“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?”
Luke 6:46 (ESV)
God’s will. We often think of it as some sort of mysterious master plan for our lives. We seek to follow God‘s will when we make decisions about all sorts of opportunities in life. But God’s will isn’t mysterious. It isn’t a secret that He needs to let us in on. He already did that! When Jesus came to earth and demonstrated what a servant’s heart looks like, God gave each us the perfect example to follow. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus shows us true obedience.
God’s will for our lives is that we help to make this world look a lot more like heaven. He wants us to live like Jesus lived—loving, obeying, serving, inviting, sacrificing, helping, freeing, restoring, providing, inspiring, empowering, comforting, washing, defending, caring, forgiving, liberating, feeding, healing, raising, teaching, leading, giving, praying, blessing, and sending! We are to pursue others like He pursues us. And every act of love requires action, because Jesus clearly and beautifully showed us that love is not a feeling; love is a verb!
So what is God’s will for you? That you become like Jesus. That you begin to think like Him and see others as He sees them. That your desires look like His desires, rather than selfish ones. That you don’t just read God’s Word, but you do what it says. That your time and money are used in ways that honor God, in ways Jesus would use them. When you are obedient, you show God that you put your faith in Him, not in yourself. Obedience means giving up what you think you want and choosing to do what God asks, instead. Obedience to God tells Him that you love Him. Go show Him just how much. You are loved!
“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear. If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says… If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” ~Oswald Chambers