KNOWING THE WILL OF GOD

How does one know the will of God?  I can remember, almost 40 years ago now, as a young Christian, wonder whether this thing or that was God’s will for me. I found it endlessly confusing and was always hoping He would make His path straight for me so I wouldn’t make the wrong choice.  I don’t find myself losing sleep or peace so much anymore wondering what the Lord’s will is. 

If you’ve read my blogs before then you know how much I love Oswald Chamber’s devotional book, “My Utmost for His Highest”.  The book was edited by his wife after his death and contains his writings and teachings on all sorts of subjects important to believers in Jesus.  When he speaks of the will of God he speaks in terms of our unity with Christ.  He says things like:

“Never let a hurried lifestyle disturb the relationship of abiding in Him.”

“Whenever there are competing concerns in your life, be sure you always put your relationship to God first.”

“The goal of my spiritual life is such close identification with Jesus Christ that I will always hear God and know that God always hears me.”

“Sometimes there is nothing to obey and our only task is to maintain a vital connection with Jesus Christ, seeing that nothing interferes with it. . .  most of our life is not spent in trying to be consciously obedient, but in maintaining this relationship - being a friend of the Bridegroom”.

“The Cross is God exhibiting His nature.  It is the gate through which any and every individual can enter into oneness with God.”

“The only responsibility you have is to stay in living constant touch with God, and to see that you allow nothing to hinder your cooperation with Him.”

What Chambers has to say about the importance of relationship is what Jesus said in John’s gospel, chapter 15:1; 4-5 :

“I am the True Vine and my Father is the gardener. . . Remain in me and I will remain in you.  No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine.  Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. . . .

Knowing the will of God so that we might do it, occurs in the context of relationship with Jesus – abiding, or remaining, in Him.  It assumes that the most basic of spiritual relationships, that of receiving Jesus as Savior for the forgiveness of sin already exists, and that the importance of cultivating that relationship is present.

One of the ways Christians remain in Jesus is by reading and studying the Bible because it is in the Bible (especially the New Testament) that we see the person and work of Jesus revealed. (If you’re looking for it, you can also see Jesus throughout the Old Testament as well, since what is concealed there about Him is revealed in the New.)

Years ago when I was first married my husband was stationed in Viet Nam in the conflict there.  Back then our only means of communication was MARS calls (transmitted by ham operators all over the country), the occasional call Jim made by standing in line all day for a turn, and the more frequent and reliable snail mail. 

Letters could take two weeks to get to me.  But I longed for those letters because they communicated Jim’s love for me while we were separated.  That’s what the Bible is like. It is God’s Word, communicating His love for me in the person of Jesus, through His Words until I see Him in heaven.  Reading God’s Word, getting to know Jesus personally, leads to a deeper love relationship with Him, the abiding or remaining Jesus speaks of in John’s gospel.

This past week I had surgery to donate a kidney.  One of the pieces of paperwork I had to complete was a proxy form.  On that form I had to list the kinds of life saving measures I did, or didn’t, want performed in case something went wrong in the surgery and I couldn’t make decisions for myself.  I designated my husband as my proxy to make those important decisions in my stead.

After 43 years of marriage, however, we probably didn’t need to write any of my preferences down.  Six years ago when my mom died we each talked about what we did and didn’t want in terms of lifesaving measures, and we have talked about it since.  I wouldn’t really need to ask Jim and he wouldn’t really need to ask me.  We each knew what the other wanted based on our long standing love relationship.

I believe that’s the way the Lord works in terms of His will.  There are things God specifically says in His Word that are His will, and those we obviously need to obey.  But in those life situations where He hasn’t specifically said, do this or don’t do that, if we’ve been walking closely with Him in relationship, then it’s not so hard to figure out what He might want us to do.

That’s how it was with this kidney donation.  When I saw Jennifer’s link on Facebook suggesting a place to look in the event anyone was interested in being a live donor, God the Holy Spirit simply nudged me and I thought, “Wow, look at that.  I wonder if I might qualify as a donor.”

Once that happened, I took it as a sign of God’s will for me to pursue the idea and just see what would happen.  If it was truly God’s will, I knew He’d keep me moving in that direction, and if it wasn’t, somewhere along the line things would break down. 

When I completed the first step of checking to see if she and I had the same blood type and discovered that we did, I simply took the next step of having more blood drawn to discover if we were a cross match.  So when Jennifer called to give me the news that we were INDEED a perfect cross match, I could say, “Well, of course we are!” because that was my confirmation that the Lord was doing the leading. And of course, in terms of a kidney transplant, the rest as they say “is history!”

This is the life of faith I have always longed to live.  A life in relationship with Jesus – my Savior, and also my Master – the One who loves me enough to die for me, and the One who calls the shots in my life.  A life of letting Him sit in the driver’s seat while I sit on the passenger side. 

Do you want to know the will of God?  Then simply enter into a relationship with Jesus, stay close so you can recognize His “voice” when He calls, and vow to do whatever it is He says, and you’ll know.

I’m never sure where His will will take me, but I’m sure it will be an exciting adventure of faith and trust.