Trusting ‘godly’ advice.

I disagree with the quote.

This is because I’ve had revelation in my life that I should do something that I definitely DID NOT WANT to do. In my case, it was to adopt a child. I eventually changed my heart about it, submitting to what I believed was the will of God — and changing my heart until I felt warm, spiritual and whole-hearted about the whole thing. Through self-discipline, prayer, and reflection, I eventually changed my feelings so I WANTED to do it, and submitted to the process willingly.

One another occasion, I WANTED to do something, and appeared to be able to do it (serve a mission) and I prayed to know if God really wanted me to go given all the temporal obstacles that Church leaders had thrown in my way. This was after a long period of trying unsuccessfully, eventually breaking into a situation where success was forseeable. At that point, I was willing to stay home if that’s what God wanted, but I got the distinct impression He wanted me to go in spite of the attitudes and unsupportiveness of my local leaders. (There were no worthiness issues, their lack of support was due to money, nothing else).

I have done this a number of times in my life, and it wouldn’t surprise me if others have had similar experiences.

For me the quote is overly cynical, and does not cover all situations — particularly when people have a desire to truly seek and obey what they believe is God’s will. For some it may be true, but it certainly does not cover those who truly want to be good at heart.

Now, when someone claims that God told them I should do something, that’s where I grow wary. Ultimately it’s my choice to decide if I need that confirmed, or if I’ll “obey” without a confirmation. I taught that to my children the other day.