Acts 242 Study

They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

Tag Archives: Urrim

Urim and Thummim; Knowing God’s Will – Part 2

In our first session, we looked at the fascinating subject of the two objects that the Israelites were to use to be able to determine God’s will in matters of great importance. Now, let’s see how this method of knowing God’s will might apply to us as twenty-first century believers. The obvious answer is that we would love to have this kind of guidance in our daily walk! “Just tell me , ‘Yes or No’, Lord and I will do it”! It is human nature to want to know the future and what is going to happen and what we ought to do in response. We all want to be able to say, “God told me to do such and such” and have the future fall into place accordingly. This is why psychics and fortune tellers are such a novelty, because they claim to have a window into the future.

However, God has not given us a direct means of divine guidance like the Urim and Thummim to make specific decisions. So, then how does He give guidance to his children today? The tool that God gives us for guidance is His Word. Although it does not have personal information about us, it does reveal God’s will for our lives. God’s word tells us what to do and what not to do; it has specific rules for our conduct. If we will read and obey the promises and commands that are contained in Scripture, we will know what God wants in every situation and we will be in His will. The Bible is not bashful in it’s discussion of life; it delves into every detail of the human experience. The better and deeper we know God’s word, the better and deeper we will know Him and what His will is for us. Guidance for life’s decisions comes through getting to know the guide!

The next ingredient to knowing God’s will is, His Spirit. The Spirit helps us understand God’s word and to know His will for us. His spirit dwells within us to help us to know and to do His will (John 14:26). When He comes to live in us He starts shaping our minds and hearts. The Spirit give us peace of mind and helps us to make good choices. Whenever we are uncertain as to what to do, we should pray that the Spirit would illuminate and show us in the Word what the correct way or decision is. God will answer our prayer (James 1:5).

The last thing that God uses to show us His will for us is circumstances, or just the way life unfolds. God uses the circumstances in our life to mold and shape us toward the goal He has in mind for us. What are our desires? What are we good at? What need can we meet? What do we have an interest in or compassion for? We look at the way the situation is unfolding and make the best choice we can. His leading is not often a direct revelation as much as it is His sovereign controlling of the circumstances of our lives, leading us in the direction we’re supposed to go. And, if we get to a point where His leading is not clear, we should wait on Him until it is.

There is no three step method to understanding God’s will for our lives. It involves a lifelong process of falling in love with His word and learning its precepts. The more we know God, the more our decisions will be in line with His will for us. We call and wait on Him daily in prayer, asking the Spirit within us to guide us. By the guidance of His hand, as He daily works out the circumstances of our lives, He leads us along the path of life, not allowing us to wander in the wrong direction. Life is a faith walk. God doesn’t write our future on the wall for us to read in advance, but calls for us to see it daily as we walk hand-in-hand with Him. We walk by faith, trusting Him for today and for our future. There is no better way to live! It would be nice to have a Urim and Thummim in one way, but we have a better and more intimate partner now. Hebrew 1:1-2 says it well, “In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son….”