Seeking God’s Will

Even as a committed Christian, it is not always easy to know exactly what God’s will for your life is. Yet it is very important to understand His will and our ability to discern what it is.

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Even as a committed Christian, it is not always easy to know exactly what God’s will for your life is. Yet it is very important to understand His will and our ability to discern what it is.

You can divide God’s will into his general will and into his specific will. His general will is always, always very clear as revealed in scriptures about our conducts.

But most of our questions about the will of God do not come in that general area. They come in a specific area like who should I marry? Should I take this job? A lot of times, we work in panic without understanding what His will is for our lives.

God’s supreme will for your life and mine is that we have an intimate personal relationship with him through Jesus Christ. If you are really serious about finding God’s will, but you don’t know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, then that is the place to begin.

But if you do know Christ as Lord and Savior, and you are struggling to find out what God’s will is, then the Apostle Paul has some clues for you.

In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians (5:15-20), he said "Be very careful how you live - not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to wickedness. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

God’s will is always crystal clear, but you and I need some foresight, which is what Paul gives us in his letter. What is God’s will for my life?

In verses 15-17, Paul reminds the Ephesians, you and me, that it is a very important and crucial question to ask. You are a wise person if you ask it and foolish if you do not.

He says "Be very careful how you live,” meaning your life is in accordance with the will of God. Is this God’s will for my life? Paul says you need to ask yourself frequently.

But how can I be positive that I am in His will? In verse 18-20, Paul lays out four points that are a part of the general will of God for your life and mine, and that direct you and me, how I think, into what God’s specific will might be in certain areas.

In verse 18, Paul says, "Don’t get drunk. Don’t get drunk on wine.” He was addressing the problem of avoidance of realities in life.

Even in all the pain and suffering that comes our way in this life, we are not to run away from that reality. Nowhere in scripture does it say that God’s will for you and me is to be happy or pain free. It does say that God’s will is that we deal with reality.

In verse 18, Paul further says, "Instead, be filled with the Spirit,” meaning the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus Christ. This means to allow God pour into you everything He wants to give you, in the perspective of a personal relationship with Christ.

In verse 19, Paul says that you and I are more right to be in touch with God’s will for our lives when we dip ourselves in worship. When he said "speak to each other with psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs,” he was talking about worship.

Truly, the Christian faith is a singing faith. But life amidst difficulties and tragedies tries to steal the songs from us. Life has a way of knocking the song out of you yet worship is so important. With singing, we are more likely to hear God singing back.

Ends