We have all seen them. As we drive down the road, there as plain as day. I am not sure who the source is, but they are certainly there—those signs from God on the highway. You know, the pitch black background with a white message from God. I saw one just the other day that read: “We need to talk” -God
I got to thinking about those signs and asked myself: Wouldn’t it be nice if God really spoke to us this way? Wouldn’t it be nice if we were ever confused about something, all we would have to do is look at a billboard and find the answer or look up into the sky and there would be something written in the clouds. Or what about the radio? That would be great! We could just tune in to a particular station each week and God’s voice would break in and say, “This is what I want you to do.”
A lot of us would love to hear from God in such a clear way. Then again, depending upon the message and the state of our lives, some of us would not! Overall, though, most people I speak with yearn to hear God’s voice and want to know God’s will for their lives.
God’s will is one of the biggest issues I deal with as a pastor. People continually come to me, desperately wanting to know God’s will. They often say, “I have a big decision, and I need to know what God wants me to do! I am at a crossroad, and I wonder what God’s will is for my life?” When I ask people what they would like to hear a sermon on, a frequent response is, “Finding God’s will for my life.” Obviously, finding God’s will is important for many of us.
God’s Will is Not a Secret
I have great news! God wants us to know his will even more than we want to know his will. God’s will is not a secret. Discovering God’s will is not some kind of existential game of hide and seek where God hides it and is amused by watching us try to find it. God deeply desires for us to know and do his will.
Unfortunately, many have the notion that discovering God’s will is reserved only for the spiritually elite. They hear friends speak about God as if he was at their breakfast table every morning, and then they wonder why they can’t hear God too. But being in tune with God’s will for us is not complicated. All we have to do is know how to recognize his voice when he is speaking to us and then have the courage to do what he tells us.
But before we get into hearing and doing God’s will we need to have the right understanding of God’s will. Many people have a false picture of God and how God views human beings. Instead of seeing God as loving and merciful, many see God as an angry, gray haired old man with a stick, waiting to find those who are breaking the rules so he can punish them.
Nothing could be further from truth! Read what the Bible says about God: 2 Corinthians 1:3 states that God is “the Father of all mercies, and the God of all comfort.” In John 10:11 were a told that God in Christ is “the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for his sheep.” 1 John 3:1 proclaims that God is “the Sovereign God who loves us so much that he calls us his children.” James 1:17 says that God is “the Father who gives only good gifts.” The Bible is clear that we have a loving and merciful God.
However, the most convincing evidence for the good nature and will of God is God’s revelation to us in Jesus Christ. God chose to reveal himself in Jesus Christ so we could understand what his nature is like. Through Christ, God communicated to us that he forgives us, loves us, and wants what is best for us—he went all the way to cross to prove that to us!
What God Desires for Us
Romans 12:1-2 is clear about God’s intentions for us. What God has in mind for us comes in three words in verse 2: “Good, acceptable, and perfect.” God’s will is good, acceptable, and perfect.
First, God’s will is good. This means that God has the highest and best for us in mind. Second, God’s will is acceptable. The Greek word for acceptable means “well pleasing” and “agreeable.” Third, God’s will is perfect, which means it meets the needs of the person.
We can be sure that no matter what circumstance we face, we can have the peace that comes from knowing that God’s will for us in any situation is good, acceptable, and perfect. God knows us better than we know ourselves, and he wants what is best for us.
We Have a Will, Too!
By now, you may be asking, “Well, if God want us to know his will, and it is good for us, why is it so difficult to discover?” The answer: we have a will, too! You see, often people know what God’s will is for them; they just don’t want to do it. They hide behind the statement, “Woe is me, I can’t find God’s will.” In reality it is more like, “Woe is me, I don’t want to do what God wants me to do.”
I have discovered as a pastor that more often than not when people struggle with God’s will in their lives, it is a struggle of change and a struggle of pride. This is not always the case, but in most cases, somewhere in our struggles to find God’s will is either the obstacle of change or the obstacle of pride.
Fear of Change
There are those who fear change so much that they have a spiritual block to hearing and doing God’s will. For some feel like the poem by A.A. Milne, the creator of Winnie the Pooh:
When I was One, I had just begun.
When I was two, I was nearly new.
When I was three, I was hardly me.
When I was four, I was not much more.
When I was five, I was just alive.
But now I am six, I’m as clever as ever.
So I think I’ll be six for ever and ever!
We are creatures of habit and we get comfortable very easily. Therefore, we don’t like change. Sometimes this can be the real cause of our inability to find’s God’s will. God could be giving us signs and expressions everyday but because we fear change our spirit is not open to recognizing those signs. What is happening is, “Lord, let me know your will, but make sure it doesn’t involve change.” Good luck with that one!
The unavoidable truth is that there is no growth, Christian or otherwise, there is no wholeness, there is no fulfillment, there is nothing worthwhile that happens in this gift of God called life without change. To refuse to change is to refuse the best God has to offer you and your life. Period.
Pride
Pride can also be an obstacle for many who are struggling to find God’s will. When out of control, pride can strip our spiritual gears and put us in a real mess. Pride is what started it all in the garden of Eden. Adam and Eve thought, “We don’t need God; we can be gods ourselves.” And we all know the pain and misery that followed. Too much pride can get us into a lot of trouble.
I saw this illustrated right before my eyes a few years ago. I was coming out of the church office, and I watched as a toddler got away from her mother and began to run toward a busy street. The mother was pregnant and had an infant in her arms. I immediately drop the books that were in my hands and ran after the child. I will never forget the look on the child’s face. She looked back at me laughing, determined to outrun me, not knowing she was headed for great danger. Fortunately, I was able to catch her before she ran into the busy street.
Pride is like that. We get so filled with it that we are totally oblivious to where it is leading us. This is why it is impossible to live out God’s will when we are filled with pride, for pride makes us stubborn to God’s will, or it selfishly attaches conditions to God’s will. It is almost comical. Our pride often causes us to bargain with God: “Yes, Lord I will forgive this person as long as he apologizes.” Or, “Yes, Lord, I will serve in the church as long as I get recognized for my efforts.” Is it any wonder that we have a tough time finding God’s will and living it out when we live our faith in this way?
You see, doing God’s will with certain conditions is not obedience. To obey and follow God’s will means to surrender everything to God. God wants everything we are and hoped to be. He wants all of us. So, if we are not surrendering to God, we are not obeying God.
Changing Our Approach to God’s Will
C.S. Lewis once said that “all genuine religious conversions are blessed defeats.” You want to know the secret to finding God’s will? A surrendered spirit. This means we must change how we approach God and his will for us. Instead of deciding what we want to do and asking God to bless it, we must decide to surrender all we are to God and ask him what he wants to do with us. We must put ourselves at the disposal of God. Then and only then, will we be clear about our Lord’s will for our lives. God will break through our lives like dynamite! You see, if Jesus is really Lord of our lives, then he will rule every area of our lives. Remember, Paul says in verse 1 of chapter 12: “Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”
The Power of a Surrendered Spirit
I knew a lady in another church I served who learned the power of a surrendered spirit. She was caught stealing and sentenced to prison. After serving time in prison, she sold everything she had, except for a few necessities, and gave it all away to the poor. Then she moved to the mountains and, as time passed, she became an excellent painter. When she reflected on her transformation she said, “When you have been caught, you have nothing to hide. And when you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear. And when you have nothing to fear, oh my, what you can become.”
Imagine what you could become with a surrendered spirit to God. Imagine what this church could become with a surrendered spirit.
In Waiting for Godot, Vladimir asks Pozo: “Where are you going?” Pozo gives the Christian answer: “On.” As you think about God’s will for your life, God is asking: “Where are you going? Backwards with fear of change and pride or on to what I have always dreamed for your life?” What is your response? May we respond:
“On as you make me new with every season’s change.
On as you are creating me summer, winter, autumn, spring.” -Nichole Nordeman
Amen.
Series: The Seven Wonders of the Faith