12/08/2020
It is so hard for us to resist doing our own will rather than God’s. We are like little children who see something we want, and abandon what our parents would have us do in order to secure our own desires. Little ones who disobey their parent’s will face punishment, and besides, how can we claim to be like Jesus if we can’t follow after one of His greatest examples in faith... obeying His Father’s will.
“For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.”
John 6:38 ESV
Just as it is with Jesus, it is God’s desire that we obey Him, and to do so in everything He asks of us; not just when it suits us. I have heard people argue that obeying God’s will was easy for Jesus because He was perfect and the Son of God, but is this all He was? Is He only God, and was He without the longing that human nature tempts each of us with?
“concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,”
Romans 1:3-4 ESV
“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.”
Hebrews 4:15 ESV
There are parts of this argument that some are making that are true; He is the Son of God, and perfect, but He is also the son of Mary, descended from David, and completely man as well. All the temptations and desires we feel within ourselves were tempting to Him, and in this way He demonstrated that He had His own will, and that His humanity had to be set aside to obey His Father’s perfect will... it was God’s Will that He would redeem all those who believed in Him... those whom God had given Him. Do we believe Jesus to be the Messiah and Christ when we look upon Him?
“And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.””
John 6:39-40 ESV
So, what is God’s will for each of us? If it was His will that Jesus should keep us, save us, redeem us, and raise us up as children of God into heaven, then what is God’s will in our lives? Well, there is not one single will for all of mankind, but an individual purpose for each of us that fits into His greater plan for creation. We each have a purpose, even as He had a purpose for David.
“I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me.”
Psalm 57:2 ESV
If scripture doesn’t precisely lay out God’s will for each of us, then how do we go about determining what His will for us actually is? Well, first and foremost our will should be consistent with His will... but wait... how can we know His will? Such a mystery this all is, but we are told that if we seek it with all our heart He will reveal it to us.
“You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”
Jeremiah 29:13 ESV
We also find Him by studying His Word, and commandments. He reveals Himself to us by His desires, and actions. Take his desire for us to love Him; isn’t that part and parcel of His will for us? Read this commandment for instance...
“And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment.”
Matthew 22:37-38 ESV
We should also ask Him to reveal His Will for us in our prayers, and what better way to do this than to ask God the way He would have us go today, or in other words, what His will is for us each and every morning...
“Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.”
Psalm 143:8 ESV
And in closing, we can prove His will by the transformation and renewal of our minds, and by using this new understanding to test what we believe to be God’s will, against what might easily be our own.
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Romans 12:2 ESV
So are we ready to seek His will for us, and obey it as He pulls back the veil, and reveals it to us?
Prayer:
Father, we thank you for your Son Jesus who taught us to seek your will, and obey it. We thank you for the sweat that fell from him like drops of blood as He struggled mightily against His own will before yielding to yours. Help us to know your will for each of us Lord, let us see the large, challenging, and sometimes frightening things you would have us do, and the everyday tasks that seem so small, and yet serve you in such amazing ways. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who guides our every step, and directs us in all we should do. Praised be your name for the food we give the hungry, the clothes we provide to the naked, and all the other mercies and miraculous things you ask of us each morning. Merciful are you Lord for asking us to love our neighbors, and provide for them as you, according to your will, would have us do. Great is your will for us that instructs us in the great journeys across the wilderness, defeating our overwhelming enemies, and constructing awe inspiring temples and cathedrals to your glory. We worship you Lord, and pray that you will reveal your will to us each day, and hold firm to our belief in Jesus so that your will for Him will be made perfect, and none of us be lost.
“While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves.”
John 17:12-13 ESV
Rich Forbes