Does God direct our lives?
Question:
I have appreciated your website and the answers you share from the truth of God's word. I thought maybe you could help me with this: A friend is telling me that God reveals things to us about what to do about jobs, health, etc. In the sense that God directs our path, I suppose He reveals things to us. I’m afraid she is saying that outside of God’s word, there are other revelations. How do I respond?
Thank you!
Answer:
My first thought would be to ask your friend if Satan influences people to their detriment. If she says "yes," then I would ask how she can determine that a particular "leading" is from God or from Satan. Somewhere along the line, she is going to have to appeal to a moral standard. The only standard that has proven accurate over the course of time is the Bible. See Standards.
God does manipulate His creation to accomplish His goals. "The mind of man plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps" (Proverbs 16:9). This does not mean that God directly communicates with people and tells them what to do. This verse implies that men have free will. We make our decisions, but we also know things don't always work out the way we plan. One reason for this is that our decisions may not align with God's choices and He nudges things to accomplish His goals. See God's Providence.
The problem is that people assume that any "nudging" by God has to be done through direct communication or feelings that a person has. God has used direct communication in the past, but God told us that He has chosen to tell us everything we need to know through His Word -- the Bible. "God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world" (Hebrews 1:1-2). See Does God Speak Directly to Mankind Today? and God Is Speaking to You.
