Many Christians, me included, have struggle to find God's "will "for our lives. When we accepted Jesus Christ as our personal Savior, we became very excited and felt a new lease on life. After our conversion we often feel a great burden lifted off our hearts and shoulders because we realized we are no longer hell bound. If we are in a good bible church we learn that this conversion is the beginning of our relationship with the Lord, and more than a get out of hell free card! We are encouraged to become involved in such classes as "Essentials of New Life", and other bible study opportunities.
In some churches new converts are quickly recruited for different offices, and committees within the congregation. They are often overloaded with advice and request to do things for the church. This is not a bad thing, but sometimes it may retard the spiritual growth of the individual. Sometimes a new convert should not be so quickly exposed to some of the more negative elements of the church such a church politics and discord.
As we mature and develop a stable spiritual base, we may begin to wonder about God's plan for our lives. We should not to get the Church's plan for our life, and what's God's plan for our life confused. There are those unique circumstances when God's will and man's will for you are the same.
How do we know God's Will for our lives? We are in essence asking God what do you want me to do, or sometimes asking you want me to do what Lord? The first step in your quest to answer this question can be found in Romans 12:1-4 which tells us that we should give our bodies to God as a living and holy sacrifice the kind he will accept. We should not copy what the world does, but allow God to transform us into a new person, by changing the way we think and behave. If we do this we will know what God wants us to do. In Luke 9:23 Jesus said, " If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me." Hebrew 13:21 tells us that Jesus will equip you with every thing good for doing His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ to whom be glory forever and ever Amen." These scriptures tell that we have to be spiritually ready and receptive to receive information from God.
"The Bible speaks of the "the will of God" in several different ways, and its important to understand the difference.
1. The decreed will of God. This would include God's eternal, foreordained plan and purpose, which will not change and cannot be thwarted. It includes our salvation, ad His choice and calling of Israel. This is God's covenant purposes and promises.
2. The "perceptive will". This is God's will, expressed in the form of principles or percepts given to men. His written word expresses His will. I once had, a church woman, tell me that someone had prophesied that she was going to have a married brother as her husband! She was excited about this revelation. I had to remind her what the scriptures said about adultery.
3. God's "preferential will." This has to do with what gives God pleasure, and what does not. When we face those things which are not clearly defined as sin, or things that are commanded, we should desire to please the Lord. (Romans 12:1; Colossians 1:10; 2 Corinthians 5:9; Ephesians 5:10)
4. God's "Permissive will" is that which God allows, even though its sin. God allowed Joseph's brothers to betray him, and to deceive their father, so that He might bring the Israelites to Egypt. God is always in control. We see this in the book of Revelation.
5. God's "Directive Will" is God's personal guidance in our lives. These are the times that God wants us in certain place, and doing a certain thing. We see this played out in Acts 16: 6-10 with the man of Macedonia had a vision ,from the Lord, to preach. In 1 Timothy 4:14 tells us to take into consideration your spiritual gifts. Do you know your spiritual gift/s?
How do we receive directives from God? 1. When we pray! (Luke 11:9-10 " And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will be given what you ask for. Keep on looking, and, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will open. for everyone who asks, receives....2. Meditation is listening to God's gentle whisper as given to Elijah in 1Kings 19: 13. Sometimes we need to sit quietly and listen for the voice of God to direct us. We often are so busy asking God for things that he can't get a word in to answer us. 3. Circumstance is another way God speaks to us. In this process God will open some doors and close others. So if you have prayed for a certain thing an have not received it, maybe God has other plans for you.We, however, can not depend totally on circumstances to know God's will. Many times God' will allows us to over come our circumstances. 4. Our Hearts: Feeling God guides us as in john 6:13; Nehemiah 2 :12; 2 Corinthians: 2:12; Acts 20:22-23. Many times God's will tell us the same thing through each of these four ways. George Muller an English evangelist in 1800's wrote, " I seek at the beginning to get my heart into such a state that it has no will of its own in regard to a given master. Nine-tenths of the trouble with people generally is just here. Nine-tenth of the difficulties are over come when our hearts are ready to do the Lord's will, whatever it may be when one is truly in this state, it is usually but a little way to the knowledge of what His will is...Thus, through prayer to God, the study of the Word ,and reflections, I come to deliberate judgement according to the best of my ability and knowledge, and if my mind is thus at peace, and continues so after two or three more petitions, I proceed accordingly.
My own experience in seeking God's will has entailed the use of prayer, meditation, circumstances, and the soft whisper in my heart. In some instances God has placed people in my path, created certain situations that made it very obvious that this was the path to follow. I suggest that each of you read about spiritual gifts to determine which gift you were blessed with. Then ask the Lord to place you in a situation to use that gift. These gifts are given to build up the body so that it can maximize its effort to do the Lords work. Amen!
Very on time for me Dr. Larry, thanks for sharing.
ReplyDelete