The Father's Will

"For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, 

he is My brother and sister and mother.” 

Matthew 12:50

Jesus made it very clear that the family of God is made up of those who do His will. If we love God we will desire to do what He wants. We find out what He wants by reading our instruction manual the Bible. We test if we are in His will by making certain that what we are pursuing falls within His instructions. "When I was crossing the Irish Channel one dark starless night, I stood on the deck by the captain and asked him, 'How do you know Holyhead Harbor on so dark a night as this?' He said, 'You see those three lights? Those three must line up behind each other as one, and when we see them so united we know the exact position of the harbor's mouth.' When we want to know God's will there are three things which always concur—the inward impulse, the Word of God, and the trend of circumstances! God in the heart, impelling you forward. God in His Book, corroborating whatever He says in the heart; and God in circumstances, which are always indicative of His will. Never start until these three things agree." (F. B. Meyer.)

The Will of the Father

"For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”

John 6:40

If we want to know what God's will for humankind is, here we have it. It is His will that everyone who looks upon Christ with spiritual eyes, seeing Him as Redeemer and Lord and trusting in Him for their salvation, would live forever with Him in Heaven. "Men are by nature blind, their eyes are shut to all that is spiritually good; it is the Spirit of God that opens blind eyes, and illuminates the understanding: and in His light men see not only themselves, their sin, and want of righteousness, and their lost state and condition, but Christ, and a beauty, glory, and excellency in Him, ability and willingness to save, a suitableness in Him for them, and a fulness of all grace; they see righteousness, peace, pardon, cleansing, wisdom, strength, grace, life, and salvation, and go out of themselves to him for all." (Gill) 

Risky Business

"in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me."

Philippians 4:12b-13

When we are submitted to the Lord, He puts it in our hearts and minds to serve Him in a particular way. Our response to His call is only to move forward in obedience. Never try to do God's job. Just do what He has put in front of you and then trust Him to bring the results. The outcome may not be what you expected, but rest assured that in God's eyes it is exactly what He intended. Think of the freedom that comes from doing "all things through Him who strengthens [you]". When you fully understand that God calls, God performs, and God is responsible for the bottom line, then you are free to take risks you may never have considered in the past. And whether you then have little or have much, you can be content in knowing that you are in the center of God's will. 

What's Your Plan?

Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit." Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that."

James 4:13-15

One of my best friends has this quote on her Facebook: "Nothing is as powerful as knowing you are smack dab in the middle of God's will." I agree with that. There is power in knowing you are right where God wants you. And there is also freedom in that knowledge. I can pen all the five year plans I want, but if those plans are prideful, self-serving goals, I might as well be writing them on tissue paper and throwing them to the wind. It's better if I humbly seek God's will for my life and let Him direct me. Sometimes it's a step-by-step process, beginning with what I do know: God wants my worship and obedience to His word. I can start right there and He'll show me the next step, and then the next. And that's where the freedom comes in. I don't have to worry about the future when pleasing God is my desire. Life is brief, and I don't want to squander my time or resources. Jesus said, " Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal;" (Matthew 6:19-20). Sounds like a great plan to me.

For Such a Time as This

"And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?"

Esther 4:14b

In the Book of Esther we find a woman who risks her life to save her people from extermination. Mordecai has urged Queen Esther to go to the king and plead for the lives of the Jews. Even though she is the Queen, going before the King unannounced could result in death. At first Esther is reluctant, and who can blame her? But then she agrees to do as Mordecai requests, saying "if I die, I die." The result is the salvation of all the Jews, including Esther. We often don't know why we're in a certain place at a certain time, and it may be that God has us somewhere that we really don't like. It could be a certain city, or job, or with a particular group of people. But what if God has positioned us there for a particular purpose, to accomplish something important for Him? It takes courage to look past our circumstances and submit to God's unseen plan, but if we only see the place where He has us as a burden and annoyance —something from which we wish to escape— we may miss what God has already prepared "for such a time as this." 

What is God's will for You?

"Rejoice always;

 pray without ceasing;

 in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Much has been written and spoken about knowing God's will. There may be circumstances in our lives when we seek to know His will regarding a job, or home, or some other decision we're about to make. However, there are scriptures such as this one that make it clear what God's will is for us all the time. We are to rejoice in knowing Him in all situations. Stay in constant communication with Him throughout the day (we don't have to be on our knees with heads bowed to talk to God; I'm speaking to Him right now as I write this). And no matter what is going on in our lives, we are to have thankful hearts. Even in the trials of life we can find reasons to thank God; our salvation being one. All this we are empowered to do through our relationship with Christ.

Be Transformed

"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." 

Romans 12:2

Aligning our thoughts with the way the world thinks only takes us further away from God and His will. If we want to know the will of God, we need to spend time reading the Bible. As we do, our thoughts become more like His, and our desires follow. The customs and patterns of modern culture are no substitute for the word of God.