By Gobel Brockman
Last week I wrote about what I call the 'general' will of God, meaning there are things that are God's will for everyone. I encourage you to use Bible study aids such as Strong's Concordance or biblegateway.com and research all the Bible has to say about the will of God. This week, I want to talk about what I call the 'specific' will of God, meaning finding God's will for my life personally.
The same as last week, there's no way I can cover everything in one article, but in all honesty, I think we sometimes make finding God's will more difficult than it needs to be. I'll break it down into three points:
1) If you want to know what God wants you to do, you first must simply be walking with Him and listening to Him. In John 10 Jesus said, "My sheep know My voice...". If you're walking in fellowship with Him, His Spirit will lead you into what He wants you to do. In the Book of Acts, the apostles were praying and fasting, and the Holy Spirit said, "Send Paul and Barnabas on the work I have called them for." They heard from God when they were in a place they were listening for Him.
2) Let me ask a simple question: What are you good at? I believe everyone has talents and abilities that are God-given, and it stands to reason that if He gave them to you, He gave them to you for a purpose. There are things I'd like to do, but can't. For most guys, hammers and saws are tools used for creating or fixing things. For me, they're deadly weapons - for me and anyone around me. I'm just not a 'handyman'. Therefore, I don't have to worry about God calling me into the ministry of building things for others, because He didn't give me that ability. He did give me the ability to play music. And simply put, He didn't give me that ability to bring glory to myself, He gave it to me to bring glory to HIM. The same applies to each of you with the gifts God gave YOU. I think part of the problem is that some people want to do things they weren't created for. If you have a singing voice that sounds like Roseanne with a cold, it's a pretty safe bet that you're not called into a singing ministry - even if you want to be.
3) The Bible speaks a lot about faithfulness. In Luke 16, Jesus said, "The one who is faithful in little will also be faithful in much; the one who is unfaithful in little will also be unfaithful in much." If you are desiring to do more for God, you must first be faithful right where you are. Do what you know you're supposed to do right now. Continue to draw closer to God simply because that's what we were created for. And as you grow closer to Him, and are faithful in the way you live, you won't have to wonder about "what God wants". You'll be close enough to hear Him.
Well, I gotta get up and get ready for church. That's God's will for me right now.
Good one again!! One thought - God will equip the called... sometimes we think we cannot do something because we don't know how - a fantastic way to trust in God and make sure HE gets the credit - do something outside your (in general) comfort zone. Yes, by all means, use the God-given talents God has given you - we MUST do that - but upon occasion we can step outside the box and allow God to use us in a way we never thought possible. ie. - going to Haiti to help build homes - my sons did not have those skills - they do now!! :)
ReplyDeleteVERY valid point - thank you!!
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