Discovering God’s Will and Plan for my Life PART ONE
IT’S WORTH CONSIDERING
I recently watched an Andy Stanley video series (Northpoint Ministries) on determining God’s will. Many of the points in the series meshed beautifully with the last few sermons I had heard at my own church as well as what I had been studying in my quiet time. Today’s post is the first of a five part series that resulted from blending all three. While the focus of my articles is America’s relationships with Israel and Islam, I occasionally interject articles on other topics that I feel will bless my readers and take them into a deeper relationship with God. This series represents one such “detour.”

Perhaps the most common question we all ask of God is What is Your plan for my life? It takes many forms: What job should I pursue? What college should I attend? Who should I marry? Finding God’s will in these areas, especially regarding our careers, can become very frustrating. Sure, the Bible is full of what seem like general platitudes about what God expects from all of us and how we are to behave, but when the rubber meets the road, we need details. We have some very specific questions which require specific answers. We’re willing to do whatever God desires, but He seems to be keeping His thoughts regarding us to Himself. Sound familiar?

Too often, the problem isn’t God’s vagueness. More often than not, we’re asking the wrong questions. We can take comfort in knowing that we’re not alone. In the book of Habakkuk, the prophet asks God why He is allowing all the wickedness in Judah to continue unchecked. When God says He is going to send the Chaldeans to punish Judah, Habakkuk asks God why He would use such wicked people to punish Judah. God responded by revealing more of Himself. The prophet kept asking “why?” and God showed him “who.”
Something similar happened to Job. He asked God why He was allowing all those terrible things to happen to him, especially since he considered himself to be blameless. Instead of confirming Job’s assertions, God kept revealing more of Himself until Job finally confesses, “I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear; but now my eye sees Thee” (Job 42:5). Job asked “why?” and God showed him “who.”

AS I SEE IT
The root of our problem lies in our failure to grasp the significance of Galatians 2:20:
I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me…
The same truth is expressed in Colossians 3:4:

When Christ, who is our life, is revealed…

Do you see it? We ask, “What should I do with my life? Christ responds with “I am your life.” We tend to see Christ as a component of our lives. Christ responds with “I am your life.” He’s ready and willing to live out His life within us if we will just get out of the way. We focus on our future, when we should be focusing on a person-Jesus…in us.

Here’s how it works. When we put all our focus on Christ in us, He leads us to the future He has for us. Stop and let that sink in. He leads us to the future He has for us. Of course, if we don’t really trust His will for us, He will stay in the background, letting us self-destruct until we finally realize that He’s the one we need to trust with our future. Just like Habakkuk and Job, we need to focus on the “who” and the rest will turn out just fine.

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ON THE LIGHTER SIDE
When tempted to fight fire with fire, remember that the Fire Department usually uses water.