Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight (Prov. 3:5-6).

George Mueller was a pastor in England during the nineteenth century who knew what it meant to live a life that was focused on knowing and doing the will of God. God led him in a walk of faith that has become an incredible testimony to all who hear his story.

Whenever he lacked for something, he prayed for the resources. During his ministry in Bristol, England, George built four orphan houses that cared for 2,000 children at the time. When he died at the age of 93, over 10,000 children had been provided for through his orphanages, and he had distributed over eight million dollars that had been given to him in answer to prayer.

How did he know and do the will of God?

"I never remember a period that I ever sincerely and patiently sought to know the will of God by the teaching of the Holy Ghost, through the instrumentality of the Word of God, but I have been always directed rightly." Here is how George summed up the way he entered into a "heart" relationship with God and learned to discern God's voice:

1) "I seek at the beginning to get my heart into such a state that it has no will of its own in regard to a given matter.

2) Having done this, I do not leave the result to feeling or simple impression. If so, I make myself liable to great delusions.

3) I seek the will of the Spirit of God through, or in connection with, the Word of God. The Spirit and the Word must be combined.

4) Next, I take into account providential circumstances. These often plainly indicate God's will in connection with His Word and Spirit.

5) I ask God in prayer to reveal His will to me aright.

Thus, (1) through prayer to God, (2) the study of the Word, and (3) reflection, I come to a deliberate judgment according to the best of my ability and knowledge, and if my mind is thus at peace, and continues so after two or three more petitions, I proceed accordingly."*

Consider these five steps when discerning God's voice in your life.

How do you recognize people? I'm not talking about by their hairstyle or dress. When we think of friends or family we don't focus on outward appearances; rather, their true identify is found in their personality traits. What they stand for, their morals, their beliefs and their way of doing things make people who they are.

The same is true about God. When you think of God, what comes to mind? Too often we forget He too has an identity that is separate from His appearance. God is not just a spirit being, sitting on His throne judging the world. Sadly, this is the mental image many people have of Him. It is only those who are desperate for more that will come to know Him on a deeper level than a simple mental image. Moses was one such man. He wanted to know the God He was serving; not just about Him. He had talked with God on several prior occasions, and yet he still wasn't satisfied. He didn't want to only serve God because He was God. He wanted to know more of His character. When we discover the character of God, a greater love and appreciation is developed towards Him.

Although we can't see Him face to face, we can come to understand who He is based on scripture. Through the red letters, Jesus gave us a lot of insight into the heart of God.

Surprisingly, we come to understand quite a bit about God's character based on His view of sin. Jesus taught in Matthew 5 hate is murder and lust is adultery. Harboring these thoughts in our heart is displeasing to Him.

GOD'S TAKE ON SIN
But why does He care if we harbor lust or envy in our hearts? Most of the time we don't even act out our sinful thoughts. Our hearts tell more of who we are than our actions do. Our hearts may not be exposed to the world, but they are clearly seen before God. Our hearts identify who we are and what we're living for. God who also lives in the secret place knows and sees in secret. The hidden things are more alive to God than the exposed things. Outward expressions can be faked, but the true state of the heart cannot lie.

When we harbor sin in our hearts, we are harboring the very opposite of God's nature. Our sinful nature has no part of God in it. As children of God, we are to emanate His nature. We are to strive to be as much like Him as possible. Matthew 5:45 explains it best: That you may be sons of your Father in heaven. My two-year-old son follows his dad around everywhere. He enjoys being with him and at times imitates his speech and actions. The older he is getting, the closer his relationship is developing with his daddy. Our Father desires the same thing in His children; to reflect who He is reveals the depth of our commitment and passion for Him. Our willingness to please God is clearly seen through our actions and more importantly through our thought life.

DOING GOOD EVEN WHEN IT'S NOT DESERVED
The question is: What can we learn about God through Jesus' words and how do we live by them?

In Matthew 5, we read about God's take on being treated unjustly by others. Jesus said to love, bless, do good and pray for those that treat us like enemies. What profit is that? It would seem more justly to destroy our enemies. But through doing good we are putting to death our selfish nature that is contrary to God and taking on our Father's nature. It doesn't matter if they deserve it or not. We read in v. 45 He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. We often wonder why God allows evilness to prevail on the earth. Why doesn't God just destroy all wickedness and those that commit it? Because He is showing His goodness to all. On judgment day all evil will be punished. In the meantime, if we open our eyes, we can see into the character of God through this passage. To have breath in our lungs, to see the sun rise over the earth and to see the stars glowing, all point towards God's mercy and kindness to all who dwell on the earth. In our minds eye, we would think to seclude goodness to those that are good while neglecting the bad. That is our human mind thought. But God is not like man. When Jesus taught us in verse 44, But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, and verse 46, If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? He was teaching us the character of God. Being like our Father is going above human emotion and doing what does not come natural nor easy.

Verse 48 sums it all up. Therefore you shall be perfect just as your Father is perfect.

GOD DWELLS IN THE SECRET PLACE
Although we see God's handiwork, we can't see Him with our eyes. You could say He is in secret. We pray to Him even though we don't always sense His nearness. It's the secret things that go on in the earth that God takes notice of the most. Outward acts are done to be seen and praised by man. The Pharisees were notable for doing charitable deeds only to be praised by men. Outward acts of charity are common and make the giver look like an angel. Everyone and anyone is capable of drawing the praise of men this way, but this should never be our reason for doing good.

God who is in secret knows the secret motives and intentions of our heart and will reward us accordingly. Anytime we take strides to be more like Him, He will take notice.

Copyright 2009
Naomi Cassata
iluvjc079@yahoo.com

Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com-CHRISTIAN WRITERS-MAKE A WEBSITE

A child of God must “walk by faith”. This means you have to keep walking in the Light even when you are not sure how things will turn out. But through faith you know God will work it out for your good! That you must focus on Him when those who walked with you at one time walk no more. You see the narrow road to God is not full of travelers. But it is the path that leads you over through and beyond the wide road that leads to destruction. The faith that God has instilled in you as His child will daily illuminate your path. Diligently study His Word! It will give you healthy realistic boundaries. Integrity will assist you. It will provide an invisible shield to insulate you from the claws of the many wolves that adorn sheep clothing!

Do you desire to walk in integrity? Do you desire to be whole? Do you really know that there is absolutely nothing in life that God is not aware of? “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” God in His infinite wisdom knew from the very beginning of time that we would have to endure many situations, trials, sicknesses, grief and yes difficult people. His Word tells us that He knew us before the foundation of the world. God has given us so many examples to remind us daily who He is. You see “The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament display His handiwork!” So why is it that so many elect to walk contrary to His Word?

You see many do not simply understand that God really has provided everything that we need in order to live and properly function in this world. God has given us the Bible that contains 66 books which have been divinely inspired. He sent His Son to purchase with His life; a plan of salvation for us! It is through His plan of salvation we access His overflowing abundance. It is through Him we are given the opportunity to walk in integrity.

Walking in integrity provides you with a sense of wholeness. It gives you an assurance to know when you are walking with the Lord your steps are ordered. This does not mean that bad things will not happen. I assure you they will. But if you are quietly still you will be able to recognize the author of its origin. You will be able to soar above your situation and rest in the arms of an all powerful and mighty God. You see God is awesome and He is mighty in battle.

Life today is very complex. The world is full of people who subscribe to a multiplicity of belief systems. Many simply have no moral or ethical barometer to determine what is right or wrong. Many live in lifestyles entrenched in a multiplicity of addictive behaviors. You also have those who do not really believe in God but they attempt to live life by doing good things. Then you have another group that is just mentally insane! On the other hand you have many who profess to be believers that opt to employ a distorted fragmented partially clad truth system. That is really not truth at all. Then you have those who know without a doubt they are children of God. They realize that they live in the world but they know that they are not of the world. So therefore we have global conflict.

What are you saying? As a child of God you realize that you live in the world. But on a spiritual level you know that you must not conform to its belief system. You withdraw on your Faith account. You beseech God for direction. You do not walk in the counsel of ungodly people. How do I do this? You must learn to walk in integrity. You must pray that the Lord illuminates your understanding to help you see your path forward. You seek solace in the scriptures for further guidance. You accept the truth even when it is painful. You lay aside the weights that so easily make an attempt to hinder you walking in the Light of God’s Word. Daniel’s life displays an excellent example of integrity. His peers were intimidated by his character. For this they plotted against him. Yet, Daniel remained faithful to Godly principles. God took care of Daniel. Walking in integrity causes one to walk against the grain. You see the Truth is always the pathway to God!

We who are Christians must seek to resolve our earthly challenges in a spiritual way. This does not mean to adopt some fairytale never never land faulty belief system. Neither does it mean I can do anything, say anything or live any way and God will just have to forgive me mentality. After all we are not under the law we are under grace. It means to responsively take personal responsibility for your actions!

There will be consequences for behavior! Don’t t use or manipulate others who are weak and are ignorant to God’s Way of living in order to get your way! Integrity will help you walk in meekness. Meekness is power under control! The world system is not the system that God wants His children to operate within. The law is for the unlawful. But if you know the truth it does not matter. Many choose evil over what is right! You know that whatever trumped up charges someone tries to infer against you they will simply have no weight. Just remember Daniel! Obedience to God is vitally important for the believer. You must choose to walk in integrity!

Walking in integrity is not an easy task. You see it also means to stand for what is right in the eyes of God. You may have to go some places and be some places you would rather not be; but only for a season. Just know God walks with you wherever you go! But you must be certain you have not crossed your will with His! You abandon the need to manipulate the situation. Integrity does not have to fight its way into anything. Grace which is a by product will sustain you. You instead elect to pray and seek God’s guidance. It is through this guidance you can obtain the spiritual, physical and emotional energy to endure. To soar above your circumstances. This will give you the spiritual clarity to operate in spite of! Your faith will assure you God will eventually pull down any strongholds! By faith you know the Holy Spirit will illuminate the darkness that tries to perpetrate a fraudulent simulated light.

It is very difficult to properly relate to someone who lacks integrity. They quite often subscribe to the idea that they can do whatever is necessary to get what they want. They have a very difficult time dealing with anyone who does not agree with them. They often resort to fragmenting the truth to solicit support of those who are partially informed. You do not have to resort to their tactics! Do not be dismayed when they hurl insults. Just know that they are coming from a place of insecurity. A child of God must “walk by faith”. This means you have to keep walking in the Light even when you are not sure how things will turn out. But through faith you know God will work it out for your good! That you must focus on Him when those who walked with you at one time walk no more. You see the narrow road to God is not full of travelers. But it is the path that leads you over through and beyond the wide road that leads to destruction. The faith that God has instilled in you as His child will daily illuminate your path. Diligently study His Word! It will give you healthy realistic boundaries. Integrity will assist you. It will provide an invisible shield to insulate you from the claws of the many wolves that adorn sheep clothing!

Whenever you are in doubt of direction seek Godly direction. Often a simple whispered prayer will suffice. Because God really does know where you are, what you have done and better yet what you are going to do. Please do not subscribe to the counsel of the ungodly. Beware of those who talk right and walk left. Who use the grace of God as a license to sin! Who indulge in unspeakable behavior! Who live to satisfy the flesh and have an insatiable desire to star in an imitation spiritual spotlight. You see with God there is absolutely nothing that is hidden! Therefore you realize that there is no need for an audience when you know that you have God’s attention 24/7. To much is given much is required! You can then walk humbly in His Light because you know that “Greater is He that is in you than He that is in the world”! Know there can be no true peace and contentment where truth is not welcomed. God is the Spirit of TRUTH! But you can share with anyone who asks “This joy that I have the world did not give it to me.” Neither can the world take it away! Do you really want to be made whole? Begin today to walk in integrity! TO GOD BE THE GLORY!

About the Author:

DeBorrah K. Ogans is a licensed Pastoral Counselor and ordained minister. She is certified through the Sarasota Academy of Christian Counseling in Creation Therapy and holds a Master’s Degree in Biblical Clinical Counseling. DeBorrah is a Co-Founder along with her husband Randall of "Alpha 7 Ministries". She is the author of a pre-marital guide “How Do I Love Thee: Things You Need To Know Before You Say I Do”, and has released her second book "Holy Matrimony: Now That You're Married".