Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. First Corinthians 4:19 But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord will. First Thessalonians 5:18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
We’ve all been out of the will of God. But we should desire to be in his perfect will. Two groups of questions were given to a group of reservists. The first was should they be required to leave their home, family, etc. to serve the country. All answered a resounding yes. Then they were asked if missionaries should leave their homes, family, etc. and they all answered no. They were to put their family first. What they were saying is that the government has a greater right to them than God. The will of God is not a major consideration in the lives of people today. It should be the guiding force. Why should the will of God concern us? It concerned Jesus; therefore it should concern us. In John 5:30 Jesus said I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.
What is the will of God? The prayer is “thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” In heaven everything God desires and commands is carried out. He reigns supremely. To be carried out on earth, he must do the same here. He is concerned about who you are, what you do and where you do it. Consider Jonah. He was a prophet and was told a specific message that was to be delivered at a specific place. He didn’t do it. Even if he’d gotten to Tarshish and preached the message there and people listened and repented, he would still have not been in God’s will because he was supposed to preach in Nineveh. When it comes to God’s will, you are either in or out.
It is God’s will that all be saved. Second Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. It is his will, that as saved people, we participate in the salvation of others. Matthew 9:38 Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest. It’s God’s will for us to be joyful. John 15:11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. And it may be his will that we suffer. Some speak of God’s will like this. “I don’t have a burden to do this or that.” What’s a burden got to do with it? We are not controlled by emotions, feelings or burdens. We are to be controlled by the will of God. If we carry out his will, there may be no emotions, feelings or burden to it. We simply do his will. Being in the will of God is continuous, something that we do all the time.
Why do the will of God? First John 2:17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever. Abide forever! This is God’s attitude to our doing his will. We should do all of what he wills, not some of it. What should we do about the will of God? Find it. Open ourselves to it. Then do it–do the will of God. He will equip us to do what he calls us to do.
He has a plan for you right now. He won’t make you do it although he can make you wish you had. A surefire way to miss the will of God is to do your own will instead. Seek God’s will and then do it wholeheartedly.
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 