Greg Laurie - Wednesday, June 27, 2018

A Journey of Faith

Don't act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.

—Ephesians 5:17

Having been a Christian for more than 40 years, I can tell you there have been times the Lord has spoken directly to my heart, and I’ve had a very clear sense of what I was supposed to do. But generally, I would have to say the Christian life is a journey of faith, one step at a time.

The Bible doesn’t say the just shall live by feeling; it says the just shall live by faith (see Romans 1:17). We read the Word of God and then take the principles found in it, put them into practice, and start going in the right direction.

For example, God wants us to be filled with the Holy Spirit. To be filled with the Spirit is simply to ask God to empower us each and every day. The Bible tells us,

“Understand what the Lord wants you to do. Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 5:17–18 NLT).
God wants us to have an attitude of gratitude. We’re told in 1 Thessalonians 5:18,

“Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus” (NLT).

That doesn’t mean we should thank God when things are going badly. Rather, we are to give thanks that God is in control of all circumstances that surround the life of the Christian.

Also, God wants us to live a pure life. As 1 Thessalonians 4:3 tells us,

“For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality” (NKJV).

If you’re violating basic principles that are plainly declared in Scripture, then it won’t help you to know God’s will. Instead, be obedient to what you know is God’s will for you today.