GOD’S WILL
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, with is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable, and perfect will of God.” (Romans 12:1-2)
Chuck faces a big decision. “Lord, I just don’t know if I should go on the mission trip this summer. I really need to work to make sure I have the funds for college next year. God, I want to do your will, but what is it?”
Carol is in her room crying. “God I thought he was the one. Now he wants to break up. I want to do your will, but what is it?”
Chris is struggling in prayer. “Lord you know how attractive this new job is to me. Yet it may be risky to leave the security of my present position. I want to do your will, but what is it?”
Sound familiar? You have undoubtedly struggled with determining God’s will in the tough decisions of life. How often have you prayed, “God I want to do your will, but what is it?”
It is interesting how we tend to see “God’s will” as something we must discover. Actually, the will of God is revealed in His Word. Verses many of us have memorized from Romans 12 tell us how we can “prove” (literally, approve) God’s revealed will.
Instead of looking for God’s will, we should live in His will. Three important steps insure that we are living in God’s will.
1. Salvation. “I beseech you therefore, brethren….” The Apostle Paul is writing to those who have experienced saving faith in Christ. Salvation is God’s will. “God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9
2. Submission. “… that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice….” God wants us to be fully committed to Him. The problem with a living sacrifice is that it can crawl off the altar. Repeatedly, we need to insure that we are open to anything God desires. This is His will.
3. Separation. “… and be not conformed to this world….” J. B. Phillips caught the significance of this statement when he wrote, “Don’t let the world squeeze you into its mold.” The world system must not have control over us. We must be ready to stand strong in the trials and temptations of life.
If I am saved by God’s grace, submitted totally to the Lord, and separated from the world system, I am in the will of God. What we commonly call the “will of God” will be the natural and inevitable result of living in the real will of God. God is big enough to insure that I end up where He wants me doing what He wants me to do if I abide in His good, and acceptable, and perfect will.
Decisions are still necessary, but living in God’s revealed will insures that we make the right decisions. He will direct us in every step.
He will guide us through the precepts of His Word, the peace of Christ, and the persuasion of the Holy Spirit. He will use providential circumstances, perceptive counsel of our friends and colleagues, and personal interests and gifts. There are many signposts to give us His direction. If we live in His revealed will, we can rest assured that He will help us heed the signposts He places on our path.
Let’s ask that God give us the joyous experience of living in His will and watch Him work in us and through us in a fresh new way. Dr. Ron Blue serves as Dallas Theological Seminary and is a popular conference speaker at America’s Keswick
Compass Pointers: Every Christian, whether man or woman, boy or girl, rich or poor, workman or peasant, writer or priest, judge or official, doctor or lawyer, teacher or pupil, Government official or missionary, is only a Christian on condition that he witnesses for his Lord....all Christians, wherever they are, have the opportunity of witnessing for their Master. They can do this by their upright life, their blameless character, by the integrity of their behaviour and their sincerity in speech, by their enthusiasm for their religion and their love for their Master, using every possible opportunity of telling others about Jesus Christ. Sadhu Sundar Singh
Navigation Rules to Memorize: Level 1: Proverbs 11:19; Level 2: Proverbs 11:8-13
Anchored to the Rock: The prayer that is faithless is fruitless. Thomas Watson
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