If you have been a Christian for very long you have found this out. The Christian life is very different from what secular society would have you believe. From our society we hear that the Christian life is one of tradition, restrictions, and boredom. How untrue! The Christian life is boring to two types of people: non-Christians, and Christians who want to run their own life.

If you have been a Christian for very long you have found this out. The Christian life is very different from what secular society would have you believe. From our society we hear that the Christian life is one of tradition, restrictions, and boredom. How untrue! The Christian life is boring to two types of people: non-Christians, and Christians who want to run their own life.

The life of a Christian who is following God's path on a daily basis, is a life of excitement, thrill, and awe at God's power in our world today. Is that how your walk with God is each day? Are you filled with Godly enthusiasm and energy each day because you're wondering what God has in store for you? If all you see are the responsibilities that you have for the day, then you are not looking with your spiritual eyes. You are not letting God illuminate your next step. God is in each step you take.

"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them" (Ephesians 2:10).

How does God illuminate?
Man has engaged in discourse on that subject since the beginning of time. Each child of God knows that He is there. But how He leads is experienced differently in each of us. There are also times when we feel as if we have lost our way and we feel as if God has gone. It is during these times that we wonder: "How do I know God's will in this?" There are many books on this subject. But the purpose of this article is not give you a resource list of current books on the topic of determining God's Will. The purpose of this article is to illuminate a path of guidance and leadership we can receive from God.

One of the paths is described in:
Psalm 119:33-38

33: Teach me, O Lord, the way of thy statutes; and I will keep it to the end.

First, the psalmist reveals that God teaches me about life through His statutes. He has given me His statutes so I will know the rules of life. Not the rules I am to abide by, but the rules that guide the order of things. If I follow them, there will be certain consequences. If I don't follow them, there will be other predictable outcomes. So the first step is to allow God to teach you.

34: Give me understanding, that I may keep thy law and observe it with my whole heart.

Next, the psalmist seeks an understanding about life that only God can give. This is not an intellectual understanding that comes from personal intellect. But it is an understanding that comes from God's Wisdom. God gives me insight and understanding into how His statutes fit into the way of life. I not only learn, but I experience His truth in my heart and soul.

35: Lead me in the path of thy commandments, for I delight in it.

As I walk through each day, I experience it as being led. I sense God's presence in people I talk to. I find myself saying things and responding to situations in ways that seem to come from something more than me, someone greater than me, Christ in me. I know in my heart that I am being led through experiences to meet His need or plan, not mine. I am aware of spiritual significance in my daily walk.

36: Incline my heart to thy testimonies, and not to gain!

It is a natural human tendency to seek my own will and prosperity. I will always lean toward doing those things that bring me praise, glory, wealth, or pleasure. It is only God who can incline my heart to seek His will. I can't and won't do it out of my own will.

37: Turn my eyes from looking at vanities; and

Most of the time we're not aware of it, but all humans are seeking life in God's ways. He created life and we all have an innate need to fit into it the way He intended. However, most of us are ignorant of that need and we are therefore distracted by "vanities", glitter, beauty, what's politically correct. We are attracted to fame, and the famous. If we are not careful we begin to assess our life, whether it is good or bad, by how much vanity it possesses. Only God can "Turn my eyes" to His truth.

give me life in thy ways.

God gives me life. Sound simple? Think about it. When I get up in the morning. I decide when to get up. I decide what to do and what to eat. It can be so easy to think that the day is part of my life. I need to understand the reality that God gives me my life. He gives me each breath. He has also given me the events of my day to accomplish "His good works".

38: Confirm to thy servant thy promise, which is for those who fear thee.

God will confirm to me during the day that His will is being done and that I am a part of it, if I fear Him. Now, that just means He will confirm my part in His will if I am paying attention to Him. If I am willing to recognize that it is His day. It's not that I agree to give Him credit. It's more a recognition of truth and reality: that it is His day in reality. God just wants me to be aware of truth, and not to be deceived into thinking that the day was partly mine or that there is some other sort of reality (the world has plenty of alternative deceptions about reality).

God has also given us promises about what He will do in life if we give ourselves to His Will each day. What are those promises? Get into His Word! Learn about them. They're important to your well-being, sense of hope, and enlightenment into why things happen the way they do. These issues are beyond the scope of this article. Just know that there's more to learn about life. And it comes from knowing His Word.

These six verses lay out a conceptualization of how God leads us in life.

• He teaches
• He gives me understanding
• He leads me
• He inclines my heart
• He focus's my eyes correctly
• He confirms Himself to me (providing me with assurance)

In these six steps we see that we discover God's will, not by our own intellect, or will, or understanding. But that everything comes from Him. He does all of it in us. Our part is to seek His illumination in everything and allow Him to provide it.

A Native American legend tells the story of a tribe with a striking rite of passage for it's young male's when they are at the age of responsibility. At the right time, the young man is taken out into the forest, many miles from the village, to spend a full night alone. There are many dangers in the night and his fate will determine if he survives. There are bears, wolves, mountain lions, and other creatures capable of ending his life.

For a young man who has been cared for by loving parents and a protective village community, this is a terrifying prospect that is dreaded by all the young men. None of the young men know ahead of time when they will be taken. When it is determined by the village leaders and parents that it is the appropriate time, the youth is whisked away into the forest.

When it happens, the youth knows it is his time. He knows that this may be his last day on earth. He is taken by warriors to an unfamiliar place in the forest and told that he must stay there until daybreak. He must not leave or run away. They tell him they will return the next day to see if fate has allowed him to survive the night.

As the warriors ride away the youth is at first excited. This is his time! He will be a man if he survives the night! But as dusk begins to fall, the night sounds begin. The evening begins to cool and a shiver runs through the youth. What was that rustling? Was that a bear? Where was it? Over there? Or there? Is it coming for me? What do I do? Ooh, I'll never make it, the youth realizes. As the evening darkens into night, terror begins to seize the young man. He knows that at any moment he will be torn apart by an approaching animal. Now it's complete dark. All he can sense is what he hears. And he hears sounds all around him.

He thinks to himself, "How could my family do this to me? I trusted them. I trusted my village community to protect me, and they care so little that they risk my life without a care except that fate will decide." He trembles with exhaustion and fear through the night, never sleeping, but barely able to stay awake. Now he knows that no one cares about his life but him. He can no longer depend on others to care for him. His belief that others cared and loved him, and that he was of value to them, was a childhood fantasy. All they cared about was if he could survive to become his own man. This must be the lesson of his people.

Oh, how he hated them. Oh, how he hated his parents for betraying him to the forest. And with each moment of the night, and with each terrifying sound, a sound that could be the last he would ever hear, his anger and despair deepens. He will never be the same. If he returns, he will never speak with joy or love for his people. He is on his own from now on.

The night has been long, but he has survived this long. The night sky seems to be getting less black. Is morning coming soon? Is it possible that I may survive? I can't stand this passage of time. I'll be killed just as it turns light. I know I'll never make it. So close. But I know I won't be a fortunate one. Wait… The night is getting lighter. Dawn is coming!

As he looks through the trees toward the horizon, he begins to see the glow of dawn. But wait! There's something in the darkness. It is large. It's looking in my direction! Oh no, I knew I wouldn't make it. It's here. It sees me. I can't stand the terror any longer!

As the sun creeps up on the horizon, and light begins to brighten the morning, the youth is able to see…there it is! The large figure is his own Father standing there in the clearing with his bow and arrow at the ready! He begins to realize that his Father had been standing there, out of sight, all through the night, ready to kill anything that came near or threatened his beloved son! He runs to his Father with relief and falls into his arms, completely safe. Knowing that from this point on, he need never be afraid of the dark, because in his heart he knows that his Father will always be there watching over him.

That, is his rite of passage. He is never alone. He is always being watched over. He can now view the world as a man, without childhood fears.

Isn't our Heavenly Father like this? Doesn't He stand watch through the dark nights of our soul? Do we know that He is ready to destroy anything that threatens to destroy us and that we need not be afraid of the dark?

Our Father teaches us, gives us understanding, leads us, inclines our heart, turns our eyes to the truth, and confirms His promises to us to assure us.