifice, or are you asking for guidance while holding a preferred answer?
- Which of the two wills are you actually asking about: what God has revealed, or what he has kept?
- Who are the mature believers who know you well enough to advise you, and have you asked them?
- If God's stated purpose is to make you like Christ, does that change how you are weighing this decision?
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Prayer
Father, I have been asking you to show me the future when you have already told me plainly what you want from me today. Forgive me for treating guidance as information rather than obedience.
You have said this is your will, my . Do that work in me, whatever else is decided. Make me the kind of person who can be trusted with an answer.
Give me wisdom, since you give it liberally and without reproach. Send me honest counsel, and give me the humility to receive it when it is not what I hoped for.
Not my will, but yours be done. Where I am wrong, redirect me kindly, and where I am afraid of choosing badly, remind me that you work all things together for good. In the name of Jesus Christ, whose food was to do your will. Amen.
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Further reading
Romans 12
A living , a renewed mind, and a proven will.
James 1
Wisdom given liberally to those who ask.
Acts 16
Closed doors as a means of guidance.
Proverbs 3
Trust, acknowledge, and directed paths.
Micah 6
What the LORD requires, stated in one sentence.
Psalms 37
Delight, commit, and rest while he acts.
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Explore the passage
These are questions the text can actually answer. Take one, go back to the passage with it, and read until Scripture answers rather than until you have an explanation you like. Each question names where this study, or another passage, does the answering.
What this reveals about God
Start here, because every passage of Scripture is first about God before it is about us. Read for what He does, what He says, and what He is called.
What does these passages teach about God?
Underline every verb God is the subject of. What He does tells you who He is.
What does these passages reveal about God's character?
Look for the words the text itself uses of Him: holy, merciful, faithful, jealous, patient. Take the text's own vocabulary rather than your own.
What this reveals about us
Scripture is honest about people. Read for what it says of human need, human failure, and the kind of response it calls for.
What does these passages teach about humanity?
Watch what the people in the text want, fear, and trust. Scripture rarely flatters them.
What does these passages reveal about faith?
Faith in Scripture is always faith in someone, about something specific. Ask what exactly is being believed here, and on what word.
Where this arrives in Christ
Jesus said the Scriptures testify of Him. Follow the line the Bible itself draws rather than inventing one.
What does these passages reveal about Jesus Christ?
Look for what the New Testament does with this text. A connection Scripture makes is a connection you can stand on.
What does these passages reveal about salvation?
Ask who does the saving, who is saved, from what, and by what means. Let the text answer each part.
The world behind the words
The first readers knew things we have to learn. Recovering what they knew is study, not speculation.
How would the original audience have understood these passages?
Ask what they had already been told, what they were living through, and what this would have cost them to believe.
What historical or cultural background helps explain these passages?
Look at the work, the worship, the law and the customs the text assumes you already understand.
What do these words carry in the original: thelema, dokimazo?
Take the word to its root, its first appearance, and its range of use. Then let the context choose the meaning.
How this connects to the rest of Scripture
Scripture is its own best commentary. The clearest answers usually come from another passage rather than from a scholar.
Which Old and New Testament passages help explain these passages?
Prefer passages that quote or clearly echo this text. Those links are the Bible's own, not ours.
What biblical themes are developed in these passages, and where do they begin?
Trace one theme backwards to where Scripture first raises it, then forwards to where it lands.
What this asks of you
Application is the last step, never the first, and it must come out of the passage rather than out of general advice.
What does these passages teach believers to do today?
Say it as one sentence you could obey this week, and be able to point at the verse it came from.
Where faithful readers differ
Some questions here are genuinely open. Where Bible believing Christians read this differently, the readings are set out with the passages behind each one, and what Scripture states plainly is kept separate from what is interpretation.
Which parts of these passages does Scripture state plainly, and which parts are interpretation?
Write two lists. Anything you cannot put in the first list, hold loosely and say so when you teach it.
Questions Audela will not answer
Where Scripture does not answer a question, Audela says so plainly rather than filling the silence. An honest “the Bible does not tell us” is more faithful than a confident guess, and it keeps the reader’s trust in God’s Word rather than in our reasoning.
The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever.
- Ask instead: What does the passage say God did, and what does that reveal about His character?
- Ask instead: What has God told us about His purpose here, in this text or elsewhere in Scripture?
- Ask instead: What does Scripture say about how God acts, and where does it say it?
- Ask instead: What happened, and what does the rest of Scripture make of it?
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Study tools
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Where this leads
A question is a doorway, not a destination. Here is where this one leads if you want to keep reading rather than stop at an answer.
Topic hub
Primary study
Read Romans 12:1-2 with Micah 6:8. God's revealed will is mostly about who you are becoming.
Supporting studies
Proverbs 3:1-12
Guidance promised to the trusting, not the clever.
Psalm 119:105
A lamp for the next step rather than a floodlight on the road.
Acts 16:6-10
Doors closed and then one opened.
Colossians 1:9-14
Paul's prayer for wisdom, and what he asks for instead of details.
1 Thessalonians 4:1-12
God's will stated plainly in ordinary daily life.
Deep chapter studies
Genesis 22: The Mountain Where God Revealed the Gospel
Obedience before the outcome is visible, which is where guidance is usually learned.
John 15: The Vine, the Branches, and the Friends of God
Fruit, not a plan, is the will of God for a branch.