All tagged Will

What has God chosen us to do, and how does it relate to the promises He has in store for us? We can go to work every day and do something we are only mediocre at, and then go home and paint a masterpiece on a piece of canvas. Perhaps we work all weekend long planting flowers in our yard, and notice that they never look as good as our neighbor’s, but the maintenance we do to our house outshines every other home on our street. It is the same in faith, sometimes the pastor wants us to serve on the church board and we are miserable at it, but when we teach a class it is pure joy, and people line up to be in our class. Do we simply meet a need that we think serves us best, or has God chosen us for a task that serves His will?

When we wait upon God to answer our prayers do we think He is idly biding His time while we suffer and fret needlessly? Do we think that God suddenly responds when He is good and ready by doing this thing in one sweeping gesture? Well God’s ways are not ours, and His plans for us are intricate. To answer our one simple prayer causes Him to realign the stars that shine around the world... the ripple of His changed plan is felt far and wide. Yet He loves us this much. 

Did you preach a wonderful sermon this week, or do something amazing for your church? Have you been given accolades for your teaching ability, or praised for a miracle that God performed following your intercession in prayer? Perhaps you were recognized for years of service to your congregation, and puffed out your chest in satisfaction. Well, If we claim the glory for any of these things publicly, or even privately in the depths of our heart, then whose will were we serving if not our own? Our service to God should be performed by humbly Seeking and doing God’s will, then stepping back and yielding all glory to Him.

Do we give God honor, worship, and glory for all that is our life? The opportunities that come to us, the food on our table, the children we beget, and the loves we experience in all of their splendor? It is so easy to say “I did this!”, or to accept the glory when someone says of us “Here is a man who has done amazing things!” We do this every day, and if you listen to yourself as you speak you will be led to acknowledge that “I” is your favorite word... it is the most used word of all mankind.

Do you find yourself impatiently waiting on the Lord? A car races off the road at breakneck speed, you finish a good book before you are ready, or you might come to the end of your life saying ”how did it pass so quickly!”, but when we deal with God there is a very different feeling to time. On many occasions the sense of urgency we apply to the happenings in our lives seems strangely absent with God, while at other times things happen in a flash.

Who plans your life? Are you busy laying out the future details regarding where you are going, what you will accomplish, or the places you will rest and take sustenance? If these plans are being made by anyone other than God then you will lead an unfulfilled life indeed. His plan, and His will are more than an aside... they are the sole road through life which will lead us to a joyous eternity with Him.

Do we obey God to the letter, or do we take His commandments and rationalize them, or apply our own judgement to them? Do we use our own logic in determining that we should obey Him in one circumstance but not in another? If so then, although we try to convince ourselves to the contrary, we are placing ourselves above God. The little things, or uncomfortable ones, can be our undoing. Obey God in all things and always.

Do you struggle with the will of God? Does He ask you to do something you feel you can’t, or that you really don’t want to do? In times such as this how are we to behave? In the moments of decision what forces must be drawn together so that we don’t falter in our faith? In such times of incredible struggle between our bodies, minds, and souls, where do we look for help... how do we choose?

How do you pray in the time of great sorrow, or imminent death? If you, or a loved one, is facing near certain demise how do you go before God in prayer? Most often when situations are dire, and danger is near, our emotions cause us to reach a point of near panic, but as men and women of Faith is that how we should enter into the presence of God in prayer?

Are you in the midst of trouble and don’t know what to do? Perhaps you cry out to God in prayer for your provision or rescue, but when the answer doesn’t come in your own time you begin to doubt Him. Prayer... it is more than a revelation of our thoughts to God, it is a plea to be within His will. God answers prayer that isn’t at odds to His character, and that is conformed to who He is.

Over the course of our lives we will have many needs and we would like them all fulfilled well in advance so that we will not want, or worry about tomorrow. As human’s we want to fill a storehouse, or receive enough money in our bank account to make it through the toughest years of our lives, but that is not how God provides for us... He wants us to come to Him each day for that day’s provision.

Has God called you, and given you a job to do for Him? Is this job beyond your abilities, and have you been ignoring His voice because you feel inadequate? Perhaps you started to answer, but have let it go stagnate because you can’t see how to proceed... well in either case God is with you, but in order to overcome the difficulties and obstructions that you perceive are blocking you... you must lean on prayer, and listen to His voice. Then, as He brings success, you must give Him the glory.

Are you sanctified, Holy, and doing the work of the Lord, or just working hard at religious things? Are you serving the church you attend, and other institutions around you, because they do holy things, and yet you yourself have not been sanctified? To do Holy work for God we must first sanctify ourselves, otherwise the works we do are just good deeds in the eyes of men. Who do you serve, and in what capacity?