Searching for God's Will

Author and speaker Ava Pennington is a Bible teacher whose heart’s desire is to drive women to the scriptures and help them focus on God. In this Spiritual Life UPGRADE, she helps us learn how to discover God’s will.

“I love a good mystery … unless I’m searching for God’s will in a particular situation,” Ava writes.

And yet God’s will often seems to be a mystery, doesn’t it? I know I (Dawn) would like His will to be easier to discover. Maybe you would too?

Ava continues…

• Should I take that job?
• Is he the right man for me?
• Which house should we buy?

God’s will doesn’t have to be a mystery, but first we need to begin with another question.

Do we really WANT to know God’s will for our lives? What if God’s will is for us to persevere with an insufferable boss? Remain in a loveless marriage? Serve as missionaries in Bangladesh?

Some things are God’s will for all of us.

Isaiah 43:7 says we are created to display God’s glory. Anything that doesn’t bring Him glory cannot be His will for us.

We also know God wants “all people to be saved” (1 Timothy 2:4). We glorify God by living in a way that reflects this relationship.

The apostle Paul said, “It is God’s will that you should be sanctified” (1 Thessalonians 4:3).

God’s will for our lives is also found in transformation by renewing our minds to prove his will (Romans 12:1-2).

But what about gray areas not spelled out in the Bible? Should you take a new job? Marry that Christian man? Buy the house? God said, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you.…” (Psalm 32:8).

The answers may not seem clear at first, but if we’re seeking God’s will, He will reveal it through:

1. Prayer - Regular time in prayer is a must for the child of God. But few of us stay on our knees after we’ve made our requests. Instead, we end our prayers and we’re out the door, unmindful of the Holy Spirit’s prompting. Our iPods, car radios, or racing thoughts drown Him out.

Tip: The next time you pray, stay on your knees and listen as the Lord speaks to your heart.

2. The Bible - The Bible has answers, but they may not be spelled out. For example, it won’t tell you what car to buy, but instead, provides stewardship principles about giving, saving, debt, and spending.

Tip: Study God’s Word to identify spiritual, emotional, financial, and relational principles.

3. Circumstances - Christians often look for signs of God’s leading. If a door opens, it must be God’s will, right? Maybe not. God may lead by creating opportunities, but He isn’t the only one who opens doors. Satan also manipulates events (John 8:44). 

Tip: The next time you’re tempted to act because a door opens or closes, remember circumstances are only one piece of the puzzle.

4. Counsel - Proverbs 15:22 says, “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.” Still, we must choose counselors wisely.

Tip: Instead of seeking those who tell us what we want, seek mature Christians whose lives reflect God’s principles.

5. Confirmation - If we’re seeking God’s will unreservedly, praying and listening, reading His Word for applicable principles, and seeking godly counsel, God will give confirmation. He does so by giving us peace through His Holy Spirit.

Tip: Peace doesn’t mean the absence of trouble. Times of obedience to God’s leading are often times of greatest attack by Satan.

As we seek God’s will, we’ll see that it’s not mysterious and it’s not a destination. God’s will is the life we live as we walk with Him!

In what area are you searching for God’s will today? Will you commit to seeking His will, not as a destination, but as a way of life?

Ava Pennington’s newest book, Daily Reflections on the Names of God: A Devotional, is endorsed by Kay Arthur, founder of Precept Ministries. She has also written numerous magazine articles and is a member of Advanced Writers and Speakers (AWSA) and the Christian Authors Network (CAN). Ava also teaches a weekly Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) class of 175+ women. She is a passionate speaker who engages audiences with relevant, enjoyable presentations. Visit her at AvaWrites.com.

Graphic Image adapted, courtesy of stockimages / FreeD

Upgrade Your Holiness in 2015

Dawn Wilson writes about agreat opportunity to UPGRADE your walk with God in 2015. It's called New Start 15.

You can learn more about it here, at the Heart Choices Today website. Kathy Howard, the originator of New Start 15, shares her heart about the campaign, which includes:

• a month-long Bible Reading plan,
• more than a dozen bloggers, and
• great resources.

There is also a special Facebook page.

Anyone can pursue something powerful for one month, and this will be a life-changer for those who don't just "sign on" but embrace what God wants to teach us.

Upgrade Your Holiness in 2015. Can  you think of a better goal? Better than a list of New Year's resolutions!

Dawn Wilson, founder and President of Heart Choices Ministries, is the creator of three blogs: Heart Choices Today, LOL with God (with Pam Farrel), and Upgrade with Dawn. She is the President of the San Diego chapter of Network of Evangelical Women in MInistry (NEWIM San Diego). Dawn is the co-author of LOL with God and contributed "The Blessing Basket" in It's a God Thing. She and her husband Bob have two grown, married sons, three granddaughters and a rascally maltipoo, Roscoe.

Upgrade My Life with Grace

At Christmastime, we are reminded of God's incredible grace to us in sending His Son, Jesus. Kathy Carlton Willis reminds us to extend that grace in this Christmas UPGRADE.

"God’s grace isn’t merely for the pre-believer to come to faith in Christ," Kathy says. "It is for every day of every soul’s life."

Ever heard the phrase, "give her some grace"? I (Dawn) have, and it usually means someone is doing something wrong and I need to be more patient. But Kathy is using the words "give them grace" in an entirely different way.

Kathy continues . . .

As we enter this holy season, let’s look at this very special Christmas gift—grace.

I remember the Christmas I grew up. Under the tree I found a box smaller than a breadbox that weighed more than the bowling ball I tried to throw down the lane during our Girl Scout outing. What could it possibly be? The tag said the gift was from my brother and parents. Normally sibling gifts were purchased with our meager allowance, so I didn’t expect much.

Finally, Christmas Day came. As I ripped away the paper, first I saw a yellow cardboard box. It housed an entire paperback set of books by Laura Ingalls Wilder—Little House on the Prairie. For me? My very own library? One book would be a treat—but an entire set of books? Pure joy!

I was lavished with an amazing gift of great cost, which brought me great pleasure. This was the year I grew up. Books were my favorite gifts that year, not toys or dolls or games. And I think the reason why the experience matured me was not just because of what I received, but because of the way it impacted me.

This was an extravagant present—a generous gift.

My special gift made me realize how to receive love and to lavish love on others. This is grace extended. And isn’t that what the birth of Christ delivered to us all?

As we learn from the gift of His life, how can we give grace away? Give with Grace!

I have a confession to make.

Sometimes I say, “I’m at your service,” and I’m really not. I set out wanting to serve—but I want to do it my way. I have terms to the grace I offer others. If I volunteer hours, it has to be when I say it can be. If I offer to listen, it needs to fit around my schedule.

I realize as I write this, I’m not much of a servant at all. Sure sounds to me like I’m pretty bossy!

It’s human nature to want to be in control. If you’ve ever been on top of a horse who suddenly decides to go his own way, at his own pace, and make his own trail (where there isn’t one), then you know how it feels to not be in control. None of us like that feeling very much. So we hold tightly to the reins.

Part of acting in grace to others is not having to be in control—letting God lead us.

One example we can learn from is Mary, the earthly mother of Jesus. Mary was a godly young woman, open to receiving an assignment from God. Although many of us are older than Mary would have been, we aren’t that much different as we receive our assignments from God.

Let’s see how God used her.

Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!” Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!”

Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.”

The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God. What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she has conceived a son and is now in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God.”

Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her. (Luke 1:28-38 NLT)

God used Mary as an instrument of His grace, and He wants to use us today. Let’s look at several Give with Grace principles:

1. We have been gifted by His grace and God wants to use this grace in us for His purposes. The angel told Mary that she was the object of God’s favor. This is another term for grace—the grace of being chosen for His use.
2. God doesn’t look for experts, He looks for people who are willing to be used. Mary didn’t negotiate terms or offer up excuses. She was available for duty.
3. God is standing by to equip us when we are flexible with how the story ends. Mary was compliant with the angel’s message. She listened and didn’t make demands for more proof when she received the details.
4. God’s grace makes our weakness enough when paired with His power. Even though Mary was a virgin, that was not an obstacle for her to be pregnant with God’s Son. There will never be another Mary, and there will never be another you, which makes it even more important to listen for God’s custom-fit instructions for your life.
5. God gets the glory when we yield to receive and distribute His grace. We may not understand exactly why He selected Mary, but His reasons were perfect. We may not understand why He wants to use us, but it pleases Him to use us as ministers of His grace.

God has lavished His grace upon us. Will you extend that grace to others, especially during this Christmas season?

Kathy Carlton Willis writes and speaks with a balance of funny and faith—whimsy and wisdom. She shines the light on issues that hold women back and inspires their own lightbulb moments. Almost a thousand of Kathy’s articles have been published and she has several books releasing over the next three years, including Grin with Grace with AMG Publishers (at amazon: amzn.to/1wg6Nmh). She and her husband/pastor, Russ, live in Texas. Learn more at: www.kathycarltonwillis.com/

Note: Today’s article is an excerpt from the galley of Grin with Grace by Kathy Carlton Willis, AMG Publishers, 2015.

He's Personal

Ava Pennington’s creative mind challenges my thinking about God. Ava wrote a book about the names, character and attributes of God, and she is the perfect person to write this Spiritual UPGRADE post.

“Thirty years ago, a phrase entered our collective frame of reference,” Ava writes. “Christian or not, almost all of us can identify the source of the quote, ‘May the Force be with you.’” 

I (Dawn) remember the first time I heard that phrase. I thought, “The Force? The FORCE? What about God?” I wanted people to understand God is more than a mere force. He is a Person, the Controller of the universe, but also Someone who loves me.

Ava continues …

Star Wars isn’t just a Hollywood franchise, it’s a cultural icon. And the theology of Star Wars has wormed its way into the minds of many Christians. Yet after three decades of subtle and not-so-subtle influence, most of us still don’t realize the impact.

One Star Wars character described the Force this way: "It surrounds us and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together." The fictional Force sounds a lot like God, doesn’t it? But if this is our view of God, then it’s time to upgrade our view.

"Praise be to the Lord my Rock.... He is my loving God and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I take refuge" (Psalm 144:1-2 NIV).

The first time I read these verses, I focused on the names and attributes of God: Lord, loving God, fortress, stronghold, deliverer, shield, refuge. Each one tells us something about God’s nature and His ways—important concepts to meditate upon, and like David, to use as a basis for praise and worship.

But the second time I studied these verses, my attention was drawn to a small word I had previously overlooked: My.

Before David ruled as the second king of ancient Israel, he was a shepherd and then a fugitive. He penned his Psalms from personal experiences and identified each name and attribute with a sense of ownership

My Rock. My loving God. My fortress. My stronghold. My deliverer. My shield.

My Rock. The ground shifted under David’s feet with frightening regularity. One minute a shepherd boy, the next anointed as king. One moment he was best friends with a prince, the next a fugitive from the prince’s father. Through it all, David knew the personal privilege of standing on the eternal Rock.

My loving God. David understood what it meant to be unappreciated. When the prophet Samuel sought Jesse’s sons, Jesse neglected to include David. Later, his brothers dismissed him when he appeared at their war camp.

My fortress. My stronghold. Running from King Saul, David and his men hid in unlikely places to escape Saul’s wrath. But David knew a cave was as safe as a fortress while under God’s protection.

My deliverer. David’s life was often in jeopardy. Yet God rescued him as a shepherd defending against wild animals, in combat with Goliath, or from Saul’s murderous attempts.

My shield. David respected the value of a shield. Still, he refused Saul’s shield when he faced Goliath. David understood God was more effective than any earthly shield.

David knew about God as the Creator of the Universe and the One who holds the universe together. But he wasn’t content with knowing God as an impersonal force. Instead, David used his experiences to upgrade his view of God as more than a force … God is personal!

Do you need to upgrade your view of God from an impersonal force to a personal Father? As you read the Bible, ask yourself what the passage is saying about God. Then consider how God has personally revealed Himself to you by that name or attribute.

Ava Pennington's newest book, Daily Reflections on the Names of God: A Devotional, is endorsed by Kay Arthur, founder of Precept Ministries. She has also written numerous magazine articles and is a member of Advanced Writers and Speakers (AWSA) and the Christian Authors Network (CAN). Ava also teaches a weekly Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) class of 175+ women. She is a passionate speaker who engages audiences with relevant, enjoyable presentations. Visit her at AvaWrites.com.

Why Go to a Christian Women's Conference?

Why should you go to a Christian woman’s conference? In this Spiritual UPGRADE, Dawn Wilson tackles that “why.”

Women go to women’s Christian conferences for a variety of reasons.

 They might go …

• for some light entertainment,
• for a deep worship experience,
• to rub shoulders with or hear Christian “celebrities,”
• for a “camp-out” experience—rooming with women for some “fun and fellowship,”
• to open up to and learn from their girlfriends,
• to add to their understanding of themselves—seeking a giant self-help opportunity,
• for a change of pace (maybe some activity or some time to sleep!),
• to search for answers to a problem,
• to “escape” something “back home” for a while,
• because they have a free ticket… or free airfare! (in other words, a financial incentive),
• etc., etc., etc.

Some women avoid “women’s seminars” like the plague! And I do the same sometimes. There are some Christian women’s conferences you couldn’t pay me to attend. I consider them an enormous waste of time. They are either unbiblical, all about self-help, or do not help me in my walk with God.

Others are OK ... but not for me. They're just fluff, crafts and soft-pitch stories. There are many ways to “dress up” a conference or seminar for fun or to pull at the heart-strings. And don't get me wrong, I love crafts, stories and other "fluffy" things.

But what I’ve heard many women saying includes: 

“I’m soul hungry – I need more than warm fuzzies” … “I need to refocus with less thoughts about myself and more time with God” … “I’m so tired, and I need refreshing in the Word” … “I want solid truth - more than the self-help messages the world has to offer … “I want some encouragement for my ministry” … “I need biblical solutions for real problems.”

A woman (at a conference) told me recently,

“I don’t want silly stuff, and I don't want to be ‘blasted’ with heavy stuff. I just want to know how to live out what Jesus already accomplished for me ... the life-changing stuff!"

Amen, Sister!

A women’s conference or seminar should offer some milk for new believers, but also plenty of meat for the more mature. It must go beyond sentimental stories to a greater agenda: helping women better grasp the Good News—the most important story of all—and the implications of the gospel in practical living.

So … WHY GO to a Christian women’s conference?

1. To see your great need of Jesus. He came for sinners, and He is the Author of abundant life for all who place their faith in Him. (Luke 5:32; Acts 3:19; John 10:10b)

2. To understand the power of the cross, embrace the resurrection, and learn how to apply both in life, family, church and ministry. (1 Corinthians 1:18; Philippians 1:21; Colossians 3:1-4)

3. To learn how to identify with and abide in Christ. To understand your identity, security and dignity in Him. (Romans 6:11; 8:29; John 15:5).

4. To see Jesus in all His glory—the One who is all-sufficient for our needs. (John 1:14; 2 Corinthians 3:5)

5. And to do all this in the context of biblical, edifying speakers (2 Timothy 3:16; Ephesians 4:14; Romans 16:17-18; Galatians 1:8-9; Romans 14:19; Ephesians 4:12) and encouraging Christian sisterhood! (1 Thessalonians 5:11; Hebrews 10:24).

That’s the kind of conference I love. And that’s the kind of conference I will always seek out and promote. (I have some friends who are powerful conference speakers.)

At the moment, I am in the middle of the True Woman ’14 national conference, an outreach of Revive Our Hearts. It is so worthwhile. I'm already hearing powerful testimonies. God is opening women’s eyes and changing their hearts.

You can JOIN THE LIVE STREAM of the conference messages here, October 9-11. (NOTE: I will be commenting on the Live Feed! Tune in!)

What is the last women’s conference you attended? What did you learn that you still practice today?

Dawn Wilson, founder and President of Heart Choices Ministries, is the creator of three blogs: Heart Choices Today, LOL with God (with Pam Farrel), and Upgrade bwith Dawn. She is the President of the San Diego chapter of Network of Evangelical Women in MInistry (NEWIM San Diego). Dawn is the co-author of LOL with God and contributed "The Blessing Basket" in It's a God Thing. She and her husband Bob have two grown, married sons, three granddaughters and a rascally maltipoo, Roscoe.