Will we all be driving Chinese cars someday?

“If they were allowed to be sold in the United States, they would destroy the American car market.” This is how a salesman in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, describes the Chinese cars that are attracting attention across the border.

His dealership features a sleek, compact model that starts at around $20,000. A hybrid pickup truck sits next to a charger. He recently sold two sedans, which start at around $17,000, to a Mexican family for their two daughters to commute to college in El Paso.

Joanna Stern, a Wall Street Journal columnist, recently test drove the Xiaomi SU7 Max and concluded, “China is winning the digitally enhanced electric-car race.” Chinese EV makers are producing cars with longer battery ranges and deeply integrated digital platforms costing tens of thousands of dollars less than Western competitors. According to Stern, “In Europe and Mexico, they’re blowing past Tesla and other EV rivals,” threatening an industry that contributes $1.3 trillion to the US economy each year.

If you’re not worried about the American automotive industry, you can find plenty else in the news to worry about. From synthetic “mirror” bacteria created in labs that could kill us all, to the resurgence of al Qaeda, to chatbots that are giving dangerous medical advice, to robots that can now outrace humans, there’s something for everyone in the anxiety department.

We’re even being told by scientists that the universe “may end trillions of years sooner than we thought” (though they say we still have 33.3 billion years until our cosmic demise).

The most common question I’ve been asked

The most common question people have asked me over my many years of vocational ministry is, “How can I know God’s will for my life?” The question is seldom asked in the abstract. Almost always, the person is facing a dilemma and challenge for which they need guidance and help. They are typically hoping for a roadmap into the future, a “five-year plan” to ensure that they are on God’s road for them.

I am always forced to reply that no such roadmap exists. No one in the Bible gets a five-year plan.

Joseph didn’t know his recurring dream of being exalted before his brothers (Genesis 37:5–11) would involve slavery, prison, and Pharaoh’s palace. Paul thought he should travel east when he was called west (Acts 16:6–10). James was beheaded by Herod, but Peter was freed from a similar fate through angelic intervention (Acts 12:1–11). John had no way to know that his story would include exile on Patmos in his elderly years.

The rabbis assure us, “Man plans, and God laughs.”

As I have told many people over many years, the best way to know God’s will is to be in God’s will. His will is about the present before it is about the future. It is about living as he wishes in ways that glorify him and extend his kingdom, knowing that if we are close to him today, he can lead us into tomorrow when tomorrow becomes today.

So, to shift the question: How can we be in God’s will right now?

Ten foundational steps to experiencing God’s best

What follows is a “top ten” list culled from decades of personal experience and pastoral ministry. There is obviously much more to say than I can say in what remains of a short website article, but these simple and familiar steps are foundational.

One: Settle for nothing less than a transforming daily experience with the living Lord Jesus.

Observant Jews pray three times a day and live each day by 613 laws. Observant Muslims pray five times a day, fast during Ramadan, and observe the rest of their “pillars.” Observant Buddhists live every day by the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path.

Many observant Christians go to church on Sunday, pause for a moment of prayer and Bible study at the start of the day, then go about their lives with their religious “chores” finished.

But Jesus wants us to “abide” in him every moment of every day as a branch abides in the vine (John 15:1–11). He calls us to be a “living” sacrifice (Romans 12:2) and to take up our cross “daily” (Luke 9:23) so that we might experience his abundant life every moment of every day of every year. Settle for nothing less.

Two: Begin the day by submitting it to the Spirit.

Ephesians 5:18 commands us to be “filled” with the Spirit. This means to be controlled and empowered by him as we submit our minds and lives to him. Because our default position as fallen people is to be on the throne of our own lives, this is a conscious, daily commitment by which we dethrone ourselves and enthrone our Lord.

If you have not enthroned the Spirit yet today, you are on the throne of your heart.

Three: Practice a regular spiritual inventory.

The Holy Spirit cannot fully guide and use that which is unholy. Take a moment each morning to ask him, “What in my life is grieving you?” Then confess all that comes to your thoughts and claim the forgiving grace of your Father (1 John 1:9).

In addition, a weekly spiritual inventory is a wise rhythm. Take a piece of paper and a pen, get alone with God, ask the same question, and write down what comes to your mind. Be specific and honest, knowing that no one but God will see your list. Pray through it, item by item, with confession and repentance. Claim God’s forgiving grace and shred the list.

As the Puritans said, “Keep short accounts with God.”

Four: Read the Scriptures daily and memorize God’s word regularly.

JI Packer called the Bible “God preaching.” St. Augustine similarly described it as “love letters from home.” Because the Scriptures are as relevant today as when they were first written and as transforming for our lives and souls (Hebrews 4:12; 2 Timothy 3:16–17), make time daily to meet God in his word.

In addition, make Bible memorization a regular part of your life. It is amazing to me how often the Scripture I have learned over the years comes back to my mind when I need it most. The psalmist testified, “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you” (Psalm 119:11).

If we do the former, we will be able to say the latter.

Five: Pray continually.

When the Bible commands us to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17), it does not mean to go through the day with our eyes closed and our hands folded. It means staying in conversation with Jesus throughout the day. Talk with him about your thoughts, needs, plans, and experiences. Listen for his voice in your spirit. Practice his presence, and you’ll stay connected to his power in his will.

Six: Turn temptation instantly over to God.

The closer you are to God, the more of a threat you are to the Enemy. But when he tempts you, his attacks can be redeemed for God’s glory and your good. The key is to develop the reflex of praying immediately about them, giving them to your Father, and asking his Spirit for the strength, wisdom, and help you need.

Erasmus said Satan hates nothing so much as for his evil to be used for good. Let’s make Satan hate us today.

Seven: Repent of sin immediately.

If (and when) you fall to temptation, turn immediately to God for his forgiving grace and redeeming help. The longer you persist in sin, the easier sin becomes to commit. The best time to remove a malignancy is the moment it is discovered.

Eight: Worship through each day and collectively with God’s people.

We are called to “continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God” (Hebrews 13:15), but we are also told, “Let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another” (Hebrews 10:25 NLT). Praising God for who he is and thanking him for what he does is to be our lifestyle each day (1 Thessalonians 5:18). But we also need to worship together.

A coal in touch with other coals stays lit; a coal by itself goes out.

Nine: Share your faith passionately.

When the early Christians were “filled with the Spirit,” they had to share their faith with others (Acts 2:1–4). When Jesus called his first disciples to follow him, they were also to “fish” for others to do the same (Matthew 4:18–19). When we breathe out, we can breathe in. When we give, we can receive.

I sense Jesus’s presence most powerfully when I am sharing his gospel with others.

Ten: Use your gifts and opportunities to advance God’s kingdom and glory.

Every moment of every day is a gift from God to be employed in his purposes. If we follow the steps above, we’ll find ourselves equipped, empowered, and employed in ways that make a transforming daily difference in our culture.

Every time salt contacts food, it changes the food. Every time light contacts darkness, it changes the darkness.

As I often say, you cannot measure the eternal significance of present faithfulness.