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[Soton]

So how does this "faith in the Lord" thing actually work? How do you know when God is moving you to do something?

I've had some questions for a while, but Kasich's campaign suspension speech brought them back to the front of my mind. He said: "I have always said that the Lord has a purpose for me as he has for everyone, and as I suspend my campaign today, I have renewed faith, deeper faith, that the Lord will show me the way forward, and fulfill the purpose of my life." How serious is he, do you think? I mean, is that basically just saying "it sucks, but facts are facts and I'm not going to win" dressed up in Christian-speak to show his tribal affiliation? Or is he actually saying that he really believes his faith has been strengthened? And if so, why does he feel it necessary to talk about his faith when he's suspending his campaign? I'd think the two were separate topics. You don't see people explaining their decision to suspend a political campaign in relation to their Game of Thrones fandom after all.

In broader terms, when Christians say that they "were moved by the Lord to X" do they actually, seriously, really, attribute their feelings to God, or is that just the churchy way of saying "I decided to X"? How do you tell the difference between just deciding to do something, and being moved by the Lord to do something, or can you?

And what happens when God was wrong, like Ted Cruz just experienced? Cruz said that God told him to run for President. So did Ben Carson. So did JEB! Clearly only one person can be the Republican nominee. So is God just confused about how many people get to be president? Is he pranking some of them? Or did Cruz, Carson, and JEB! all mistake their own feelings on the matter for God telling them to do something? Which brings me back to how a Christian can tell the difference between wanting to do something and God moving them to do something.

Can you only tell the difference in retrospect? Like if you feel the urge to run for President you just say you thought it was God telling you, but if you lose then (and only then) do you know that you were wrong and it wasn't God telling you but just you wanting to? Or is there some other way?

Several decades ago a group of people in Texas thought God had told them to take off all their clothes, pack nearly a dozen of themselves into a car, and drive to Arkansas. I'd guess that most people here would say that those people were deluded and that God hadn't actually told them to do that. But they had faith, and they thought so. What makes them wrong? In the Bible God tells people to do weird stuff on a regular basis (look at Abraham for just one such example), so it isn't as if you can just think "wait, no, this is silly" and realize that God wouldn't order you do to it.

I realize some of this sounds a bit snarky, but it's all very alien to me and seems more than a bit weird, and I'm not trying to be snarky. I'm actually looking for answers, not just trying to be an ass.

[jimwalton]

The kind of faith in God you are talking about is learned through relationship. In the same way that a married couple learns how each other is thinking, what pleases the other, what their preferences and values are, Christians who care to learn can learn the ways of God and come to know the heart of God, and are more prone to move in His direction. Prayer is important, too, and to stay in constant communication with God. And one must keep one's mind open to direction the Lord might give.

Too often, as in your example of the Texas-to-Arkansas carful, people who aren't paying attention can delude themselves and attribute their goofy thoughts to God, who was probably throwing up in his mouth at the time or trying not to laugh.

It's the same in any relationship. If you're close to a brother or sister, you learn how they think and feel. It's the same with a parent or child, husband or wife, and BFF. It's the same with God. By reading the Bible, praying regularly, and focusing one's heart on God, one can gain insights into His mind and heart, and live by faith in the Lord.

As far as the presidential candidates, it may very well be true that God told them to run. (I'm not in a position to judge whether He did or not.) But just because he told them to run doesn't mean he was guaranteeing them a win. Often there are great lessons to learn in a process, you know, where the journey is just as important as the destination. It's very possible that their faith was strengthened, that they learned a truckload of stuff, and they are better people (and hopefully others are too) for having candidated. This doesn't mean God was wrong. For the bunch of them, perhaps God wanted them in the running, but not in the winning. It doesn't imply God was wrong.

Interpreting our circumstances is very tricky business, and one at which we are often lousy players. We're terrible at interpreting our circumstances, and Christians are just as bad as everyone else. There's so much we can't see and can't possibly know about others' motives, agendas, choices, thoughts and feelings. So we Christians need to be more careful and more circumspect about declaring, "Well, God..." We come to know the mind and heart of God, but we must still interpret and speak cautiously and humbly.

> In the Bible God tells people to do weird stuff on a regular basis (look at Abraham for just one such example), so it isn't as if you can just think "wait, no, this is silly" and realize that God wouldn't order you do to it.

In the era of the Old Testament, God did ask Noah, Abraham, Moses, Joshua, and others to do things that were weird, for sure. But they worked. They show us God doesn't always work by human logic or what we think is sensible. Sometimes the weirdness proves beyond a doubt that it was He who did something, and that it didn't happen because of a good plan and great execution (such as Joshua's conquering of Jericho). Because of the way it happened, there's no one to credit but God, and sometimes that's what's behind the strange strategies.

Other times, of course, people are just being delusional, and dragging God down with them. We other Christians just wish they would keep their mouth shut and be weird on their own time, not drag God and the rest of us down with them into ridicule.

How can a Christian tell the difference between wanting to do something and God movie them to do something? It can be clear as a bell, and otherwise a muddy mess. We have to use all the wisdom we can muster, be disciplined in learning the Bible, be constant in prayer, learn everything we can about our world, ourselves, and God, and move forward with both courage and humility. If we think God is telling us something, we should be able to find confirmation from other sources, but we have to be cautious about the pitfalls of confirmation bias. But you're right that's it's generally on looking back at things in retrospect that we can sort things out better, but I think that's the case for all people. You know the saying about hindsight being 20/20 (but that's optimistic too, isn't it? A lot of times we look back and it's still murky.). We walk with God by a combination of faith, evidence, confirmation, interpretation, blessing and problems (God never promises a smooth road, even if we're doing what He wants us to do). I call it "terrifying joy". We look and learn, walk and wait, watch and interpret, keeping steady in prayer and study, and make our way through life. In the process God walks with us, challenges us, blesses us, teaches us, disciplines us, and does what he needs to do to make us like himself. It's a lifelong process, and one, as a Christian, I wouldn't trade for the world.