THE WILL OF GOD
I see a lot of people grappling with this concept of ‘God’s will’. Though I may not be very experienced, by God’s grace I am writing to you from what I have learnt from the word of God and the little experiences that I have had in my life and seen in the life of others. I pray that God will use His word to minister to your heart.
‘God’s Will’ is a very commonly used jargon in Christian circles. We like to know God’s Will for everything we do. Also when people say that they are doing something because it is God’s will, then everyone tends to just accept it. Many false prophets use the vulnerability of people who come innocently seeking to know God’s will for their lives. They tend to guide and dictate people’s decisions and make them follow something, telling them that it is God’s will.
Doing God’s will is of vital importance because the Bible says in I John 2:17 that,” The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.” We might have a lot of desires and the world might offer a lot of paths to choose from but only the man who chooses to do God’s will, can receive eternal life. So whether we go to heaven or hell is decided by whether we do God’s will or not. Therefore it is of vital importance, a matter of eternal life or death to know and to do God’s will.
Jesus is our best example. We read in Hebrews 10:7 what is said about Christ , “Then I said, ‘Here I am–it is written about me in the scroll– I have come to do your will, my God.” He came into this world to do God’s will. Also Jesus thrived on doing God’s will .(John 4:34). “”My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish His work ”. In the end when Jesus died there were still many who were not healed, transformed, delivered or saved. But when He gave up His Spirit, He cried out saying ,“ It is Finished”. He had fully accomplished all that God had wanted Him to do in His life time. What a way to end our life when we can be confident that we have done all that God wanted us to do!
Many a times in our life we cannot be sure if a particular thing that God is allowing in our life is the will of God. In James 5: 11 we read about Job. It says, “We say they are happy because they did not give up. You have heard about Job’s patience, and you know the Lord’s purpose for him in the end. You know the Lord is full of mercy and is kind.”
We know that it was God’s will that Job go through all the pain and suffering. God had permitted all that. But he could understand it only in the end. It is like a play where at times we don’t understand why certain scenes are included or why certain characters appear in the storyline. But when the play ends we understand everything. The verse also says that the Lord, the owner of our lives is full of mercy and is kind. So we can be assured that all things will work together for good ( Rom 8:28).
John 12:16 says, “ His followers did not understand this at first. But after Jesus was raised to glory, they remembered that this had been written about Him and that they had done these things to Him”. We may not understand many of the things that happen in our lives now but we will be able to understand it when we see Him face to face.
But God’s will about certain things is so explicit that we need not have any doubt about it. They are:
#1. SALVATION:
The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. Instead He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. II Peter 3:9.
You do not have to for one second think whether God wants to save a person from eternal damnation or not. We clearly know that the will of God is that all should be saved.
#2. BAPTISM:
After repentance we do not have to think twice about being baptised. It is clearly the will of God that we must manifest externally through the act of baptism ,the internal change of heart. Matthew 3:14,15, says “But John tried to stop him, saying, “Why do you come to me to be baptized? I need to be baptized by you!” 15 Jesus answered, “Let it be this way for now. We should do all things that are God’s will.” So John agreed to baptize Jesus.”.
#3. GIVING OUR BODIES AS LIVING SACRIFICE:
Romans 12: 1, 2, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will.”
Anything that destroys our mind or our body is not God’s will. It will make us conform to the pattern of the world. We should not ask God whether it is His will that we smoke or drink or watch bad things on the internet or T.V. It is clearly not God’s will that we destroy our body or our mind with anything filthy.
Now that we know the things that are explicitly God’s will, let us also learn how to know and do God’s will in every situation of our lives. In order to know His will , we should:
1.Pray that God’s Will be done in our life.
In the Lord’s prayer, Jesus taught us to ask God that His Will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Matt 6:10
When we pray that prayer everyday, we will be able to know God’s Will for every situation. We should not go to God only for the big decisions but everyday, even for the small things we must pray that His Will be done. Then knowing and doing God’s Will,becomes easy. Many of us like to know God’s Will but once we get to know His Will, we find it hard to willingly accept it as God’s plan and do it.
In the garden of Gethsemane Jesus knew that the will of God was to crush Him( Isaiah 53:10) and He had to take the pain of the cross. But when the time came, He prayed, “Abba, Father, everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will ( Mark 14:36). We see that Jesus prayed His desire but concluded saying that the will of God be done. When He finished praying there was no loud voice from heaven. Instead, seeing the events that unfolded He knew what God wanted in His life. John 18:4, 11 (4:Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?”11: Jesus commanded Peter, “Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?”)
When we sincerely desire the will of God for our life, His Will will be done. He will perfect that which concerns you (Ps 138:8)
2. Obey the written Word of God.
Psalms 138:2, “ I will bow down facing your holy Temple, and I will thank you for your love and loyalty. You have made your name and your word greater than anything.”God has made His name and His word so great that He will do anything to fulfil Scripture. He will go to any extent to fulfil His word.
The Bible says in Ephesians 6:2, 3, “ Honor your father and mother so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”
So when we have a decision to make, if we do it to honor our parents, it becomes the Will of God . Even if they make a mistake, when we do it to honor our parents we will enjoy a long life and all will be well with us.
Sometimes even if their intentions are wrong or they are ignorant even after we express our desires, it is best to honor them. Any one who tells you that it is God’s will to dishonor your parents is not asking you to do God’s will. So when there is a decision involving your parents in your life, it is God’s will that you honor them. When you do the will of God, He will take care of your life and it will be well with you in the end.
3. Walk with God
The third way to know God’s will is by walking with God. In Matthew5: 8 we read,” Those who are pure in their thinking are happy, because they will be with God.”
When we have pure thoughts and motives ,we can see God and know His plans. Our thinking will be clear. Jesus said “I do what I see my father do”. Because the thoughts and intentions of Jesus were so good in every situation, He knew what the Father wanted Him to do. When we have wrong motives we will be confused about what God’s will is.
If we give God the first priority and acknowledge Him in all we do, He will direct our paths. We should not direct God. We must instead trust God with all our heart and lean not on our own understanding. In all our ways when we acknowledge Him, He will direct our paths (Provebs 3: 5).
In the Bible we read Enoch walked with God, Noah walked with God. Enoch or Noah were not pulling God to their whims and fancies. The Israelites moved when the cloud moved. It is a whole new dimension when we learn to walk with God. We will be pulled into the river of living waters that flows from His throne. As we learn to have a closer walk with Him, we will feel as though we are swept by a flood.
Only when we know someone closely like our spouse, dad or mom will we be able to know what they want or what they like us to do. It is the same with God. The more you get to know Him, the easier it will be to find out what He wants. Then we won’t have to go looking for pastors or prophets to tell us what God’s will is. At times God uses them to confirm His word and Will in our hearts. But as a child of God we must not depend on others to know what our Father wants. We must walk closely with Him to know what He wants and do what He wants so that at the end of our life we can also say,’ It is finished daddy. I am coming home’.
And as it is said in Hebrews 13: 20,21 says,” Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing His will, and may He work in us what is pleasing to Him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
God Bless you.
Stay Blessed.
Happy trusting!
Merilyn Jemimah Amirtharaj
