DESIRING GODS WILL When I was a teenager I began having an interest in knowing God’s will for my life. I heard ministers and youth leaders talk about it but the way they described it made me think it was difficult to know and easy to miss. They talked of the perfect will of God and the permissive will, so that if you missed His perfect will you were stuck with a somewhat less desirable life in His permissive will. My mother had a paperback book entitled, God’s Will for Your Life, and in it I read a statement that continues to make an impression on me: “Inside the will of God there is no failure. Outside the will of God there is no success.” We need to understand first how the term “the will of God” is used in Scripture. The will of God is about big things not small things. The will of God is about God’s purposes not every specific detail of our life. God never intended to micromanage every detail of our lives. Creation was the will of God. You created all things and by your will they were created (Rev 4:11). The cross was the will of God. Jesus prayed, “Not my will but yours be done” (Matt 26:39). The will of God is that every person is saved from his or her sins through faith in Jesus Christ. God is not willing that anyone should perish but that all should come to repentance (2 Pt 3:9). The will of God, for the most part, is the same for all us. His will is that we live according to His word as He created us to live in right relationship to Him and to others. In the New Testament we read that Gods will is that we are not conformed to the pattern of this world (Rom 12:2), that we are wise not foolish (Eph 5:15-17), that we live holy (1 Thess 4:3), that we are thankful at all times (1 Thess 5:18) and that we arent governed by the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life (1 John 2:15-17). So, those aspects of Gods will are the same for us. Thats what we might call the general will of God that applies to everyone. God also has a specific will for every persons life. That doesnt mean that every detail of your life is preordained and that you have to spend your life in fear trying to find it. You are free to make your own decisions as long as they glorify God and as long as you submit your plans to His will. But He does have a plan for your life and the first step in knowing Gods will is to desire it. Do you want to know Gods will? I didnt ask if you were willing to do it but rather do you want to know Gods will? Or, would you rather have the Lord stay out of your affairs and let you do your own thing? I trust that as a child of God you desire His will. So, make this your prayer. I delight to do your will, O God, your law is within my heart (Ps 40:8). The psalmist David prays that he delights to do God’s will because the law or word of God is in his heart. He knew that God had a will and plan for his life. When you come to important life decisions, pause and pray, If it is the Lords will (James 4:15). Wait on the Lord to give a sense of inner peace that you are making a wise decision and that you are in line with His will for your life.
Posted on: Fri, 08 Aug 2014 20:17:42 +0000
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