A little while ago, a group of friends and myself were going to do a Conference call discussing the topic: "God's Will: What does it mean?" As we talked about it more in depth it became clear that none of us really knew or had a proper understanding of what all that entailed. Most of us were struggling with figuring it out ourselves especially for practical things in life such as "Is it God's will for me to take this job?" or "Is it God's will for me to start my own business." A bit confused and unsure of where to start, we decided to reschedule the show for another time, preferably when we had more understanding of the topic at hand :)
In the meantime, the Lord has saw fit to make it plain to me on what the will of God is, at least part of it. So far, it seems that in the end, it only boils down to two things, Trust and Obedience. So here I will share what the Lord has been teaching me thus far....
First, it is always good to review and read the life of Jesus. Plenty of times he says "I came only to do my Fathers will" Jesus also says "It is not those who say to me 'Lord, Lord' but those who do the will of my Father in heaven." That kind of leaves us to wonder, well, what does that mean...technically speaking? Let's break down this scripture in Matthew 7:21-23 for starters....
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!"
We can picture people coming to the Lord saying "Lord, have we not done all these good things" These are people who have set captives free, even prophesied accurately and if we look at 1 Corinthians 14:1 Prophecy is the greatest gift to be desired due to its ability to minister to all that listen, so on the outlook of things, these were people doing a lot of good things but Jesus, the one who discerns the thoughts and intents of the heart, the one who does not look at the outward appearance as man does but looks at the heart, tells these people that he *never* knew them and on top of that, that they were workers of lawlessness, which in other words means they were workers of disobedience.
So if it is a lifestyle of disobedience that will get the "good workers" cast out of heaven, that can only mean that obedience is what defines the true follower of Christ. As Christians we are strongly encouraged to live a life of good works, to even be eager about doing them, but the trouble comes in when we believe that we are justified and made acceptable to God by all we've done, rather than a simple trust in Christ as our savior which indicates a lifestyle of obedience (John 14:21-24, James 1:22-25).
Knowing the will of God, isn't so difficult after all is it? Trust and Obey. We will not be perfect in this life as our sanctification will continue to be worked out up until Christ returns (Philippians 1:6) but, in a general sense our lives should no longer be characterized by sin and the sinful nature but rather a life that is controlled and led by the Spirit, for those who are led by the spirit of God, it is those that are the sons (and daughters) of God (Romans 8) There may be more to add to this but I kind of feel like the scriptures speak for themselves, I will end with a few more scriptures...
"There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."- Romans 8:1
"By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.“These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. "-John 15:8-15
"If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments."- Matthew19:17
I am in no way promoting or trying to say that we are saved by works either but rather our good deeds, good fruit, and life of obedience is evidence of God's grace at work in our life. It is proof that He who began a good work in us is continuing to bring it into completion, that no man can boast, as a matter of fact, when you notice these good things happening in your life, it humbles you and causes you to be filled with so much joy for the Lord has a firm grip over your life! What security there is in knowing and being confident of such truth!
So to sum up everything shared here, it is clear, a life that is pleasing to God, a life that is in alignment with God's will is a life that is submitted to Him, a life that obeys the commandments, and a life that no longer yields to the sinful nature but allows itself to be controlled by the spirit. Maybe in another post we can discuss how to apply God's will to practical situations, but if you look at it like this, if you have the spiritual applications right first, the practical applications will fall right in place won't they? Matthew 6:33 says so :) Anyway, I hope this has been a blessing to you, in the meantime, May the Lord continue to bless and keep you :)
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