“To ask for the guidance of God is to make a choice, and this takes faith. It must be faith of a far higher kind than the breezy ‘if I like what I see I’ll take it.' It is faith that has strength to wait for the rewards God holds, strength to believe they are worth waiting for, worth the price asked.
Our prayers for guidance (or for anything else) really begin here: I trust him. This requires abandonment. We are no longer saying 'If I trust him, he’ll give me such and such,'
but 'I trust him. Let him give me or withhold from me what he chooses.'”
~Excerpt from “Introduction”
We are all looking for guidance, for a road map outlining the direction and purpose of our lives. In this lost and floundering society, we hunger and thirst for clear guidance and bullet-point instructions on how to live our lives. We want God to send us an email, text message, or Facebook alert on what we should do, when we should do it, and where. We want finding and discerning the will of God to be easy, predictable, and formula based. That is why we love advice that sounds like “5 Easy Ways to Discover God’s Will” or “10 Secrets to Finding Your Life’s Path.”
However, it’s not that easy. We can’t simplify the intents and purposes of an infinite God into a series of bullet-points comprehendible by finite men. It’s impossible and unreasonable. But at the same time, discovering God’s will is not a game of chance or a haphazard endeavor. It must be pursued with purpose and through a process. A Slow and Certain Light sheds much light on this topic.
Written by Elisabeth Elliot in 1973, this little, 116 page book published by WORD BOOKS holds much wisdom and insight into discerning God’s will for our lives. But this is not a “how to” book. It doesn’t contain secret tips and tricks on how to “discover” the will of God. Rather, Elliot’s emphasis is on faithfulness, obedience, and trust.
If you walk faithfully the road God sets before you one step at a time and trust God through the processes, you’ll find His will for your life. However, God’s will is not always what we think or imagine it to be. Often times it includes unforeseen seasons and situations that we might not have chosen for ourselves. Nevertheless, the path of faithfulness requires obedience no matter where the road takes us. As Elisabeth writes in her chapter “The Objectives”:
However, it’s not that easy. We can’t simplify the intents and purposes of an infinite God into a series of bullet-points comprehendible by finite men. It’s impossible and unreasonable. But at the same time, discovering God’s will is not a game of chance or a haphazard endeavor. It must be pursued with purpose and through a process. A Slow and Certain Light sheds much light on this topic.
Written by Elisabeth Elliot in 1973, this little, 116 page book published by WORD BOOKS holds much wisdom and insight into discerning God’s will for our lives. But this is not a “how to” book. It doesn’t contain secret tips and tricks on how to “discover” the will of God. Rather, Elliot’s emphasis is on faithfulness, obedience, and trust.
If you walk faithfully the road God sets before you one step at a time and trust God through the processes, you’ll find His will for your life. However, God’s will is not always what we think or imagine it to be. Often times it includes unforeseen seasons and situations that we might not have chosen for ourselves. Nevertheless, the path of faithfulness requires obedience no matter where the road takes us. As Elisabeth writes in her chapter “The Objectives”:
“I have found it to be true that obedience may lead me, not to the fulfillment of my own ideals of spirituality, but to very unexpected situations, very ‘unspiritual’ situations in my view, which are meant to teach me to be meek and lowly in heart.”
So whether you’re a high school or college graduate, young person looking for life direction and purpose, or merely someone looking for the “next step”, this book is for you. Pick it up, read it, and let me know what you think.
May the Lord open your eyes to His light and truth through the pages of A Slow and Certain Light!
May the Lord open your eyes to His light and truth through the pages of A Slow and Certain Light!
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