Belonging In The Will Of God Series

WHAT GOD'S WILL IS NOT

1. God’s will is not something that you find

For some reason we tend to have this idea that we must discover God’s will for our lives. That’s not how it works. God is the one who finds YOU. Abraham did not choose God; God chose Abraham. David did not choose to become the king of Israel; God chose David to be the king of Israel. When God is ready, He reveals His will to you. God’s will for your life is a calling, whether that’s a ministry or a career, an occupation or a position, a trial or a test. You don’t find it—it finds you.

2. God’s will is not a list of things to do

In his book The Four Wills of God, Emerson Eggerichs explains that there are four explicit wills of God found in the Bible. These are as follows: Believe in Jesus Christ (John 6:40); abstain from sexual sin (I Thess. 4:3); give thanks in everything (I Thess. 5:18); and submit in doing right (I Pet. 2:13-15). Emerson basically says that if you are following these four commands, then you are secure in the will of God. Of course, there are many other things you could add to the list that would be God’s will to do (go to church, witness, etc.).

While obedience is crucial in the Christian life, I don’t think God’s will is a big list of things to do. After all, you could do them all out of a sense of duty, and not love. God is much more concerned with your heart. “How do I know I’m in God’s will?” “Just do these 15 things and you’re good.” NO! God is not an overbearing Master who demands strict adherence to a list of do’s and don’ts. He wants your love and worship. And when you really love God, you will obey Him.

3. God’s will is not necessarily in line with your will

This is the hard one. If you’re like me, you like to plan everything out. I quickly discovered that God’s plan was different than mine. Perhaps your life has not gone the way you wanted. That’s okay. It is far more important that your life turns out the way God wants.

Sometimes God brings tragedy into life. Cancer, death of a loved one, etc. It can be hard to accept that this was God’s will, but we have to remember that God knows best. I’ll touch on this more a little later.

Genesis 50:20, “But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.”

Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

“God doesn’t work on our timetable. He has a plan that He will execute perfectly and for the highest, greatest good of all, and for His ultimate glory.” —Charles Swindoll

WHAT GOD'S WILL IS

1. God’s will involves total surrender

Romans 12:1-2, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

Illustration: There once was a young boy who worked in his uncle’s shoe shop. The uncle required that the boy go to church, and through a loving Sunday School teacher, he was saved. He soon realized that God was calling him to preach, so he surrendered. His name was Dwight L. Moody. Not long after that, Moody was in a meeting where the preacher said these words: “The world has yet to see what God can do with one man fully surrendered to Him.” That night Moody said, “By God’s grace I will be that man!” He would go on to shake two continents for God and see over a million people come to Christ by faith. Why? Not because Moody was special, but because he was surrendered.

Read I Kings 20:1-4. Total surrender.

2. God’s will is all about God, not you

One of the greatest traps of the devil is to convince Christians that their life is all about what they want to do. This is what the world says. “Do what you love. Do what makes you happy.” It sounds good, doesn’t it? But for the Christian, it’s completely wrong. It’s self-centered, leaving God out of the picture. You see, life isn’t about doing what you want, it’s about doing God’s will for your life; and God’s will is all about God.