Knowing God’s Will
By Fred Wikoff
When thinking on God’s will I
am reminded of the old joke: “Where does an 800 pound gorilla sleep?” The answer: “Anywhere he wants.” Clearly, God is God, and can do whatever he
wants. The big question is what is God’s
will for each of us?
This question might sound
strange coming from a long time Christian.
But with Google showing over seven million web sites attempting to
answer the question, it’s obvious that many are uncertain and confused as to what
God’s will is for them.
I’m continually amazed at
mankind’s knack for making the simple difficult. The Bible is very clear as to what God’s will
is. In it He tells us plainly what He
wants and expects from each of us. But
with our take charge, I’m the boss mentality, we often inject our own wills and
dogmas into what God has so clearly given; and make it difficult for even the
best theological minds to explain. Is it
any wonder the world is confused about God and skeptical of religious belief in
general?
Of course belief is the basis
of all religion; and disbelief the cause of uncertainty. And I believe Satan’s cleaver tinkering with
mankind’s belief structure is the source of our uncertainty about God’s will. Satan wants us to believe him instead of God;
and the battle for our trust has been ongoing ever since the Garden.
Imbedded in all the stories,
laws, and examples of the entire Bible is the underlying theme of mankind’s
disobedience because of his wavering belief in God; and God’s loving plan to
rescue us by giving us another chance to believe Him. John 3:16 says it all: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever
believes in him should not parish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
“Believing God” is first and
foremost in understanding His will.
Believe Him when He says He created the Earth and mankind in His
image. Believe Him when He says not to
worry about what we eat or wear. And yes
believe Him when He says He sent His son that we might have eternal life with
Him.
But there is more. God wants to bring us into union with Him,
but unless we trust Him enough to give Him unbridled control of our entire
being, this cannot take place. It’s not
easy to give up our self-right. But
Christ says we must deny ourselves and give our freedom to Him for our
spiritual life to grow. (See Matthew 16:24-25)
When this happens, He and the Father will come and make their home
within us. (See John 14:23) Later the
Apostle Paul explains that God’s will is actually revealed to us by God’s Spirit
living within us. (See 1Corinthians 2:10-11)
So what’s God’s will for each
of us? When God is truly living and
working within us we will be one with Him and know without asking.
Fred Wikoff writes
from Eugene Oregon. EugeneSpud@msn.com