Reflection Options  

Journal  (Reflect on one or more of these questions)

• Read the article “8 Keys to Knowing God’s Will for your Life” and keep a record of how you see God working in each of the eight areas. Update it every few months.

• Journal about a time you felt God was clear with you about the next steps to take.  Now think of a time it was not clear--and you had to take a step forward.  What happened in each of those situations?  In hindsight, how well did you do in discerning God's plans?  Do you think you always need to have a clear word from Him in order to move forward? What are some ways He has “delivered” that word to you?

• Write out a “wish list” of what you hope God’s plans for your future are (relationally, career wise and spiritual impact).  Then spend some time praying about that list.  Ask for feedback on your list from trusted others as well.

• Do you think Jesus ever struggled to know God’s will? If so, what did that look like? If not, why not?

Quote Interaction (Interact by agreeing, disagreeing or otherwise engaging with the quote/quotes)

• ​God’s primary will for you is the person you become. (John Ortberg)

• We do have a responsibility to make wise decisions or to discover the will of God, whichever term we may prefer to use. But God’s plan for us is not contingent upon our decisions. God’s plan is not contingent at all. God’s plan is sovereign. It includes our foolish decisions as well as our wise ones.  (Jerry Bridges)

• It is impossible to describe the abundance of peace and heavenly joy that often flows into my soul because of the answers I obtain from God after waiting on Him for help and blessing. The longer I have had to wait on Him or the greater my need is, the greater the enjoyment when at last the answer came. (George Muller)

• Working and waiting belong together. In combination they will deliver us both from the presumption which thinks we can do everything and from the pessimism which thinks we can do nothing. (John Stott)

• We are trying not so much to make God listen to us as to make ourselves listen to Him; we are trying not to persuade God to do what we want, but to find out what he wants us to do. It so often happens that in prayer we are really saying, “Thy will be changed,” when we ought to be saying, “Thy will be done.” The first object of prayer is not so much to speak to God as to listen to Him. (William Barclay)

• Seeking God’s guidance is not like practicing divination or consulting oracles, astrologers, and clairvoyants for information about the future, but rather is comparable with everyday thinking through of alternative options in given situations to determine the best course open to us. The inward experience of being divinely guided is not ordinarily one of seeing signs or hearing voices, but rather one of being enabled to work out the best thing to do. (J.I. Packer)

Reading & Reflection from the book, Shaping The Journey of Emerging Adults: 

• Look at the idea “Use a Journal to keep track of how God is working” (pp. 203, 204).  Write your own prayers regarding the future and review them with your mentor every few months to see how God is working.  

• Read the “Indisputable Mandate” (pp. 62, 63). This section reflects on “the plan” God had for building His kingdom. How would you have felt if you were one of the disciples? How might you feel if God’s potential plan for your life is different than you think it should be?

• Read “Who am I? Ideology.” (pp. 113-114).  Have you wondered similar things as Janine? What questions have you had as you have tried to determine God’s plans for you?

• Read “Seek God through fasting” (pp. 141).  What might you fast from as you wait on the Lord for insight or direction?