How to interpret God's dealings in your life
Dealings are personal; you can’t hop on someone’s personalized dealings and begin to run with them.
Isn’t it funny how much wisdom and intelligence we have as humans, and yet we (maybe unconsciously) don’t really think God is that intelligent?
Yes, in our minds, we randomly know God is all-knowing, but we do not intentionally relate with God as if he knows all things.
Have you ever been in such a place where you begin to wonder why you do not have as many restraints in some areas of your life as others do? I was wondering recently why God deals differently with people. Then I realized that we all aren’t the same. Your areas of strength might be someone else's weakness.
If you have strong issues with the craving for money, you may be led through very strange paths that are designed to kill such an appetite.
Your friend may not have such issues, and you might be wondering why it seems as though God doesn’t give him the same instructions he’s giving to you about money. The same happens for several areas too: dressing, eating, talking, etc.
Dealings are personal. You can’t hop on someone’s personalized dealings and begin to run with them. The Spirit is intelligent. He knows what you need, and he deals with you accordingly.
This is why we need to be careful about the kind of advice we take and give. Before you counsel someone on any area, you must let the Spirit guide your utterance to be in alignment with God’s dealings and purposes for their lives, or you should first ask them enough questions to help you understand their level of maturity and the pattern of God’s dealings with them.
For you, the recipient, you can’t afford to take everything you hear because it comes from someone you honor. If they don’t align with how God is dealing with you, you should learn how to ignore them.
I’ve received sincere advice from people that I knew deep down was good and scriptural, but this is not what God wants of me this season.
It is called “life in the spirit.” We are alive and living. We are not stoic or mathematical devices. So you could be instructed to never dress in a certain way, but someone else may not have such instructions (by the way, you can never be instructed to dress immodestly).
You may have an instruction to use money in a certain way, and someone else may not have similar instructions. In this context, let EVERYONE MIND THEIR BUSINESS. Everyone will grow ORGANICALLY to how God wants his church to function if only we realize that we are “living things” and not machines that operate by computational data.
Our wills and desires are what inform the kinds of dealings that would come our way.
Having a “walk with God” is more experiential than methodical.
Above all, our understanding of God’s Word will always determine how we interpret the dealings in our lives, this is why we must be submissive to someone who knows God’s Word and can help us when we are confused.
I can’t end without saying this:
“DON’T MAKE LIGHT of the Lord’s discipline, and don’t give up when he corrects you.
For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.
As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by his father? If God doesn’t discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children at all. God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness. No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward, there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way (Hebrews 12:5).