Guaranteed Guidance
Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.
- James 4:17
Sometimes we cry out to God, "Lord, show me Your will-just speak to me right now," when all the while, we are holding the answer in our hands. God's will is revealed in the pages of Scripture.
It would be like waiting for a letter containing directions that tell you what you should do, and when the letter finally arrives, you hold it in your hand, never open it, and then wonder why you could not get the information you needed.
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In the same way, God has revealed His plan and His purpose, but we must study the Scripture to know what it is.
David prayed, "Teach me to do Your will" (Psalm 143:10). Notice that he did not say, "Teach me to understand your will." Rather, he said, "Teach me to do Your will." This carries the assumption that it is not a matter of information, but obedience. Sometimes I think the problem is not that we don't know the will of God; it is that we don't like the will of God.
I have a granddaughter who engages in selective hearing. She hears me when I say something she likes, such as, "Let's watch a cartoon." But then when I tell her to do something that she doesn't want to do, all of the sudden it is as though I never said it.
We are that way with God sometimes. It is not that we don't know His will. It is that we don't like His will. But James 4:17 tells us, "To him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin."
Do you know something to be the will of God for your life that you are not doing? Obedience to revealed truth guarantees guidance in matters unrevealed.
