Dave’s Monday Blast – January 25, 2016
I worked many years in secondary education. Young men and women were continually wrestling with knowing God’s will for their lives. They wanted to follow His plan but struggled to understand what that might be. I could always relate to their struggle, attempting to discern His will is challenging. I can still relate…knowing the will of God is not just something that a young person strives to understand early in life; staying in the center of His plan is a lifelong pursuit.
So, then, how can we KNOW God’s plan for our lives? Over the past 35 years I have been in ministry, I have learned some vital keys to knowing God’s will. Let us spend the next several weeks examining them together:
1. Your Walk with God.If you are really interested in knowing God’s plan for your life, then you must learn to walk with God. You need to develop your relationship with Him. Christianity is all about forming an intimate relationship with our Creator…rather than just a religious experience. I would recommend that you read “Intimacy With the Almighty”by Pastor Charles Swindoll to help you cultivate your relationship with God. You must seek to know Him and not just seek to know about Him.
You will cultivate that relationship best by spending time in His Word, taking time for prayer, and taking every opportunity you can to be involved in church and small group Bible studies. When you seek these disciplines in your life, God will begin the first steps to revealing His plan to you. (Proverbs 3:5 & 6)
2. Surrender YOUR will to God’s.Pastor Chris Russell says, “Many times when we say we are seeking God’s will, what we are really saying to God is this: ‘OK, God, here’s what I’m planning to do. Now I need you to rubber stamp this, alright?’ I must tell you that this is really ineffective in finding His true will. Before God will begin to reveal HIS will to you, you must be committed to doing whatever it is that He desires you to do. God will likely be slow to show you His plan if He knows you will likely not do that plan anyway.” (Romans 12:1-2)
Jesus was willing to die for us, so shouldn’t we be willing to live for Him? When we INTENTIONALLY surrender to Him that is when He really begins to direct our steps.
Stay tuned as next week we explore other keys to “Knowing God’s Will”.
