Know God’s Will

 

Last Sunday a woman told me the situation in her family. Then she said, “I don’t know what to do.” While I felt her pain, I remembered a sermon from years ago. The pastor outlined the various places in the Bible that plainly state the will of God, mostly to do with faith and obedience, then said if those were true in our lives, we could do whatever we wanted. 

He explained with this verse: “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4) noting that when our hearts are right with Him, God puts His will in our hearts. In other words, His will for me is godliness and that is so important to Him that He might use difficult circumstances to bring me to listen before He uses me or answers my prayers.

He has different ways to make His will known. As Piper points out, God sometimes designs circumstances so that I end up where He wants me — without me realizing it. His example is from Acts 16 where Paul and Silas found themselves in jail, and the result was the salvation of the jailer and his household. His plan went beyond their plans, but since “no plans of His can be thwarted” (Job 42:2), He will do this when necessary.

The necessity might include dealing with our sin. I’m reading Jeremiah and how God put His people in exile because they were not obedient. Their shepherds were lying to His sheep and leading them astray. He said: Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” declares the LORD. . . . “You have scattered my flock and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for your evil deeds…” and this is what He did. His will was not what they wanted meaning comfort and their own way. God also said He would send a Redeemer, but after that promise He warned them:

Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. They say continually to those who despise the word of the Lord, ‘It shall be well with you’; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, ‘No disaster shall come upon you.’ ” For who among them has stood in the council of the Lord to see and to hear his word, or who has paid attention to his word and listened? Behold, the storm of the Lord! Wrath has gone forth, a whirling tempest; it will burst upon the head of the wicked. The anger of the Lord will not turn back until he has executed and accomplished the intents of his heart. In the latter days you will understand it clearly. (Jeremiah 23:16–20)

Clearly God's priority is our holiness and obedience. If I listen to us and do what He says, other instructions become clear. None of this happens if I’m walking in the flesh. To hear Him, I need to be humble, filled with the Holy Spirit, and continually in His Word. 

God did not write His will about every detail in my life. Do I go to a seminar or stay home? Do I visit this person or that one? Do I purchase this needed item or not? For all this, I need godly discernment. I’ve learned that my decisions are not totally reliable. I’ve also learned that He will give me the right choice if I listen. He shapes my mind and inclines my heart to whatever will bring Him the most glory.

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)

Sometimes He simply speaks to me. It may be a simple thing, like what turn to take when driving somewhere, or what book to take home when browsing in a store or the library, or how much to give when a needy person tells me their story. Very often my husband or I share a thought and the other one says, “I was just thinking the same thing.” While Piper says this is the least common way of God's leading in the NT, it is common in our household. 

I can rest in God's goodness whatever method He uses to reveal His will. Some will seem like a mystery, yet God is good — always. His will is always against the desires of my old nature. This is easier to discern because of that conflict. At times it will be a decision involving two things that both seem good. Yet the best way to know what He wants means keeping sins confessed, talking to Him with an open heart, and being willing to do whatever He says.

PRAY: I’m so thankful Lord that You desire my good along with Your glory and can make those two things work together. You continually put me in awe with Your love and great wisdom. Today is going to be another day of seeing Your will worked out to do both. I’m happy to let You go first.

When doubt comes in

It began in a garden where the first couple had everything and they trusted God who gave them only one command: do not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The snake suggested six things that would mess with that trust and encourage disobedience, suggestions that still work.

First Satan took their focus away from all that had been given them and put it on the one thing they could not have. How different this world would be if everyone could simply be thankful, but as the NT says: “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools.” (Romans 1:21–22)

Second, Satan minimizing the Consequences by telling them, “You will not die” as if God lied. With their attention focused on the tree they forgot what God actually did say. This is why I need to daily read God’s Word — I forget what God says too.

The enemy’s next strategy was mislabeling disobedience. He suggested eating the forbidden fruit would expand them, make them more complete. He added to that lie by mixing good with evil saying the fruit was good for food, adding that it was also pleasing to the eye. His final lie was saying eating it would make them wise. They didn’t get it that he was calling God a liar and making his interest in their welfare appear greater than God’s.

In contrast, the NT tells me to get my wisdom direct from my Maker, not from forbidden stuff. Should I fall into that trap, I eventually realize how foolish that was. Instead…

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. (James 1:5–8)

An unstable person is up and down, trusting God one day and doubting the next. This makes me joyful then miserable, sure of God then unsure. It affects my moods, even my health. It certainly affects my prayer life.

Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.” (Mark 11:24–25)

And Jesus answered them, “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.” (Matthew 21:21–22)

It also affects my spiritual growth, unity with other Christians and the health of the Body of Christ. Doubt never glorifies God but turns inward and shrivels my ability to praise Him.

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. (Ephesians 4:11–16)

The Bible says faith comes by hearing God speak of Jesus. While that builds faith, I find that any  doubt first must be confessed as sin. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

PRAY: Jesus, You also tell me, “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” (James 4:8) Drawing near to You in confession of my doubts releases me from the enemy’s lies and allows that sweet surrender — an attitude of trust even in situations where life seems to make no sense. After all, faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen and without faith it is impossible to please You, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that You exist and that You reward those who seek You. (Hebrews 11:1;6)

Defeating the Enemy

 

Yesterday was physically tiring. I woke often during the night and getting up was challenging. So was singing worship songs; I didn’t feel like praise and could mouth the words yet didn’t feel joyful or thankful, just tired. The book “Sure-Footed in the Truth: Overcoming Negative Thoughts” caught my eye. I turned to the section “When I feel like giving up” and read 23 passages addressing that negativity. None of them helped — except the very last one:

Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD! (Psalm 27:14)

Today’s devotional focuses on the one piece of spiritual armor that is not defensive but offensive. That is, rather than protection, this one is about taking action to defeat the tactics of Satan:

Take . . . the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (Ephesians 6:17)

This is not the large broadsword but a smaller dagger and a common weapon. It was uses by the soldiers who arrested Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, by Peter when he cut off the ear of the high priest’s servant , by those who killed James, the brother of John, and against other heroes of the faith described in Hebrews 11:37. It is not about the Holy Spirit but about His weapon given to defeat strongholds:

For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. (2 Corinthians 10:4)

This weapon is truth from God that convicted me of sin and saved me. This Word lives in and transforms me, supplying all I need to live a godly, victorious life. It builds me up and equips me. Jesus said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ” (Matthew 4:4) Other passages say the same thing:

And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. (Acts 20:32)

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16–17)

This is the reason that I study it every day and allow it to do its work. Spiritual truth is my weapon when the enemy goes at me with lies and whatever else will produce negative emotions and lack of joyful faith. However, that statement by Jesus uses “rhema” for “word” which essential means a specific statement for the need of the moment. Only one of those two dozen passages from my book was “rhema” for me, the one that used the NKJV and told me to: “Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!” (Psalm 27:14) I didn’t wait very long before He answered with this specific word that restored my courage.

MacArthur says the sword of the Spirit is most effective when it is applied to specific Biblical principles to specific situations in your life, then asks, “Do you do that?” Actually, I don’t apply it — but the Holy Spirit does. As long as I am seeking Him and His solutions by looking into His Word and asking Him to speak to me, He gives that “rhema” Word that I need for whatever the enemy is trying to do. My part is to be in the Word and knowing it, giving the Spirit His weapon.

PRAY: Jesus, the desire to know Your Word is easy when I feel helpless. For most of my life, that helplessness has been dealt with in other ways, not nearly so successful as Your way. Thank You for knowing what I need far better than I know and applying the solutions with great wisdom and grace. You always tell me what I need to hear, even when I have no idea, even when I’m fumbling for just the right attitude or action. I am so thankful for the sword of the spirit which is You speaking directly to me so that I can deal with the attacks from the enemy who wants to ruin Your grace and power in my life.

PONDER: How are 2 Timothy 1:13 and Romans 6:17 related?