Pleasing God, Making Disciples of Jesus Christ

The Not So Secret Will Of God

DEUTERONOMY 30:11-14 – For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it.

THEME OF THE DAY. THE NOT SO SECRET WILL OF GOD. I am sure every Christian at various times in their walks with the Lord have struggled with the question, “What is the will of God?” We come to this crossroads when seeking life’s directions and making decisions. It is a good question, but I want to challenge us along this line; God’s will is not some elusive “carrot on a stick” that He is reluctant to reveal. It may seem like it at times. I know I have struggled with the prayer, “Lord, what is Your will?” and seemingly get a “not at home” answer from heaven along with a deafening silence. But the problem isn’t with God’s disinterest or disconnect with my request. The problem may very well lie within me and a misunderstanding of discerning His will. Let’s dive a little deeper into this issue. First from today’s scripture, then a passage from the New Testament books of Ephesians and Colossians.

God’s will is not as secret as we might think. Did we know that nearly all of God’s will is already revealed to us in His Word? Look again at today’s scripture. We may paraphrase the Lord like this, “My will is not hidden in faraway places. It is not holed up in some distant vault unable to be known. No, I have given you My Word which is my will. Don’t think it requires a search party. All it requires is you start doing My already revealed will in My Word.” Friends, we cannot pray, “Lord, what is Your will?” if we are not actively obeying what we already know is His Will. So, if we want to know the will of God? Start obeying our Bibles. He has already told us His will, And He expects obedience to what He has already revealed. Now here is the second application in knowing the will of God as revealed in two New Testament places.

If we were to share what is the key to living the Christian life in the will of God, our answer should be “Be filled with and walking by the Spirit of God (Ephesians 5:18, Galatians 5:16). However, these need to be qualified. There is a lot of stuff in contemporary evangelicalism claiming to be “of the Holy Spirit” which is not. So when we say, “walk in the Spirit, be filled with the Spirit”, it is important to define what drives both. And the answer is the Word of God. If some movement, church, or Christian claims to be “led by the Spirit” and it is not in complete harmony with the Bible, it is not of the Spirit. Another note on this . . . if it is of the Spirit and Word, then the central theme will be Jesus Christ. If someone claims, “I am filled with the Spirit, I am walking in the Spirit”, then two things will be clear – they are Jesus-like and they will not draw attention to themselves. And that leads to this truth from Colossians. We cannot know the will of God and walk in the will of God, unless we are consumed with the Word of God – Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God (Colossians 3:16). Let me challenge us to something. Meditate on this text from Colossians and then compare it with the Apostle Paul’s instruction and evidence of being filled with the Spirit in Ephesians 5:18-21. We will discover the inseparable link of being filled with the scripture and being filled with Christ’s Word. And it is both – the Spirit and God’s Word – that tells us what God’s not so secret will is for our lives.

PRAYER: “Father, help me to realize Your will is already known to me in Your Word.”

QUOTE: “Before asking God for His will in our lives, start obeying what He has already told us is His will.”