How to know God is guiding you - two more points

FACT FOUR Feelings can be part of guidance, but not always

God's peace in our hearts is an indicator that we are on the right lines. Paul says to the Colossians, "Let the peace of Christ be umpire in your hearts." It's a sporting image - God's peace can be "referee", and when your heart is untroubled, that can be a sign you're on the right lines.
However, you can also feel smugly peaceful because you're doing wrong and your conscience has just fallen asleep! So you need to keep on examining yourself and being honest with God. Otherwise you may start to excuse sinful behaviour, mistreatment of others, selfish choices, etc., etc., because you're just not looking clearly at yourself any more. In this case, your feelings are not helpful!
Sometimes too our emotions can be so strong that it feels like guidance from God. ("I just know that she and I will get married some day..." "It's a crazy move, but I believe God is calling me to give away everything and live on thin air...") Yes, sometimes God calls us to big steps of faith, but if it's a major issue, he won't leave it to our feelings to guide us! He'll give you lots of other pointers, through people's advice, through Scripture, through circumstances, and so on, so don't do anything until you are totally confident that he is showing you in many ways what you need to do - don't just rely on a crazy irrational feeling.
Also, as you know, our feelings can change rapidly from day to day. You can begin the morning feeling optimistic and motivated, and yet be miserable and dejected by lunchtime! So if you rely on your feelings to guide you, you'll probably have an up-and-down, constantly changing experience of life, without sticking at anything for too long! And God is not the author of confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33).

FACT FIVE When you're stuck, here's what you do

Sometimes God just doesn't seem to be saying anything. The first question you should ask is: "Will this decision wait?" In other words: do I have to do something straight away, or can I take time to let God reveal his will to me later on?
We always want answers now, and get impatient if they don't come! But sometimes God keeps us in the dark for a while, because it's good for us. It makes us more conscious of our dependence on him. It makes us think more deeply about the choice that has to be made (and surprisingly often that changes our whole attitude and our desires!), It teaches us patience and faith, So if you can wait - wait!
Read Psalm 42 and Isaiah 40:27-31. When God seems to have forgotten us - he hasn't! The waiting process makes us stronger and fitter (Isaiah 40:30-31).
But sometimes you can't wait. You just have to do something. So: first, check you've tried all the normal ways of finding God's will: you've looked at the Bible; you've talked to mature, wise Christian friends; you've consulted your own inclinations, and honestly thought through how you really feel; you've looked at the circumstances too. Review all you've learned from those sources.
Then make the best decision you possibly can, based on those indicators. Tell God you're not sure about it, and you want him to show you if you're going the wrong way. Ask him to stop you if you're mistaken, because you really want to do his will. Ask him to give you his peace in your heart if the decision is right - or to take peace away from you, if you've made the wrong choice!
God will hear and honour a prayer like that. Watch for what he's telling you in the next few days! It will show you if your decision is the right one. And after a few experiences like this, you will find you have developed your ability to listen to God and obey him with more and more sensitivity.

WHERE NEXT?

Go to the review to check you understand and remember

Go to another three important Bible passages on this topic

Go back to the main resources page to do something completely different