What If I Missed God's Will?

                                                                                                                                               www.pinfex.com

There are two ways in this world: God's, and not God's. Somehow, we forget that.

I'm guilty of living as if God hands out riddles that we solve correctly...or else. It's easy to think this way, blurring the line between free will and God's sovereignty. When opportunities arise, it's normal to question whether it's what God wants or not.

God's will is a big topic. John MacArthur's book Found: God's Will is a thoughtful, concise exhortation teaching discernment. In the book, MacArthur particularly points out that the will of God isn't nebulous and isn't ours to uncover. Throughout the Bible, our Lord very clearly exemplifies His character and His desires, while also making clear the commandments that define His will. If we earnestly seek to follow and obey the Lord according to His Biblical will, MacArthur suggests, then our desires will be in line with Christ, so we can pursue our desires.

Isn't that relieving? The simplicity of the truth is amazing. Our Lord deals in clarity, as in light. That Christ is the light illuminates for us that the truth is not hidden, muddied, or mysterious -whether it is His will in our individual circumstances or His will for the world in all of history.

Now, "we know in part," knowing that in heaven we will know in whole (1 Corinthians 13:12). But we know that everything that we need to know right now, from God, we find in the Bible (Psalm 19:7-9, Jude 1:3, 2 Timothy 3:15-17).

For some, that's all fine and dandy, but what happens if we miss God's will? What if we follow a desire that perhaps wasn't closely examined before Scripture and find that in a particular instance, our passions were worldly?

There are some ways that we act in fear of missing God's will:

1. We set up tests

Like Gideon in Judges 6, we lay out "fleeces" to attempt to get God to confirm things. This can quickly become a matter of testing God, which is sin.

2. We create back up plans

Like Jacob in Genesis 32-33, we divide our "flocks" in case God doesn't come through the way we want or expect Him to. How little is our faith.

3. We go ahead zealously

Like Peter in Matthew 26, we grab our "swords" to make a way for God to do what we think He should do. Our blind ambition does not mean that God is "on our side" and "on our terms".

                                                             .......................................

In the meantime, God is at work. Because God is always at work. Our Lord, regardless of the sins that tempt us and entrap us, "works all things together for the good of those who love Him according to is purpose" (Romans 8:28).

For example,

1. God makes a way through all circumstances (Isaiah 43:16)

Whether the Israelites are backed up against sea or several disciples are condemned in prison or we find our conditions hopeless, God makes a way for His children for their good and for His glory. He is never thwarted by evil or the straying of man because of evil pursuits.

2. God provides an escape from sin (1 Corinthians 10:13)

Truly our Lord never gives us more than HE can handle. Christ died that we might have an escape from our enslavement to sin into the freedom of righteousness before God. That enslavement was our biggest dilemma. There isn't a lesser situation in which sin ultimately gains victory over us.

3. God works on behalf of those who wait on Him (Isaiah 64:4)

Waiting is hard -it's true. So is not worrying. But how faithfully and surely does our Lord provide! His plans, in His time, are immeasurably more and better than our highest aspirations and dreams.

 
Whatever opportunities the Lord presents, we can count ourselves blessed to put our hope and trust in the one, true God who never misses out on His opportunities.

Not on My Watch

I'm a punctual person. It's fun to be married to a guy whose pet-peeve is being on time. (Okay, so that's a little exaggerated, but being late does often seem to be his goal!)

Also, I'm a planner. And a worrier. Knowledge is important to me. So important to me, in fact, that sometimes it makes me that annoying conversationalist who will halt all dialogue just to be sure that all of the details thus far are perfectly correct. Some have referred to me as "exacting," and many others as a "know-it-all". Personally, it's my natural response to wonder why anyone would want anything to be imprecise or choose not to know something they could learn. That's how mistakes happen, chances are missed, and opportunities are lost.

Right? Wrong.

Not only are my husband, my friends, my plans, and my problems not precise, calculated instruments, but neither is my God.

So often I find that I expect God to run on my timetable, in the ways that I find make sense. I've found myself and others even acting as if it is the Christian responsibility to "keep watch" for God, making sure that every detail of every aspect of life is perfectly righteous and on target. 

It's as if we actually think that God needs us to be in control, or else our lives dishonor Him.

Isn't that such a sneaky lie? We honor and please our Lord by seeking Him and obeying Him, not by doing and acting perfectly. Part of such worshipful action is casting our cares on Him and trusting Him with our whole being. 

We can trust our Lord with timing, and to know what we don't know and feel like we should. We can trust that He will not put more in our lives than He can handle. We can trust that if we wholeheartedly seek Him, our desires will be in line with His. 

Even further- we can trust that when we sin anyway, He already knows. There's no sense in hiding shamefully, He is eager to forgive.

Praise the Lord that:

"His way is perfect:

The Lord’s word is flawless;

he shields all who take refuge in him.

For who is God besides the Lord?

And who is the Rock except our God?

It is God who arms me with strength

and keeps my way secure." -Psalm 18:30-32

Discerning God's Work in Hardship

http://m.getbuttonedup.com/2012/09/26/six-secrets-to-organizing-difficult-things/

Being able to discern how God is at work in difficult experiences is important for believers because we are vulnerable to adopting false perspectives of the Lord’s character. Instead of seeing God as just, faithful, and absolutely loving, we often respond to hardship as if God isn’t holding up the end of a bargain or is breaking promises.

The Bible provides examples for us to look to when we face trials. Through discerning the work of the Lord when we think we might be experiencing punishment, discipline, or testing, we can remember who our God is and how we can righteously respond to Him.    

         

1. Punishment

                Sometimes it feels like we are just being punished. Things are going every way except how we want them to, and we have this sense of guilt, as if we’ve done something wrong to deserve it all. We can easily see in Scripture that God has long punished His followers, and assume that He is doing so to us.

                When the Lord punished His chosen people, it was in response to willful wickedness that He could not ignore because He is just. In the Old Testament, we find several examples of God punishing Israel for sins that they chose over His commands –like idolatry. Harsh punishment falls upon those of His people who choose, outright, to disobey Him.

                Yet even in the punishment of the system of justice that the Lord commands, there is mercy. Those who practice willful disobedience are able to approach the Lord and seek forgiveness. In the Old Testament, through sacrificial offerings; in the New Testament, through the blood of Christ, by which all sins repented of are forgiven (1 John 1:9).  

2. Discipline

                Hebrews 12 makes clear that those the Lord loves, He disciplines. According to the passage, hardship sometimes comes as discipline. We can trust, as verse 10 states, that: “God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness.”   

Discipline is quite different from punishment. Rather than being pronounced as judgment by God, discipline is chastisement or correction for the purpose of training one up. It is carried out in order to urge us along on the path of righteousness and curb us from that which leads us astray.

                Deuteronomy 11 indicates to us that an example of God’s discipline in the Old Testament was the wandering of Israel in the desert for decades. The passage speaks to the generation who witnessed God’s work in Egypt and received the commandments. It reminds them that they have been disciplined so that they know how much they ought to lead the future generations in obedience.

                We witness in God’s discipline of the Israelites that hardship comes to those who belong to the Lord and seek Him, but neglect to remember His work and put themselves at risk of disobeying Him. Our healthy response to the loving discipline of God is to endure the hardship and submit to God, knowing how He loves us.       

3. Testing

                Scripture makes clear that God chooses to test people. Job is a popular example. A Godly man, Job did nothing wrong to warrant testing, but God chose to test Him, allowing Satan to plague Job’s life with suffering. Near the end of his testing, Job says this to the Lord: “My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:5-6). Job, seeing God’s might in His testing, repents for all of his frustration and angry words against God. And God blesses him with more than he ever had before he suffered, including an intimate display of God’s might.

James reminds us that our blessing might not come in this world –but God is faithful to us and uniquely, personally, shows us His love in times of testing. James 1:2 tells us to: “consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.”  Later in the passage, James highlights that remaining faithful in struggles –which involves listening to God and obeying Him in our actions- results in the crown of life. While we are not saved by good works, even in hard times, the Lord ultimately blesses those persevere in faith.

                There are certainly other reasons for our suffering, and a multitude of circumstances. But what a gift from the Lord that we can look to Scripture and see that He is good, righteous, and just. He punishes our disobedience, but offers forgiveness when we repent. Our Lord disciplines us, in love, to keep us from straying. When He tests us, it produces faith filled fruit. We can submit to Him wholly, knowing that the Lord does “work all things together for our good” as He promises (Romans 8:28).