We’re seguing into another series that defines the biblical way of drawing closer to God, a way that takes longer, is seemingly far more pedestrian in approach, but unlike the signs and wonders movement, actually produces character in the Christian.

This particular path is not for the person who seeks instant gratification. It is for the Christian who is willing to take the time needed to travel down the proper road to develop the relationship that salvation enters us into; with the God of the universe.

Have you ever placed a “fleece” before God? Have you ever opened the Bible and placed your finger on a verse determining that the action and the verse will speak to a specific need in your life and provide direction from God? Have you ever used Promise Boxes? Have you ever just been frustrated over the question of attempting to discern God’s will for your life?

Here are some of the terms we use regarding God’s will. Do any of these words or phrases ring true with you as you have sought to learn God’s will for your life?

• discover
• learn
• seek
• find
• uncover
• divining
• gain understanding
• directing
• leading
• comprehend
• seeking after

You may have other words or phrases that you can add to that list, but certainly the point is clear. In many ways, we Christians do everything we know to do to help us understand what God’s will is for our lives. It makes sense on one hand that we want to do this because it shows us that we truly are dedicated to God’s purposes and we are taught that He has a unique (as well as general), will for each child.

We want to live His will. In fact, we endeavor to be like Jesus in that regard who clearly, on a daily basis and even moment-by-moment, lived in the exact center of God the Father’s will for His life. Not once did Jesus ever fail to complete the Father’s will for Him. Christ’s life is a model for us to follow and the committed Christian, while knowing that we will never perform God’s will perfectly in this life, understands that this daily attempt should be made.

So why is it when we discuss God’s will, the terms we use always seem to imply that He doesn’t really want us to know it? We speak of “finding” or “discovering” God’s will as though God wants to keep it a secret, or that He’s intent on making it difficult for us to “uncover”?

The truth is that most of us have probably placed fleeces before the Lord and done a number of other things in the hopes of finding just the right combination that unlock knowledge of His will. It seems to be a common thread among Christians.

Dr. Bruce Waltke, has taught Old Testament and Hebrew at Dallas Theological Seminary, Regent College, Westminster Theological Seminary, and several other institutions of higher learning. He’s published books and articles. One book in particular is the subject of this series. It is, Finding the Will of God. Waltke’s premise is that Christians have been doing things wrong in a big way. The reason we’ve been doing things wrong is because we fail to understand the difference between how saints in the Old Testament understood God’s will and those in the New Testament after the Church was born understood/understand it.