Saturday, February 27, 2010

Finding God's Will - The First Step is a Deusey!

I have wrestled a lot in my life.  Not on the mat - anytime I got out there, I lost.  My wrestling has mostly been in understanding and following God's will.  Maybe you are the same.

But so far in my struggles, I do believe that this whole issue of God's will in my life boils down to two facets:
  1. Understanding God's Will
  2. Following God's Will
For those who struggle, I think a lot of us get stuck on the first part. We pain sometimes over the minutiae of decisions, believing that God has a step-by-step plan for our lives.  If only we could get a detailed, turn-by-turn map like what Google maps provides.

If I had a map for God's will, I would follow it, wouldn't you?

But I think we need to suspend temporarily spending thought and energy on understanding God's will and concentrate on following God's will.  Because I believe that in a very fundamental way, God has already settled the issue for us.  I believe that He's already given us a plan for our lives.  Something to follow that will take us through every motion, every decision in life.

And here's the secret, revealed by Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4:3:
It is God's will that you should be sanctified
I'm not trying to downplay the efforts people put in to get God to weigh in on my decisions:  where to go to school, what career to choose, which person to marry, etc.  All I am saying is that we should make a daily choice to live every day, with the Spirit's power, a life that is pleasing to Him.

Before we settle the issue on our daily or even long-term decisions, we need to settle the issue of the heart.

Am I pleasing God with every thought, word and deed?  Is everything that comes from within me from a motivation of pure love?  If not, maybe it's time to stop searching for the "what" of God's will and start concentrating on the "Who."  God himself wants to transform you from the inside out.  That's God's will for each of us - that we should be sanctified.

As we continue to wrestle with the day to day, let's make the first decision of each day to give ourselves to God, letting Him have control of our very heart.  And He will sanctify us, giving us the privilege of experiencing His love being expressed through us all day long.

And the wrestling over life's decisions will be easier, because we have settled the most important issue about God's will for us.

How do I do this?
  1. Believe that God wants to transform you in that way.
  2. Decide to give up on any other way but God's way.
Start off each day following God's will, because you know what it is for you.  And understanding God's will for the other decisions will be an easier struggle.
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