“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
October 18, 2022
Decisions, decisions, decisions. Life is filled with them. As a Christian, we are to discern what the will of God is. But this has been turned into a torturous and somewhat pagan process with many thinking that the will of God day to day is trying to hit the bull’s eye. The will of God is by this view found out by “feeling” the leading of the Spirit, reading the signs, inner urgings, impressions, etc. It’s sort of like learning to read the tea leaves. Still others tell us that we need to learn how to hear “the voice of God.” In order to think in a biblical way about the will of God, we must first distinguish between what is called the sovereign will of God and the moral will of God. In the first sense God’s will is always done. It is His predetermined plan that we can’t know until it happens (e.g. creation, the cross of Christ). Then there is the moral or revealed will of God. This is what God desires and what He commands. God determines who lands on “Park Place,” but we have to decide if we are going to buy “Marvin Gardens.” According to the apostle Paul, the will of God we are to obey is “good.” It overcomes evil. It is “acceptable.” It pleases God. It is “perfect.” It is ethically complete. It will never lead us in the wrong direction. As the apostle goes on to say, the desired will of God for the believer in Jesus Christ is to develop and exercise our spiritual gift(s) for the glory of God and for the spiritual benefit of fellow believers. In what ways are you serving God in your local church? Merely being a pew sitter is not enough. Are you a teacher? Then be available to instruct others in the Word of God (Rom. 12:7). Are you especially drawn to show mercy to those who are hurting (Rom. 12:8)? Think of ways to show mercy. We can see that knowing and doing the will of God is not so complicated. H
A time to pray: “O Lord, renew in me a passion for growing wise through your eternal Word. My desire is to make Spirit-enabled, biblically informed decisions.”