You Got to Know When to Roll 'Em

Kenny Rogers sang "You got to know when to roll 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away and know when to run..."

How do you know when its God's timing to make a move or to "be still"? Here is an interesting tip that I am pondering:


One night as the famous Bible teacher F. B. Meyer stood on the deck of a ship approaching land, he wondered how the crew knew when and how to safely steer to the dock. It was a stormy night, and visibility was low. Meyer, standing on the bridge and peering through the window, asked "Captain, how do you know when to turn this ship into that narrow harbor?"
"That's an art," replied the captain. "Do you see those three red lights on the shore? When they're all in a straight line I go right in!"
Later Meyer said: "When we want to know God's will, there are three things which always occur: the inward impulse, the Word of God, and the trend of circumstances. Never act until these three things agree." (excerpt from Os Hillman 6/30/08 devotional TGIF Vol. 2)


I find this a challenge because I am impulsive, so I am not sure I can trust an inward impulse. I also can find scriptures that say "be still" or "wait upon the Lord" as well as "pick up your mat and walk" or "Abraham went even though he did not know where he was going". The trend of circumstances can be a tricky thing to read too.

So I ponder this and then go back to choosing the still small voice, the confirmation of 2 or 3 witnesses and the scriptures that God puts on my heart, not the ones I seek out to best suit my need. I think that is how I need to "roll 'em".