Emotions

Great Expectations

Do you have high hopes for the future? Can you know God's will? Do you really believe that God wants to mold you according to His desires and give you a life of purpose in Him that exceeds your wildest imaginations?

Your answer to these questions determines the richness and depth of your faith, how you make decisions, and how you discern truth from error. Without the genuine hope of salvation in Christ and the continual grace He provides for daily living, it's difficult to have a vision for the future. And without a vision for what God has ahead for you, you are more easily assailed by discouragement, confusion, and a sense of purposelessness.

King David in the Old Testament knew what it meant to place his hope in the blessing of the presence of the Lord. With all of the trials of rulership and the consequences of his own sin, David experienced great pain and great joys. He could not depend on earthly situations to provide security and meaning. David had great expectations, and they were based on God's promises of guidance and love:

"I will bless the Lord who has counseled me; indeed, my mind instructs me in the night. I have set the Lord continually before me; because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices; my flesh also will dwell securely. For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol; neither will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay. You will make known to me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; in Your right hand there are pleasures forever." (Psalm 16:7-11)

David's situation was not unique; God wants you to experience the same peace and security as you move through the life He's given you. He wants you to have the confidence that decisions you make on a daily basis are in keeping with His Word and His plans. When times are extremely difficult, He wants you to have an inner joy that cannot be extinguished, the confidence that comes from trusting in a God who can handle all problems.

Contrary to some teaching, God's Word does not tell you to have a "pie-in-the-sky attitude" of false optimism. Some people feel that since they are believers, they must be "happy" all the time, and they put forth much effort to generate a happy attitude and appearance. Of course, their attempts soon crumble because these displays are ultimately a facade.

Like so many, you may have trouble seeing past today's problems to believe that God is really in control of seeming chaos. However, Romans 8:28 offers an exciting truth: "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." But this verse does not call for an unrealistic dismissal of pain and heartache—both parts of the sanctification process (being made Christ-like by God's grace). God designed all of your emotions. Each has a purpose, and He wants you to learn how to express them in a way that is honest and healthy.

Tell Him that you don't see how the mess you're going through right now could possibly fit in to His good plan. Then turn to His Word for perspective on your pain. James 1:2-4 says: "Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials; knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." This perfection in Christ is a life-long process with many twists and turns along the way.

What do having a proper hope for the future and an understanding of the purposes of present suffering have to do with discovering God's will for your life? You can't grasp where God is taking you until you know how He is operating in your life right now.

If you have false ideas about what He promises in His Word, or if you harbor false hopes, you can easily misinterpret His direction and be misled by others. As you can see, God's involvement in your life is part of a relationship, the one you have with Jesus Christ. His love for you is all-encompassing, permanent. You are special and unique, and no one else's relationship with Christ is just like yours, though certain principles of spiritual growth apply to everyone.

What this uniqueness means is that no formula exists for discovering His will for you. In fact, the very word discovering is slightly misleading. If understanding His ways is an outgrowth of your relationship with Christ, then God's will is not a "mystery" for you to uncover, as though He were hiding His purposes. "Discovering His will" is actually experiencing His direction in the day-by-day context of His love and specific grace.

Through the power of the Holy Spirit, God guides you into His truth. That is a key part of the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Not long before Jesus was crucified, He spent time with the disciples carefully explaining how things would be after He had risen and ascended to heaven. Certainly, at the time they did not comprehend the full importance of what He was telling them, but Jesus knew they would understand in time.

While Jesus was with them, the disciples did not have to make decisions independently; Jesus led them, and they trusted Him to put them where they needed to be. They had grown accustomed to abiding in the physical presence of the Son of God, and He anticipated their feelings of lostness and bewilderment during His physical absence. That is why He explained the role the Holy Spirit would play after God filled them at Pentecost:

"I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you . . ."He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose myself to him . . . These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you" (John 14:16-26).

The Holy Spirit applies the Word of God in your life, and that is how you develop a sense of what is right and wrong. If you have a mindset of humble obedience and a genuine desire to let the Lord lead, He will not allow you to live outside of His plans. Of course, you can choose to go your own way, but you will know by the Holy Spirit that you are very clearly choosing your own path. Someone with a "made-up mind" is not truly open to the Lord's direction. Your heart must be submitted to His will before you can be guided by it.

What about those everyday decisions that don't seem to have long-term ramifications for your life? Does God care about those, too? The answer is yes. He knows every detail of your life, including the number of hairs on your head. (Luke 12:7) If you are concerned about something, He is also. Remember, though, that He created you with tastes and preferences and decision-making abilities. If you are still not sure of a certain decision, then seek godly counsel from those He has placed around you.

What you'll discover as you live through more and more years as a believer is a wealth of testimonies from those who experienced God's guidance in direct and wonderful ways. These stories will encourage your heart and deepen your understanding of how He works in your life. You will have your own experiences to share. While God does not intervene dramatically every day, He does choose to give you certain personal, spiritual "markers" of His involvement.

Don't be discouraged when you don't understand what God is doing in your life. Anxiety or extreme fear of "missing His will" are signs you need to yield your desire to have all the answers. He won't let you go. You can relax in His loving control. God wants you to live in joy, with the freedom that comes from knowing that He is in charge of the journey.