Choosing The Will of God
Doing the will of God positions you for blessing in every situation
For this reason it says, “Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you.” Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. (Ephesians 5:14-17)
Since the beginning of 2015 (or 5775 in the Hebrew calendar), I have been impressed by the Lord that this year, and from now on, it is very important to focus on and do the will of God. I believe that if we do not we will miss important opportunities. Our God is good. When He asks us to obey Him, choosing to do His will even when it is not our will, He is giving us the opportunity for blessing. The will of God always leads to a happy place. The ultimate example of this is Jesus in the garden before His crucifixion.
And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. (Luke 22:41-43)
Notice that the Father sent an angel to strengthen Him. This does not mean that it was easy for Jesus to endure the cross. However, what is true is that no matter how bad things get God’s grace will always strengthen us at the right time, and it will always match and exceed whatever we face. We will always have strength and endurance from the Lord for whatever we face. The apostle Paul understood this.
And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)
When faced with decisions where we can choose our will or our Fathers’ will we need to come to the realization that the choice really is curse or blessing, misery or joy. Now more than ever reaping oftentimes follows close behind sowing. This is because the time is short and we have much to learn, quickly. Jesus understood that joy follows obedience to the Father.
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2)
God has a plan and when we are in His will and doing His will we are participating in the work He is doing on the earth. Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.” (John 4:34) Jesus taught us to pray to the Father that His kingdom will come and His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Praying the Father’s will causes His Kingdom to expand on earth.
Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him, (1 John 5:14-15)
The more we practice doing the Father’s will the more we learn to trust God and not ourselves. This is a major part of our transformation process. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God, (Romans 12:2). As we practice to do the Father’s will we will begin to trust and love Him more as we see the results and experience His joy. I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your Law is within my heart, (Psalms 40:8)
This transformation positions us for eternity. Jesus taught that doing the Father’s will was required for those who want to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. (Matthew 7:21)
God gives us choice because love without choice is not true love. When we learn to trust and love God more than our own life, we are ready for Heaven. Earth is our training ground to learn to do the Father’s will by His grace and by His power. We are always learning that the safest and best place to be is in His will, close to Him.
This transformation is actually a work that God is doing in you. He is at work in you every day training you by His voice and by situations that come up in life. You have probably realized this by now because the training is becoming more intense and the rewards for our decisions seem to follow quickly behind our actions. For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure, (Philippians 2:13).
Every time you choose to do the Father’s will and deny yourself you are choosing to be a martyr, an overcomer. Three things are necessary for us to be overcomers in this world:
- The blood of Jesus, that was shed on the cross for us.
- The words we speak in agreement with God’s words, our testimony.
- Overcomers’ love God more than their own life.
“And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.” (Revelation 12:11 NASB)
Practicing choosing the will of God over our own will is practicing to be an overcomer, a martyr. Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. (Luke 9:23-24 NKJV)
Remember the story in the book of Daniel about the three Hebrew young men who would not bow to the King of Babylon’s idol. When threatened with being thrown into the furnace they replied…If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” (Daniel 3:17-18 NIV)
The King became very angry and had them thrown into the fire. Then the King noticed that there were four men in the fire. “Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.” (Daniel 3:25 )
Doing the Father’s will is not burdensome. You may go through a battle in the decision process however when you make the right decision immediately you cross over into a new atmosphere of the grace of God, a place of love, joy and peace. He is waiting to meet you there.
By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome, (1 John 5:2-3)
Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever. (1 John 2:15-17)