If you’re someone who follows God and wants to live as He commands then the whole area of guidance in the smaller more specific things is a tough one (well it is for me anyway).

The Bible is clear about the will of God for our lives as far as how we should live, our attitude to each other and our attitude to God. But the ‘life’ stuff… Will I buy a house or rent? Will I stay here or move somewhere else? Will I quit my job and go work for a mission organisation in Africa? Will go out on that date? Will I take out that loan?

Now I realise that some of those issues above are bigger and have more implications than others. I’m just talking about stuff that’s not mentioned specifically in the Bible. The things we need to work out ourselves.

I’ve always thought that guidance, discernment etc comes in a number of ways. There’s the inner witness, there are circumstances that lend themselves to the situation (the ‘open door’ effect) and then there’s wisdom and counsel of others.

Presuming we all pray and we all believe we hear from God, we hope that those things will match up and together a picture of the future and the path to it emerges.

But that doesn’t always happen. So what if someone wiser than you thinks you shouldn’t do what you’re convinced God is asking you to do?

Answers on a postcard or the back of a sealed envelope 

(Oh, were you hoping I’d be able to answer that question…..? eh…. Sorry!)