IT’S NOT ALWAYS AS CLEAR-CUT AS WE WOULD LIKE

The View From Above: Thoughts To Help With Everyday Life

October 2, 2026

Pastor Paul Stephens

Part 4 — IT’S NOT ALWAYS AS CLEAR-CUT AS WE WOULD LIKE

Sometimes it is, and that makes our lives a lot easier.

God’s Word provides us with parameters and boundaries that are put in place for our good and well-being.

For example:

1 Thessalonians 4:3

“For THIS IS THE WILL OF GOD, your sanctification: that you should ABSTAIN from sexual immorality.”

That’s not something that is nuanced or that you need to pray about.

As they say, it is what it is.

That feature of God’s will is not in place to rob us of enjoyment. It is to protect us from the damage that can be done.

So, that is helpful and provides us with clarity about the will of God when it comes to sex. It is only to be expressed in the covenant of marriage.

Then the full benefit of its expression can be enjoyed and realized.

However, there are other areas of life and God’s will that may not be so clear-cut and obvious.

We are all faced with choices in life, and there may be no wrong answer.

The question is: what do we do?

The Apostle Paul was facing such a dilemma.

He was obeying God’s call to “go into all the world and preach the Gospel.”

He’s in Asia, in the process of going…but he doesn’t know precisely where to go, but he’s making the effort to discover the specific will of God for this occasion.

Acts 16:6–7

“Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia. After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them.”

This is an example of God guiding us along the way.

God has something specific for Paul and his companions; they just don’t know what it is yet.

They are trying, going, praying, and seeking the mind of God.

Then, after a number of efforts where the “Spirit did not permit them,” God spoke and gave clarity:

Acts 16:9–10

“And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him, saying, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us.’

Now after he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them.”

There it is, the clarity came in the midst of an effort to genuinely discover the specific will of God for this occasion.

Though our circumstances are far different, we often find ourselves in a position of indecision.

Not sure what to do, maybe we should try this…or that, or remain in place until God speaks to us.

God will guide all of us along the way of life.

Sometimes there is absolute clarity provided by the Word of God…and sometimes there are options, none of which are wrong or sin in themselves…but they are not what God wants.

So we wait, pray…seek advice and look to discover God’s will so we can move forward.

That is the wisdom of the following verse.

We have to live life carefully and wisely, not in fear but in confidence that as a result of our love for Jesus and His Word, He will provide us with the guidance we need at particular and maybe critical moments of life.

Ephesians 5:15–17 AMP

“Therefore see that you walk carefully [living life with honor, purpose, and courage; shunning those who tolerate and enable evil], not as the unwise, but as wise [sensible, intelligent, discerning people], making the very most of your time [on earth, recognizing and taking advantage of each opportunity and using it with wisdom and diligence], because the days are [filled with] evil.

Therefore do not be foolish and thoughtless, but UNDERSTAND AND FULLY GRASP WHAT THE WILL OF THE LORD IS.”