The Three Circles of God's Will

When trying to discover God's will for a particular situation, how many of us just want God to give us a direct answer, a sign so crystal clear that we can't miss it? I have to admit I want that sometimes. But when discovering God's will and sovereign plan for our lives we need to make sure that our desires and thoughts are lining up with His commands in the Bible. We need to be careful that when we are making a choice we are aligning our selves with God's desires and not being led my our own selfish desires. Petty doesn't agree that there is an "ideal plan for our lives" and that we can miss the boat and be left with His second best. Because we live in a fallen world, sin is always a factor, and God doesn't just sigh and say, " Okay you missed my Plan A, my best plan for your life, so now I'll see what I can do now." God doesn't work that way. Petty puts it very well when he says, "Guidance is discerning God's moral and spiritual preferences as they apply to our life's situations. It is NOT a detailed plan to be discovered or or communicated by God in extra-scriptural communication." (p.101)

Another side note in determining God's will is that we're not supposed to test God. Uh Oh. I may be guilty of this one. Has anyone else not been able to decide on something and either flipped a coin or said, "God if such and such happens I know you want me to do this or that." Yep I foolishly have been guilty of that in the past. I remember the coin toss that landed me at Bloomsburg University, not Elizabethtown or Mansfield. Was this a good way to test God? Nope, but He chose to patiently work through that to give me an education, align my life with many of you, and lead me to my wife. You might say, but Gene how do you know He wouldn't have given you better friends and memories in Elizabethtown? You could have taken up medicine there instead of teaching and made more money. This may be true, but I can't imagine a better outcome. I know that I'm living out God's desires for my life, because I'm striving to live my life according to His word the best that I can. Do I make bad choices? (Let me count the ways) But for the most part I'm taking decisions that need made big or small to God's Word,Renee, my pastors, and other counsel to seek wisdom form them. (I no longer foolishly flip a coin, though it'd be easier.)

Coin tossing = Bad

Seeking God's Word =Good

I believe that Petty's three circles visual is very helpful in clarifying how to determine God's will. So picture with me a bulls eye that has three rings.

1) The center circle is Area of Things Prohibited by God in His Word.

These would be things were called to "put off", such as stealing, murdering, adultery, slandering, lying, etc... These are forbidden by God and He requires us to obey His laws. These are also things that require church discipline.

2) The next circle out is the Area of The Application of God's Positive Commands

Guidance by wisdom and discernment, can be in or out of God's will depending on the situation, motive, outcome, etc.

3) The outer circle is the Area of Christian Liberty.

These are choices between equally good alternatives, God seems to be opening doors in a certain direction, but the motive must glorify God.

Later I'll give an example which walks through the three circle which hopefully will be helpful.