GOD'S WILL
Day 23
We are on Day 23, and we will be discussing God's will today. This is probably one of the most asked questions I get from people. The question will go something like this, "How do I know God's will for my life?" or "What is my purpose in life?" I believe these 2 questions are really one and the same because we cannot understand our TRUE purpose without God and if we really know God, it leads us to understand God's will. I think it's important to build some framework behind this concept of God's will for your life, so let's get right into it!
To Follow God's Will Starts With Genuine Faith & Commitment
As we have read about in Day 3, our practice of faith really matters in our daily life. Faith not only pleases God (Hebrews 11:6), but genuine faith propels us to a place where commitment to God comes naturally, not forced. That is why verses like Proverbs 3 are so helpful.
Proverbs 3:5-6 - Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways submit to him, and He will make your paths straight.
In verse 5 the word "trust" communicates belief or faith in God. Next, the phrase "with all your heart" expresses the thought of a full commitment to your belief or faith. After that, it says, "lean not on your own understanding." This helps the believer to identify that when we have genuine faith we shift our priority from trusting ourselves only to trusting God fully. Starting in verse 6, it says "in all your ways submit." This again pushes us to be fully committed and surrender our thoughts, ideas, desires, etc., before the Lord. If we do this there is a promise that follows at the end of verse 6, "He will make your paths straight." Making our paths straight means God has full control of every part of our life; therefore, we are in a posture of active listening and willing to be obedient to what He says to us. If all the conditions that we just talked about are met, this enables God to show us His will and purpose for our lives.
As you can see, this verse helps us as Christians to identify the connection between our faith and commitment and God's will. This again is why personal commitment within the believer matters. I pray that you are seeing that your faith is more than just a prayer to Jesus, it's a commitment. It's vital that we understand our role within our faith, and that our level of commitment to God is what unlocks maturity within our faith. Now, with that said, there are other variables that play into the growth and maturity of our spiritual lives but without commitment, we will never see it.
God’s Will, Not Mine
Next, I want to share a verse that completely informed and transformed my understanding of the topic of commitment. When I was in high school I read this verse, and it wrecked me (in a good way). In Matthew 7:21-23 it says,
Matthew 7:21-23 - Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!
Let's break down these verses before we get to the heart of the matter. What stands out to most people is the phrase "Not everyone who says to me Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom.” This means that not everyone who believes in God will be saved or will enter the kingdom of heaven. You might ask, well, how is that? In James 2:19 it says, "You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder." Just because someone believes that God exist doesn't mean they really know God. Matthew 7:21 targets and reveals a common misconception, that belief in God is everything. When you accept Jesus, you first believe in your heart and then you confess with your mouth that He is the Son of God and that He arose three days later and beat death. Lastly, to accept Christ in your life, you are acknowledging Him as King of your life, ruler of your desires, will, emotions, actions, and thoughts. It's a surrendering of one's life to God. Mere belief in God is just one aspect of real faith. You are handing over your life to God because you know that what He is able to do in your life far outweighs anything you are able to do within your own strength.
In the second half of verse 21 it says "but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." The part to pay attention to is the "will of my Father". Only God knows what His will is, meaning, what He desires to accomplish for His glory. No human can break down the depth or understanding of how exactly that will play out. So to accomplish the will of the Father requires that we really know the Father, intimately. This is why on the diagram that you see every day you find "Relationship" at the top, because a relationship is really that important. That is also why we have spent the bulk of our time together understanding our relationship with God. Although God's providential will (meaning His ultimate plan) will come to pass, God's will for your life, individually, will look different from your friend, family member, or pastor. We cannot inherit our faith nor borrow from others' experiences to understand His will. There are no patterns or shortcuts. The Father's will for us is developed through a close relationship over a lifetime with Him alone. Stay close to Him and I can assure you that you will not miss His will for your life
In verse 22 it shows these amazing "works" being done, like casting out demons, miracles, and prophesying. At first glance, it looks like these people are spiritual leaders because of what they are doing in the name of Jesus, but verse 23 clears that up quickly. It says, "I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers." You might be asking yourself how they can be doing those types of works and Jesus says He never knew them. Again, remember on Day 3 we talked about faith and actions. The idea of "doing the work of ministry" or being a good person doesn't save us; it is what Christ has done for us. The interpretation of this passage shows us that there seems to be an underlying motive behind the individuals doing these works. It seems that they were doing things in the name of Jesus to have influence and importance, and to build up their spiritual authority on earth. The reason they were able to do signs and wonders is because God's word never returns void (Isaiah 55:11). Behind the scenes God knew their heart. They were far from Him, only seeming to be good spiritual leaders on the outside, but evil within their intentions and desires to glorify themselves.
God’s Will Is Not A Destination
Lastly, I think one of the most common questions that come after learning Matthew 7:21-23 is, "How do I know God's will for my life?" The answer to this is very simple, but I want to clear up the biggest misconceptions at first. A majority of people I have ever talked to think they will at some point arrive at "God's will." God's will is not a destination–it's not like one day you wake up, and you realize you have arrived. Pastor and author Eugene Peterson who has now passed away says it best within the title of one of His books, "Long Obedience in the Same Direction." The way to understand God's will is a path of consistently and faithfully following God over the course of your life. It's really simple, yet very difficult to accomplish.
Please don't misunderstand, there will be tough seasons in your life, or moments you mess up and miss it, or you find yourself unfaithful to God. I don't want you to feel like you have to "earn" heaven; that is simply not true. Jesus has already done the work on your behalf. Again, what Jesus was talking about in Matthew 7 was getting to those who had false motives using the name of God to benefit themselves and calling them out. There were a lot of religious leaders misguiding people because they didn't know Jesus, He was calling them out.
To wrap this section up we need to think of it like this. Just by hanging out with friends or family, we do get influenced by them. We start to like what they like, talk as they talk, and do as they do. In the same way, true salvation turns us to God and within that personal commitment we get to know Him, and the more we know Him our desires, our walk, and our talk will become more like His (1 John 2:4-6) and our faith will manifest itself more within our lives. If you truly surrender your life to Him, it would be impossible to miss God's will in your life.
Today's Questions:
Additional Resources:
Book: Just Do Something: A Liberating Approach to Finding God's Will - Kevin DeYoung: Click Here
Verse Of The Day:
Matthew 7:21-23
Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!
