“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8 NIV).

Sin always involves self-deception. At the moment you’re sinning, you’re deceiving yourself because you think that what you’re doing will actually produce better results than what God has already told you to do.

To stop defeating yourself, you must stop deceiving yourself. You’ve got to take an honest look at your life, face the truth, and deal with the issues. Is there something in your life that you’re pretending isn’t a problem? Maybe an addiction? Something that you’re thinking is no big deal, when it really is a big deal?

It really doesn’t matter whether you’re addicted to heroin or abusing a credit card, whether you’re viewing pornography or reading a crude novel. You’re using these things to escape something painful, or something hard to deal with. But you’re not going to find healing until you first acknowledge the root of your problem.

You don’t have to hit rock bottom before you really change. There are wake-up calls going on all around you right now, if you’ll only listen to them. But if you don’t, you’ll continue on a path toward destruction.

You don’t have to go that way! You can acknowledge the root of the issue and ask God to help you deal with it once and for all.

I’ve asked the professional counselors in our church, “What’s the biggest problem you encounter?” They say over and over, “People wait too long before they ask for help. Then it’s almost impossible to turn around.” There will be warning signs all over the place in a marriage, and then all of a sudden the husband or wife walks out. Far too many people stay in denial and wait until it’s too late, and so they go through unnecessary pain.

The Bible says, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8 NIV).

What hard questions do you need to be asking yourself about the sin in your life? What warning signs have you been ignoring?

If you want healing, acknowledge the root of your problem, and face the truth about you. God is ready, willing and wanting to bring healing to your life.

PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >>

Talk It Over

• How might pride keep you from acknowledging the root of your problems?
• Why do we often think we know better than God what is best for us?
• What do you think God wants you to do after you face the truth about the problems in your life?

“If you want to know what God wants you to do, ask him, and he will gladly tell you, for he is always ready to give a bountiful supply of wisdom to all who ask him” (James 1:5 TLB).

If you want to know God’s will, you need to do a couple of things:

1. Admit that you need guidance.

We don’t really like to admit when we’re confused. Men especially don’t like to do this! It’s not in my nature to say, “Hey! I’m lost!” and stop and ask for directions. That’s why, when it comes to knowing God’s will, it takes some real courage to admit that we’re confused and need direction.

Psalm 25:9 says, “He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way” (NIV). If you’re arrogant and think you’ve got it all figured out, God’s going to say, “Be my guest. Go for it!” I’ve had people tell me, “I’ve been a Christian for 20 years, and I’ve never felt God guiding me.” My response? Maybe it’s because you’ve never admitted that you need it. You go to work assuming that you know what to do without praying about it. You make financial decisions all the time without praying about them. You make vacation plans without praying about them. You make career decisions without praying about them. If you’re single, you go out on a date without praying about it.

You think you know, but you might want to stop and admit that you need guidance, because it’s the first step in getting God’s will for your life.

2. Ask God in faith for directions.

The Bible says in James 1:5-6, “If you want to know what God wants you to do, ask him, and he will gladly tell you, for he is always ready to give a bountiful supply of wisdom to all who ask him; he will not resent it. But when you ask him, be sure that you really expect him to tell you, for a doubtful mind will be as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind” (TLB).

Notice there are two keys to knowing God’s wisdom. First, you’ve got to ask the right person: God. You don’t ask your manicurist, your bartender, or some other “reliable” authority like a radio talk show host. You have to ask the right person! Then you ask with the right attitude: expecting God to answer. Have you ever asked God to lead you, but you didn’t really expect him to? Sure you have. That’s why you never got anything from it. You must ask with the expectation of an answer. God honors faith, and he promises wisdom for the next step of your life.

PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >>

Talk It Over

• What big decisions have you made about your life recently? How did you know it was God’s will? How did prayer affect your decision?
• Whom do you go to when you need help discerning God’s will? How does that person point you back to God’s Word and prayer?
• Why does God want you to pray expectantly?

“The steps of a man are established by the Lord . . . When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong, because the Lord is the One who holds his hand” (Psalm 37:23-24 NASB).

You may think you’re at a dead end in your life. “We’re never going to get out of debt!” “I’m never going to have a baby.” “My dream is never going to come true.” “How is it ever going to work out?”

Right now it may look dark and you may feel defeated and things may seem like a mystery to you. But one day you’re going to see in the light of eternity how it all fits together in God’s plan. Until then, there are three errors you need to avoid as you seek God’s will — and as you avoid these errors, you will develop deeper trust in God, even when you don’t understand.

1. Don’t be fatalistic. The idea of fatalism — the idea that everything is out of our control and we are powerless to do anything about it — leads to self-pity. It causes us to blame God for everything bad in our lives rather than accepting responsibility when we cause problems. And fatalism leads to passivity. It makes us think, “I’m waiting on God to bring me a spouse” or “I’m waiting on God to get me a job.” God’s saying, “I gave you a brain! I gave you two feet! Get out and do something about it!”

2. Don’t be frustrated. If you try to figure out everything in your life, you’re going to be very frustrated. Sometimes you’re going to do what you think is God’s will, and it’s going to fail. “I thought God was leading me to start this business, but it failed.”

What do you do when there are no answers? You keep trusting God, knowing that he’s working on your character through all of your circumstances and that he has good plans for you.

3. Don’t be fearful. What is behind the fear of God’s will? The root problem is that you doubt God’s love. The Bible says, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18 NASB). We always get into trouble when we doubt God’s love, because when we don’t trust him, we don’t obey him.

Psalm 37:23-24 says, “The steps of a man are established by the Lord . . . When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong, because the Lord is the One who holds his hand” (NASB).

God’s will is an expression of his love. When you don’t understand what God is doing, have patience. God knows what’s best for you. You can’t see the end result, but he can. God’s path might be a path of pain, but all those delays and difficulties and problems are building character in your life.

PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >>

Talk It Over

• How would you respond to the question, “Why do bad things happen to good people?”
• What have you been waiting on God to do in or bring into your life? What do you think he wants you to do about it?
• What do you think this statement means: “God’s will is an expression of his love”?