Jesus is our model for how to respond to God's direction for our lives. He told His disciples, "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does" (John 5:19). When faced with death on the cross and separation from His Father for the first and only time, Jesus willingly obeyed His Father's will. In the Garden of Gethsemane, he declared, "Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine" (Luke 22:42). It is okay to ask God to confirm His will for our lives. But once we are sure of God's direction, we need to follow the leading of Jesus in obedience, declaring, "Not my will, but Yours be done."

The Bible says, "For in him we live and move and exist" (Acts 17:28). We can't do anything of eternal value without God's help. Jesus calls Himself the Vine, and we are the branches. He makes is clear that, "...apart from me you can do nothing" (John 15:5). So we need to see ourselves as strong "in Him." In the first chapter of Ephesians, the Apostle Paul uses the term "in Him" numerous times to describe how God sees us. We need to see ourselves as being "in Him," knowing that "apart from him we can do nothing."

Yes! The Apostle Paul writes, "God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful" (1 Corinthians 1:27). God is Almighty, so He doesn't need any person to help Him do what He wants to do in the earth. Instead, in His wisdom, He chooses to use men and women because He loves us. The Apostle James declares, "Hasn’t God chosen the poor in this world to be rich in faith? Aren’t they the ones who will inherit the Kingdom he promised to those who love him?" (James 2:5). God will often work through people, groups, and nations that appear weak so that when He accomplishes His plan, no one can take credit for it. It could have only been done because of God.

God can confirm His plan for our lives in many ways. The most important way that He confirms His guidance is through the Bible (2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:20), which is the final authority in our lives. He also confirms His will by His Spirit speaking directly to your spirit (Romans 8:14, John 10:27), through godly counselors (Proverbs 11:14, Proverbs 15:22), through confirmation (Matthew 18:16, Deuteronomy 19:15), through the peace of God (Colossians 3:15, Isaiah 55:12), through prophets in the Church (Amos 3:7, 1 Corinthians 14:3-5), and through God bringing the circumstances into order in His timing. The wonderful thing is that our Heavenly Father loves us and wants to give us direction in our lives (Proverbs 3:5-10, Psalm 37:23-24).

We are made in the image and likeness of God -- and there is perfect unity in Him: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We see this unity when God created the earth, declaring, "Let US make mankind in OUR image, in OUR likeness…" (Genesis 1:26). Because we are made in God's image, He commands His blessing over us when we walk in unity with other believers (Psalm 133:1-3). The Bible tells us that there is power when we pray together in unity (Matthew 18:19, Acts 2:1). There is spiritual strength in unity: "A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken" (Ecclesiastes 4:12). Walking in unity brings joy to God, and it brings His blessing (Philippians 2:2, Romans 15:6).