Don't Try to Build Without the Lord

Romans 10:3

Psalm 127:1-2

Our recent home improvement project
(which took F.O.R.E.V.E.R.)

Why do we attempt to build anything without the Lord? He tells us His Law and His Commandments so clearly in Scripture yet we turn around and try a different way, any way, as long as it's different from His way. Like a teenager insisting that different is better even though his parents know otherwise from experience, we think that the old way is always wrong and the new way is always an improvement. We would be happier and healthier if we would only acknowledge God's sovereignty and submit to His will.

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It's especially difficult to submit to God's will for our lives when we ask for His input and can't hear His response. The problem is generally not that He isn't speaking to us but rather that we're not able to hear what He says. The Jews knew they needed justice but didn't recognize God's so they established their own. We know He has more information to make a well-informed decision than we have available, but we can't hear His guiding words so we make a decision based on our own wisdom. Before we move forward, we would be better off attempting to fix our hearing problem so we could receive the Lord's input in our lives.

1. Unrepented sin. Confess, no matter how small or large the sin. Ask for His forgiveness. Repent to anyone we have offended and restore our relationships with them.
2. ASK the Lord for His guidance. Don't assume that He won't respond, but assume rather that He will. Seek the Lord and seek His desire for you.
3. Consider whether the decision lines up with orthodox Christian teaching. The Lord is the same, yesterday, today and forever, so He is not going to suddenly tell you to move in a direction that is clearly opposed to His Commandments.
4. Ask the advice of other Christian brothers and sisters. They might see something that you cannot. They might know God's Word better than you do, or they might not be prevented from hearing His reply like you might be.
5. Those who hear the Lord most clearly are those who maintain a strong relationship with Him regardless of the circumstances of their lives. They repent of their sins regularly, pray many times every day, work on good and right relationships with other Christians, read Scripture daily, etc. If we want to hear Him when we need His input, we would be wise to build that relationship during the times when we don't need to make a life-changing decision.