People who sincerely seek God for direction and then move on what He says are a different sort of person. Those who live their lives solely based upon God’s direction can be viewed as oddities or even mocked, but once you’ve lived in this way of allowing God to order your steps rather than attempting to order them yourself, you see the value.

Our main source for guidance is the Bible — the Word of God. And then there are specific things in our lives that may not be expressly spelled out in the Bible, that we seek additional confirmation on. God is faithful to show us the way. James 1:5 explains, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”

Seeking God for direction for specific decisions not only places you on the right path, it provides reassurance. It is the path to take for the greatest adventures you could ever imagine. It certainly doesn’t guarantee a problem-free life, but you can count on unique opportunities that you would not have otherwise.

There are times I have been asked about the great adventures or exciting opportunities that have personally opened up for me, and all I can say about that is — it’s about God ordering my life, not me ordering it.

There is nothing more important than a word from God, and once you have it, you discover that it is all that you need. 

By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires. 2 Peter 1:3-4

If you have been living out of your own desires and trying to carve out your own path, consider what seeking God’s direction for your life would be like instead. There are so many things, but just to name three more:

 

You will grow

 

If you want to experience greater things in God and greater things in life in general, hearing from God is the way to go. Because as you seek Him and really listen with an open heart, He lovingly corrects you where you need it. This isn’t always exciting. As you open yourself up to God and you invite the Holy Spirit to tell you things you need to know, He will show you where you need to change.

There is no growth without correction.

There is no growth without hearing the hard things.

There is no growth without making changes.

But, you can take comfort in the fact that God doesn’t make change for change sake — only for our good. He never turns your life upside down just to do it. There is always purpose in whatever He does. He is a good Father.

“My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline, and do not resent his rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those he loves.” Proverbs 3:11-12

I take great solace in the fact that although life is sometimes really hard, and I don’t always consider “life” to be good, I do know that God is good. And He brings good out of even the hardest things in our lives when we allow Him to.

 

You will go deeper with the Lord

 

One of my favorite Christian songs from many years gone by is called “Casual Christian” by DeGarmo & Key. The lyrics to the chorus are:

I don’t want to be…I don’t want to be a casual Christian,
I don’t want to live…I don’t want to live a lukewarm life,
‘Cause I want to light up the night with an everlasting light,
I don’t want to live a casual Christian life.

You can settle for a more shallow relationship with God, and many do — but oh how much you miss out on when you do.

God loves it when we draw near to Him for everything. The more we draw near to Him the more He draws near to us. (James 4:8)

When you look to God for literally everything, He never fails to show up on your behalf.

One important thing to know is, it’s always a good thing to develop a deep relationship with the Lord before we need to. To explain…many people end up in a tragic situation, a crisis of sorts and then they suddenly make a move toward becoming closer with God, because they are desperate. The reality is that you are so much better off when you have developed a close relationship with the Lord prior to your crisis, to serve as a foundation for you in the crisis, rather than having to play catch up.

 

You will develop sharp discernment 

 

Hearing God’s voice helps you distinguish the difference between God’s will, personal desires and worldly influences. As you develop greater discernment, you are better equipped to make wise decisions.

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’” Isaiah 30:21

When listening to God is your default mode, and you follow His direction in all that you do, it becomes so much easier to hear and know the voice of God.

The more you do it, the less you have to struggle to understand His will.

The more I listen to a certain human being’s voice, the more I know it in a crowd, the quicker I know who it is on the phone without even seeing caller ID. It’s the same with the Lord. The more you hear His voice and know and follow it, the quicker you discern it is Him speaking.

There are so many blessings to seeking the Lord and following His way versus our own. What else have you have discovered about hearing God’s voice and acting on it, for decisions in life large and small? I’d love to hear about it.