“God has a will for us, but it is mysterious. It is a lot like Lewis and Clark making a map. It is discovered along the way.” To some, God is like a divine Easter Bunny who has hidden His will like eggs for us to find. On the other extreme, there are those who are afraid of God’s will as though He were a “cosmic killjoy,” demanding that we sacrifice our every desire and talent to follow Him to some desolate destination.
God has a will for us, and He wants us to know it. God’s will is understood daily and progressively…
- as we trust His sovereignty (Jeremiah 17:12; Psalm 33:11; Ecclesiastes 3:11-14)
- as we obey His Word (I Timothy 2:3-4; Ephesians 5:17-18; I Thessalonians 4:3; I Peter 2:16, 4:19)
- as we walk out His will personally (I Corinthians 6:12, 10:23)
- as we walk it into the community of His people, the church (Galatians 5:13; Romans 14)
- as God opens to us multiple opportunities to share the good news of His kingdom to those beyond our immediate periphery (Matthew 28:19-29; Revelation 3:8, 4:1: I Corinthians 16:9; II Corinthians 2:12)
- as our desires and plans begin to conform to and/or dissolve into God’s purposes (Proverbs 16:3,9; 19:21).
“Do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is” (Ephesians 5:17), “giving thanks for all things, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus” (I Thessalonians 5:18).