I've Figured Out God's Will For Your Life
I've been a Christian long enough [and spent madd amounts of time in Christian circles] to conclude that we too often make God's will more difficult than it out to be.
What I mean is that we sometime make God out to be like a heavenly Easter bunny who has stashed His will all over the earth (like eggs), and we have to run through life trying to find it. He, of course, is up there, going, "Waaarmer....hooooottteeerr...oh!....coooolder...."
NEWSFLASH! God's will is NOT hiding from you, IT ACTUALLY WANTS TO BE FOUND!
Allow me to share with you a fun little secret I’ve learned over the last few decades of doing ministry [and being a Christian], a lesson that I am still learning today even as I write.
- There are several things God has stated in the Scriptures that HE WILL DO. No thing and no one will get in the way of those plans. These include sending His Son to pay for our sins, predestining many to eternal life, and the imminent return of the Son. There are immutable and fixed and no one's gonna subvert them! Learning to trust in these promises is key to growing in faith in Christ.
- There are also several things God has expressed in the Scriptures HE WOULD LIKE FOR US TO DO. These are different from the above in that they are really up to us to obey. These include instructions on interpersonal relationship and how we are to set ourselves apart for Him. While it is within our ability to discard these things God would like us to do, obediently following them will cause us to mature in our faith and grow more in love with Jesus Christ.
Now, [here's the fun little secret I've learned] when the above two are in place in your life, as in, when you are trusting in what God has said HE WILL DO and you are walking in obedience to the things HE WOULD LIKE you to do, guess what? You have COMPLETE FREEDOM TO DO WHATEVER IT IS YOU WANT TO DO WITH YOUR LIFE!
Did you catch that? If you are established in a saving relationship with Jesus Christ, and you are continually working on your relationship with Him and growing in your faith in Him, you can pick any path you want for your life and God will meet you there.
- So you're unsure if to date Kayla or Malika? Make a decision and God will be with you in it!
- You're not sure if to go to University of A or to travel overseas? Make a decision and God will be with you in it!
- You're not sure if to go into the missions field or to work at CNBC? Make a decision and GOD WILL BE WITH YOU IN IT!
You see, trusting in what God has said HE WILL DO and walking diligently in what HE'D LIKE you to do means that the Spirit of God, Christ Himself will always be present with you. That's what it means to be "Filled with the Spirit." When you are filled with HIS Spirit, whether you go left in life or you go right, God will be with you in either place, so much so that even if you're supposed to go left and you turned right, His Spirit will direct the affairs of your life so that you end up on the left!
Let me read an insightful quote from Kevin DeYoung’s book, “JUST DO SOMETHING” a book that served me greatly in writing this blog piece. In the 2nd chapter titled, “The Will of God in Christianese” he writes, “God is not a magic 8-Ball we shake up and peer into whenever we have a decision to make. He is a good God who gives us brains, shows us the way of obedience, and invites us to take risks for Him. We know God has a plan for our lives. That’s wonderful. The problem is we think He’s going to tell us the wonderful plan before it unfolds. We feel like we can know – and need to know – what God wants every step of the way. But such preoccupation with finding God’s will, as well intentioned as the desire may be, is more folly than freedom. The better way is the Biblical way: Seek first the kingdom of God, and then trust that He will take care of our needs, even before we know what they are and where we’re going.”
That's good, right?
Your Father, in heaven created you as an intelligent being in His own image. He gave you a desire and He gave you a will. For those of you in a relationship with Jesus Christ, you have the additional benefit blessing of the Holy Spirit living in you, and that Spirit gives wisdom every step of the way to live out God's will.
So, stop fretting over His will for your life.
Your Father in heaven has made it super-simple.
So, get up, get moving, make a decision, stand by your decision, take a risk for Him, work more, watch less TV and spend less time on Facebook, but most of all, just do something!
Seriously, just do something!