The Will of God – Part 3
August 31, 2003
Dear Friends,
As we consider the will of God, the most practical aspect is how do we discern the will of God in our lives. For anyone who wishes for Divine guidance in their life, they have inevitably encountered the perplexity of not knowing what God would have us do. In matters of clear right and wrong, this is not the case. Clear cut cases of right and wrong are simply a matter of humbling ourselves to God’s will rather than our own. However, on matters that are not so clear — matters of importance in our lives such as the choice of a mate, the decision to move or on difficult ecclesial matters — you might have agonized as I have about what God’s will is.
The difficulty lies in seeing what God would have us do by divining events like a modern Gideon. We make our fleece-like prayers hoping that God will show us the way. On more than one occasion I have prayed in frustration that if God will just show me the way He wishes me to go that I will go. Yet, God hasn’t worked like that in my life. I cannot recall a single event in my life that a Gideon’s fleece event occurred to show me God’s will. This is not to say that this does not happen to others. As I sift through life’s events like so many tea leaves, I see that God has clearly been at work. The good decisions and bad decisions that I have made are best viewed in hindsight rather than foresight.. At the time, the all seemed like good — or at least reasonable — decisions.
If only God worked as so many think that He does — bestowing blessings on the things that are His will and cursing things that are not His will. In that world, good teachers would make millions and professional athletes would have to hold a bake sale to buy new uniforms. God brings rain on the just and on the unjust. We are told “that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.” (Acts 14:22) It would be so easy if His will could be understood by blessings and cursings. We could stroll through life simply taking the easy route. Whenever we encountered adversity, we would know that we had taken the wrong path and simply correct our course. The ease with which we could distinguish the wheat and the tares would be remarkable. Those wealthy, healthy individuals on the one side and the poor, wretched sinners in the other.
I am convinced, at least for me, that God’s will in my life must be deciphered by applying the Scriptures to my life. I am confident that God is at work in my life and that both life’s successes and failures are the good that God brings in blessings and in trials. These events mold us into the people that we should be in Divine service. I do not see with nearly enough clarity a Divine road map for the will of God in my life outside of the guidance provided by the Bible. However, if I apply those principles that are elucidated in the Word of God, I can see with enough clarity the difference between right and wrong — good and evil — to map a course clear of a life of sin if I exercise my own will to pursue it.
King David was an example of a man that seemed to understand God’s will in his life. He knew he was not to slay Saul in the cave nor in the camp when it was obvious that God had given Saul into his hand. How did he know the difference between a trial (not killing Saul when he could) and a blessing (being given the opportunity to kill a wicked king)? How did he know that he was doing God’s will in approaching the giant Goliath rather than testing God by doing what seemed like a foolish, suicidal act?
If there is one place in Scripture that answers these questions, it is more than likely Psalm 25. Among other things, David says “Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.” The pursuit of God’s will was not a sideshow for David, but an all consuming passion which manifested itself in prayer and in searching the word of God. People were always giving David advice on what they thought God’s will was. There are even times when David did not know what exactly God’s will was.
If we can apply ourselves to the goal of seeking God’s will as intensely as did David or as David’s greater son, perhaps we can echo the words “”Then I said, Lo, I come … to do, O God, Thy will … then He said, Lo, I come to do Thy will”, (Heb. 10: 7,9)
Have a good week!
Kyle
