4 Signs You May Be Out of God’s Will
The shortest distance between two points is a straight line. What happens when God is trying to get us from point A to point B and we resist His guidance?
I have been asking myself this question a lot lately. Some might label the wandering as being “out of His perfect will” or being rebellious. I am not sure what the right label is, but I do know how it feels…messy, undone, restless.
Our journey in life presents many forks in the road, opportunities, and choices. We pray for wisdom in making the choice, but even with that, we can still make a poor choice. Perhaps our prayer was more of an “FYI God, I’m doing this.” Or maybe it was just so we could sound super-spiritual as we say, “I really put a lot of prayer in this decision.” I also believe God allows us to walk through doors He did not open to simply learn a lesson.
Jonah found himself in a heap of trouble when he took an intentional detour from a path to which God clearly called him. God called him to Ninevah to preach an upopular, but much needed, message of repentance. Instead, he hopped aboard a ship, headed to Tarshish and away from God’s presence (so he thought).
We know from Psalm 139 none of us can flee from God’s presence. He’s behind us, before, us, around us…which is mostly a comforting thought…mostly comforting when we are IN His will.
However, when we bounce out of bounds like Jonah, God’s presence can cause us to be unsettled.
When the ship was battered by a horrible storm, Jonah knew it was because of his rebellion. The consequence of Jonah’s actions were not just impacting him. His rebellion was putting everyone’s life in peril.
No one lives in isolation. When we are out of God’s will – it causes unexpected problems for the people in our circle of influence.
I love how Jonah 1:17 reveals to us that God prepared or appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah. It must have been the grossest “think tank” ever! For those three long days and nights, Jonah had nothing but time to think and sea weed wrapped around his head!
Water encompassed me to the point of death. The great deep engulfed me, weeds were wrapped around my head. Jonah 2:5
It was at this lowest point when Jonah looked up and acknowledged the presence of God.
While I was fainting away, I remembered the LORD, and my prayer came to You, into Your Holy Temple. Jonah 2:7
After studying Jonah, I found myself pondering this question…”What are the signs I am out of God’s will?” This is what God said to me through study and prayer…
- Do you feel like a storm is battering you on the inside (restless)?
- Do others recognize you are out of God’s will? (Jonah 1:14-15)
- Do you feel distant from God? (Jonah 2:4)
- Are you in a desperate situation because of your intentional attempt to flee God’s direction in your life? (Jonah 2:5)
I am ever so grateful that God’s mercies are new every morning. Even though we don’t get it spot on right every time, He graciously, faithfully, meets us where we are. The distance from point A to point B may be much further than God originally planned, but praise God, we still get there!
How does the Holy Spirit speak to you when you stray from God’s will?
Thank you for sharing this Shelly. I call it “Jumping Off God’s Lap”…I know it when I do it. It has become so evident to me that staying in the perfect will of God is where I want to be. Like a child running from his Father, he gets lost and gets in a heep of trouble. Last week my son graduated from Army Basic Training and we traveled to Ga. I really didn’t have my quiet time like I do each day coming into my prayer room. Even though I prayed there were so many distractions. I couldn’t wait to get home for many reasons, but most importantly to be quiet before God.
Jumping off God’s lap – love it! Getting out of the Word makes me feel so disconnected.
All my life , I’ve been a run away . Started as a young girl . Always put my self in harms way never thinking of the consequences. Along story short . I came to faith at 19 on my dads living room floor after leaving a life of prostitution. My walk with God was like being or I like Hosea’s wife . In and out of Gods will . Now I’m much older and want nothing more than His plan for me . If I didn’t wreck it so badly .