Five WRONG Ways To Seek God's Will

Life is all about decision-making.  The key to a successful life is to learn how to make really good decisions.  And that means you need to learn how to seek and discern God's will.  God wants to lead and guide you through life's twists and turns, but how should we seek His will?  In this post I will share four wrong ways to seek God's will.

Wrong Way #1: Putting out a fleece (a.k.a. asking for a sign)

In Judges 6, God called Gideon to lead the Israelites to defeat the Midianites.  Gideon asked for a sign to confirm that God was leading him to go to war.  He put a wool fleece on the ground at night and asked God to make the fleece wet, but the ground dry.  When he woke up the next morning, that is what happened.  Then Gideon asked for another sign.  He said put a wool fleece on the ground again at night, but this time he asked the Lord to make the ground wet and the fleece dry.  Again, when he went to check on it the next morning, that’s what happened.

Putting out a fleece is simply asking God for a sign.  Should we ask God for a sign?  I don’t advise it.  Let me make five observations about asking God for a sign. 

First, the story of Gideon is descriptive, not prescriptive.  It describes Gideon asking for a sign, but it doesn’t say that we should follow his example.  People do many things in the Bible that we shouldn’t imitate.  Jacob married two sisters, and then he married their two slaves and had children with all of them, but that’s not something we should imitate.  The Bible never instructs us to seek God’s will by asking for a sign.  

Second, on two occasions Jesus condemned people for asking for signs (Mt 12:39; 16:1-4).  He said “an evil and adulterous generation demands a sign.”  Still want to ask for a sign?  

Third, God is not required to play along.  God is not bound by our requests for a sign.  He answers when He wants, how He wants.  There’s no promise in Scripture that says that if you ask for a sign, God will always give it.  God has many ways of revealing His will and guiding us, and He may choose a different way.

Fourth, Christians today have to resources that people in Gideon’s time lacked.  We have the complete word of God with all of its wisdom.  Gideon only had the first five books of the Bible, and there probably weren’t many copies circulating.  We also have the indwelling Holy Spirit to guide us.  Back then the Holy Spirit didn’t indwell all believers; He only came up on select individuals to empower them for special assignments.  Aside from the Bible and the Holy Spirit, we also have access to other Christians who also have the Bible and the Spirit, and who are wiser than us and can counsel us.  Today we don’t need signs because we have resources that the saints of old could only dream of.  

Fifth, I’ve never known anyone to actually ask for a sign the way that Gideon did.  First, he asked for an impossible sign; something that would be unmistakable; something supernatural.  If you're going to ask for a sign, ask for a SIGN.  Don’t ask for a shooting star, or to hit all green lights on the way to work.  Ask God to make it snow in July.  That’s a sign, and I’ve never heard of anyone doing that except in the Bible.  Second, Gideon played by the rules.  When God showed him the sign, he led the Israelites into battle.  Often what we do is ask for a sign, but then we ignore it.  We say, “God, if you want me to do it, then let all the lights be green on the way to work.”  And even though you hit one red light, you still do it.  You ignored the very sign you asked for.  

Sixth, don’t forget that Satan has the ability to produce signs and wonders as well.  Matthew 24:24 says, “For false messiahs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.”  When Moses turned his staff into a snake to prove to Pharaoh that God had sent him, Pharaoh’s men did the same thing with their staffs.  So, personally, I don’t ask for signs, nor do I recommend it.

Wrong Way #2: Casting lots (a.k.a. flipping a coin)

In the Bible the Jews often made decisions by casting lots.  It is mentioned at least seventy times in the Old Testament and seven times in the New Testament.  Should we make decisions by casting lots?  Once again, while we do read of casting lots in the Bible, we are not instructed to do it.  As well, we are not told what it means, or how to do it.  We don’t even know what a lot is.  Some people think that casting lots is the equivalent of flipping a coin, but there’s no way to know that.

As well, if Satan can produce signs and miracles, then he can also cause a coin to flip the wrong way.  So, I don’t think flipping a coin is a reliable way to seek God’s will.

Wrong Way #3: Reading too much into circumstances (a.k.a. being an idiot)

A common mistake Christians make is reading too much in to circumstances.  Here are some examples.

Someone says, “I think God wants me to run for city mayor.”  I reply, “Really?  Why?”  They say, “Because three things happened.  Last week a friend of mine said I would make a good mayor.  Yesterday the mayor of my town resigned.  And this morning on the way to church, they played a song by John Mayer.”  

Or someone says, “I think I met my future wife.”  I ask, “Really?  Who is she?”  They say, "I met her at the grocery store yesterday.  She’s a cashier.  We got to talking, and it turns out we have the exact same birthday; we both have three siblings; and we have the same favorite food – sushi.  It’s meant to be!”

Both of those are examples of reading too much into circumstances.  

The problem with circumstances is that they can be highly misleading.  For example, hardship is not always a sign that you are headed in the wrong decision.  Success is not always a sign that you are headed in the right direction.  Just because you see an open door doesn’t mean you should walk through it.  Just because you see a closed door doesn’t mean you shouldn't beat it down.  Failure doesn’t mean you should give up; sometimes it means you need to learn from your mistakes and try again.  And there is such a thing as a coincidence.  

And don’t forget.  Satan has the ability to create misleading circumstances.  Just as he can produce signs and wonders, he can lead you astray with confusing circumstances.  

God can speak through circumstances, but you need to be very careful about reading too much into them.  

Wrong Way #4: Listening to manipulators (a.k.a. being gullible)

Unfortunately, there are “Christian” manipulators out there who try to control others by claiming that God spoke to them.  They say, “God told me that you should (fill in the blank) -- give me something; be my spouse; do something for me, etc.”  Be very careful about people like that.  There's a word for this.  It's called spiritual abuse.  

Does God still speak to people?  Yes.  But anybody can claim that God spoke to them, and there’s no way to disprove it.  And many people over the centuries have played the “God card” to manipulate, hurt, and take advantage of people.  They are called false prophets, and the Bible says to beware of them.  Matthew 24:11 says, “Many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.”

When someone says, “God told me such and such…,” here’s what you should do.  On your way to work or school, ask God to make every light turn green.  I’m just kidding.  Here’s what you do.  Take it with a grain of salt.  Pray about it.  Get some counsel from other Christians.  Consider the source.  Is this person godly?  Do they have a good reputation among other Christians?  Are they a respected member of their church?  And move very slowly and cautiously. 

Wrong Way #5: Relying on feelings (a.k.a. peace)

Some people say that you can discern God’s will by a sense of peace.  If you feel a sense of peace about it, they say, then it is God’s will.

But feelings are very unreliable.  Think about Jesus.  Jesus knew that God wanted Him to go to the cross, but He did not feel peace about it.  He felt turmoil, and stress, and anguish.  He was in so much turmoil that he experienced hematohidrosis – he sweated drops of blood.  It is a rare condition caused by extreme stress.  Christ didn’t feel peace about God’s will.  

As well, feelings are deceptive.  Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is more deceitful than anything else, and incurable—who can understand it?”  This verse is saying that your feelings can betray you.  Your feelings can deceive you.  Your feelings can mislead you.  Don’t rely upon your feelings.  

These are five wrong ways to seek God’s will.  Next we'll look at the right way to seek and discern God's will.