A Will Observed

So much of our lives as Christians deal with what God's will is for our lives. From the moment you encounter the "language" of Christianity, the words "will" and "calling" always come up no matter what stage you're in. Don't know Christ? It's His will that you know Him. Want to do something? It's your calling that you do it. While it's true that Christ desires a relationship and that He has instilled in you gifts and abilities to work for Christ, it's always puzzled me that we are you and I are to supposed to know what God wants for us. After all, if God is all-knowing, if He is all-loving, and if He has the best things lined out for me, why do I have to figure it out?

This was never more apparent in my life than when I had to figure out where to go to school. I went from wanting to go to a rather large university to study music, to wanting to take a year off of school, to enrolling in Jefferson College 3 days before starting class, spanning months, states, hours, and miles. I wasn’t as close to God at the time, but years later it came back to confuse me.

What makes it so difficult is that our culture tells us that we can be whatever we want to be. If I wanted to be a fireman, then by golly, I could be a fireman. But let’s be honest for a second: Being a fireman requires being in shape, which I am not; being a fireman requires knowing what to do under stress, which I can’t; being a fireman requires that you risk your life, but I am a wimp. Needless to say, I get quite disappointed because I can’t be a fireman. So am I in God’s will to not be a fireman because I can’t be a fireman, or am I not in God’s will because I’m not trying to be a fireman?

If there ever was a thesis statement on God’s will, its Romans 12:2. Paul tells the Roman church to be transformed by the renewing of our minds so we can test and approve the will of God. That alone would be clear for knowing God’s will coupled with such passages as James 1:5-6, Ephesians 5:15-17, and 1 John 5: 14-15. But it’s what surrounds the passage in Romans that gives us the insight into God’s will.

We commanded to give our bodies as “living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God”, and that by doing this we are showing our worship to God, and when we stop conforming to the things the world thinks are better for us, then we can know God’s will. The rest of chapter 12 in Romans shows us what God’s will is: that we think of others before us, that we use our gifts for God’s glory, that we love one another, that we live in peace, and that we don’t “be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (12:21)

God’s will is simply that we live for God. It doesn’t matter if I’m a pastor of a church or a professional basket weaver, as long as God gets my whole life and my life reflects the love He has for me, then I’m in “God’s will”. When we get caught up in our own selves and in what we’re supposed to be doing, then we can miss the focus of what we’re doing, Christ Jesus.

So I’ve figured it out. God’s will is simply that I live for Him. Sure, God could just tell me (and He’s just told people before), but for me, specifically me, its better that God lets me figure it out. It’s the way I rely on Him alone to trust Him for everything, it’s how I can be closer to Him. I may never be a fireman, but I can know that God still has great things in store for me.