"Why Am I here?"
"Why Am I Alive?" “Do
I have a purpose or am I just taking up space?” Have you asked such questions? George Cameron thinks about these questions
daily. He is alive due to the kidney
donation of Clay Jones, a high school football player in Texas , who died in an accident. Cameron writes: "I gambled, I drank
to excess, I didn't take care of myself.
But knowing that I carry the kidney of this young man has really
affected me. It awakened faith in me. I wonder why God spared me. I have changed for the better and now work
harder at being patient and loving and respectful of my life and the lives of
others.”
Yes, God desires for you and me to
seek, to know, and to follow His will. Listen
to this scripture from Colossians: “We pray and ask God to fill you with the
knowledge of his will, in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and
may please him in every way, bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the
knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious
might.” Yes, Lord, fill me with
the knowledge of your will.
Two weeks ago I spoke about God’s
Will in general. To review, first, God’s
Intentional Will means that God created human beings to worship God, to live
worthy lives, to bear fruit, to lead moral, just and spiritual lives. Second, God’s
Circumstantial Will means that God is involved in the circumstances of our
lives. God takes the disappointments, the defeats, the failures, the accidents,
the set-backs, even evil and weaves them together for His good purposes. Third, God’s Ultimate Will means that because
God is the sovereign ruler, God’s will for history, the world and our lives
will not be defeated but will ultimately be fulfilled. Today we are examining the question of
discovering God's will in our personal lives.
In what kinds of situations have
you prayed for God’s will? “Lord, I
need guidance in this decision I’m facing.” “Lord, help me solve this
problem.” “Lord, should I change jobs or go back to school to change
careers?” “Lord, help me with raising my children.” “Lord where
can I get help for my marriage.” “Lord, where can I get help for my
aging parents?” “Lord, help me with my finances.” “Lord, should I have this surgery or not.” Perhaps you can identify with one or more of
these concerns.
First, Scripture declares that
God’s Will is knowable; you and I can know it.
This is good news. God’s Will is
not some life-long quest where you must travel to India
or Nepal
to find it. Some claim that God’s will
is in the searching, the seeking, the journey itself, not the destination. That is not the word of the Bible. Romans: 12: “Don't be conformed to this
world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds so that you may discern
what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” It can be discovered, perceived, discerned, and
experienced. Faith is the gift which
enables us to personally understand God's will.
Yes, it is a mystery on the one hand, and yet God will unveil this
mystery to us when we sincerely pray about it.
Further, scripture says God's
Will is not only knowable, it’s achievable.
By faith, God gives us the power and grace, the insight and ability, to
fulfill, to obey, to accomplish His will, to be where God truly wants you to be
and to do what God wants you to do. This
is confirmed in these words in the Gospel of Matthew: “Well done, good and
faithful servant, well done, enter into my kingdom.” Again, this is good news.
Further, God’s Will for your life
may be right in front of your nose. In
fact, you may be fulfilling God’s will today.
I have spoken with people over the years who tell me they have been
searching for God’s will but haven’t found it.
“I don’t know what God’s plan for me is, but I hope I find it before
I die.” Some believe it will be
something extraordinary, like saving the environment, making a major difference
in their community, saving lives or becoming a missionary and winning thousands
of people for Jesus. I remember talking
with a fellow pastor one day. He was
incredibly frustrated. He said he was
waiting for God to give him his opportunity to be like a Billy Graham and lead
crusades around the world, but was currently stuck being a pastor in a small
church. Is it possible that he was already doing God’s will but was blind to it?
Sometimes we know God's will in
advance. Recall God’s call to the
Apostle Paul. “During the night Paul
had a vision of a man of Macedonia
standing and begging him, come over to Macedonia Macedonia
In another example, Christian
song writer Amy Grant grew up in Nashville ,
in a Christian home imbued with faith, traditional values, love and support. She knew from the time she was a child that
God was calling her to a career in Christian music. By the time she was 16, Amy had released her
first album and today she’s a dominant voice in the Christian music movement. She has sold over 30 million albums and taken
Christian music to a wider audience than any other artist in the Christian
genre. I have known grandparents who
heard God calling them to raise their grandchildren or people who knew God was
calling them to adopt a child. People
who know God’s will early on and are fulfilling it have told me: “I was born to do this.” God’s will is for them is a life-time
calling.
On the other hand, Scripture also
teaches that we don’t always know God's purpose in advance. God called Abraham to go forth to a land
that God would show him in the future and to trust that God would be with him. God didn't tell him where the land was but to
simply obey and trust. God says place
your hand in mine and walk forward trusting in me.
For example, a pastor writes: “I
have found that God’s will for me is meaningful more in retrospect than in
prospect. I find when I step out in
faith, rather than waiting around for a sign from God, and move ahead, God
shows me His will. How He desires to
use my life becomes clear. I see God’s
hand far more when I look backward than when I try to look forward.”
I find this is often true in my
life. God decides how and when he wants
to use us for His glory. Our role is to
be alert and ready and have the courage to trust in God and go forth in faith.
Recall the verse from Philippians:
“Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God
who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good
pleasure “ The biblical truth is this: God has a lifelong purpose for some
people like Billy Graham or Amy Grant.
On the other hand, God has
changing or different plans for other people.
God’s will may change in your life over the years. God's will for you and me is to please him at
the different stages of our lives. God
used David, from being a lowly shepherd, to a fighter who killed Goliath, to
the king of Israel
over his lifetime. Likewise, God’s will
is often to use us in temporary or short-term ways: like serving in the church
in different roles, or volunteering at a hospital, or an animal shelter or in
the public schools, or taking on some cause in the community i.e., crime or
homelessness, or cleaning the beaches, or raising children or caring for an ill
neighbor. I still haven’t figured out
whether being a parent is a temporary or lifetime role. Psalm 138 vs.8 says: “The Lord will work
out his plans for my life; the Lord will fulfill his purpose for me, your love
oh Lord, endures forever.”
Where do we find God's will? How can you discover God’s will? Here are some biblical ways God reaches out
to us. God doesn't use the cookie cutter
approach. God uses the tailored approach.
First, God speaks through His
Word, the Bible. Read it prayerfully and
regularly. Everything we need for living
a life that pleases and honors God is found in Scripture. Psalm 119 says: “Thy word is a lamp unto
my feet and a light unto my path.”
But we need to be a little
careful and pray for God’s guidance. A
man was facing a major dilemma in his life and decided to seek an answer by
turning to the Bible. He flipped open
the Bible and randomly put his finger on a page and read the verse: “and
Judas went away and hanged himself.”
He was a little startled, so he tried it a second time, and placing his
finger on another verse read: “Go and do likewise.” He thought, I’ll give it one more try and
randomly selected a third verse, and read: “Thus saith the Lord.”
Second, God speaks through your
own faith and intuition and judgment and common sense and conscience. You will be in-tune with God’s will if you
are daily walking with God, the Holy Spirit will guide you. Pay attention to the voice within you. Often I've found that a thought arises: call
this person or go see this person, a church member or family member, and they
say: “Wow, I was just thinking about
you,” or “I really needed to talk to someone.” Listen when God speaks to your inner self.
Third, God speaks through the
circumstances of your life. Oswald
Chambers put it this way: “God speaks in the language you know best, not
through your ears but through your circumstances.” Think about those times when you said: “It
was meant to be, it happened for a reason, it was a God thing.” What you do each day matters to God. You may now be where God wants you to be and
doing what God’s wants you to do. Rejoice in it. Give thanks for the opportunity to serve the
Lord.
Fourth, discover God’s will by
knowing how God has shaped you, designed you, wired you in terms of your
spiritual gifts, attitude, aptitude, abilities and talents, your personality, your
passion, your interests. What motivates
you? What energizes you? What could you see yourself doing? God strives to match your divine design with
your work, your tasks, your opportunities, your decisions, your service, your
vocation and avocation. When there is a
match, you are doing God’s will.
If you are not good with numbers,
like I am not, God’s will is probably that you not become an accountant or
church treasurer. If you can’t sing a
note, God’s will is not likely that you should sing professionally or sing in
the church choir. If you have a poor
sense of direction, God’s will is not likely that you become an air traffic
controller. We discern God’s will by knowing
ourselves or our divine design and how God has put us together. I remember a Sunday School teacher at a
former church who told me after teaching her first day of Sunday School: “I
am sorry pastor, I resign, I realized something today, I don't like children.”
I thought God wanted me to become
a cop. I majored in Criminal Justice
Administration at SDSU. I worked as a
police intern for three years during college.
I realized at the end of that time that I was not cut out to be a cop.
Fifth, we discern God's will
through the wisdom, counsel and faith of others. As you seek God’s will, talk to others, to
people you respect and trust. Listen
with open ears. Don’t get defensive if
someone says something you don’t want to hear.
You want to hear the truth. Listen
for the word of God from these people.
Sixth, sometimes you must take a
leap of faith to find God’s will. I’m
sure you’ve experienced times in which you have prayed and prayed but nothing
seems to happen. I have. God are you listening? We must step out in faith and trust that our
decision is in accord with God’s will. Only
later, do we find the answer.
Finally, sometimes God reveals
his will in a time of need, the needs of others or in a time of our own need. We are most vulnerable in a time of need. I have known people who responded to another
person’s need, say illness, and they felt God calling them to become a doctor
or nurse. Likewise, I’ve know people who
deal with illness in their own lives, and decided they heard God calling them
to medicine.
We go to God in our own time of
need because we have nowhere else to turn.
It is a time of crisis or confusion or illness or brokenness. Here we are most receptive and open to God’s
word and will. In such times God can
reach us because we are ready to listen.
Yes, discovering God’s personal will is so important. I close with this prayer: “Dear Lord, fill us with the knowledge of
your will.” Amen!
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