Friday, January 21, 2011
“This is the will of God—your sanctification” (The Apostle Paul, 1 Thessalonians 4:13).
One of the many reasons Christians come before the Lord in prayer and fasting is to find His will. This subject captured my thinking and meditating about 15 years ago. I had many difficult decisions before me, and I wasn’t sure which way to go. In 1997-1998 as I was about to graduate seminary, I talked to three churches about becoming their minister of music: one in Roanoke, VA; one in West Columbia, SC; and one in Clewiston, FL. What was God’s will? Which church should I take?
The traditional view of understanding God’s will is that, basically, it’s hidden and we must pray (plead?), sit, and wait and He will reveal it to you. If you make the wrong decision, then you will be sent on a path outside of His will, hopefully to return. I was caught in this mindset, and thus I grew fearful over making the wrong decision about this and a number of other decisions in my life.
Our REACH groups are covering what Scripture says about Finding the Will of God, and the study of this is quite liberating, to be sure. Garry Freisen is his marvelous book Decision Making and the Will of God, distills understanding the will of God down to four biblical principles:
- Where God commands, we must obey.
- Where there is no command, God gives us freedom (and responsibility) to choose.
- Where there is no command, God gives us wisdom to choose.
- When we have chosen what is moral and wise, we must trust the sovereign God to work all the details together for good.
I found this liberating to the traditional view—and freeing. Very few times in Scripture do we see the putting out of fleeces (Judges 6) and other types of ways of divining God’s will. Usually, folks prayed, sought counsel from God and others, then moved. We must be obedient to what is clear, so we can walk in Christ when things are unclear.
Alana McBarnett sings a song off the wonderful “The Gathering: Trinidad and Tobago” album sings a song entitled “My Purpose:”
My purpose is on the way (I can feel it)
It gets closer to me every day (I can see it)
My God won’t let me go astray (I believe it)
Created for this reason.
We may not know our purpose right now, but we do know His will: our sanctification. Be obedient to what you do know from Scripture, trust that He is working all things for you, dear Christian, for His glory and your good, seek good counsel from strong Christians—and then press on in Jesus! He’ll handle the particulars—just trust Him!
Read John 12.
Pray for yourself and the three people who need to know Christ.
Fast to disconnect from the distractions of the world.
Journal your journey.
Worth a look:
- Read a previous post called The Different “Wills” of God Found in Scripture (click the title). There you will find some helpful books on the subject that are worth a look.
- The English Standard Version (the version from which I preach) has a great online Bible site at http://www.esvonline.org. You can read it, listen to it (it even has categories for listening to different Bible reading plans), and write notes on it—and more. You’ll have to sign up for an account in order to save your notes (don’t worry, it’s free). I have found it very handy.
Twelve days down, nine to go! Can’t wait to hear what God did in and through you on Sunday evening, January 30.
