God’s Will (part 1)
Posted By Aaron Marcelli on June 11, 2010
God’s will was always a stressful and confusing issue for me growing up. I had enough Sunday school teachers tell me that God was not holding His will behind His back that I believed them but I did imagine God’s will to be something very specific and if I missed I may wonder in the wilderness for the rest of my life.
I figured God’s will to be detailed and illusive and be a combination of person, time, and place that if could easily have go by without knowing and having forever missed it. The revelation for me came during an open forum in high school youth group. Our youth pastor was having an “ask anything” session in which a student would pose a question and then the youth pastor, with the help of the entire group, would address it.
One student raised their hand and asked how they can know God’s will. My heart sank yet my ears perked up because I had been asking that question for years. Our youth pastor asked for a response from the audience and without realizing it, I raised my hand. When called on, I said, “By the desires He puts in you.” My youth pastor agreed and when on to comment but I tuned him out as I sat back and marveled over the wisdom that had just come out of my mouth. Here, for years I had been mentally straining over learning the secret behind God’s will and now the best answer I had yet to hear just came from my own lips.
God’s spirit confirmed in me that what He had lead me to say was true and I was able to accept that. Never again have I questioned how to know what God’s desires for me are. Now, when others come to me with concerns about finding their purpose in life, I respond by asking them, “well, what is it you want to do?” I then stand back and watch as they look at me like I’m being incredibly unspiritual.
But it’s true! The Bible says that God will give you the desires of YOUR heart. This passage assumes you are walking with God, hearing from Him, and allowing Him to transform your life. When someone is growing in their spiritual walk and open to the hand of God, God works internally in the persons heart before He works externally in their circumstances. So if someone has an open heart, God is going to be at work placing passions and desires within that person. That way the person ends up walking with God and desiring something God wants for them anyway. This results in us getting to do what we love and God getting glory because we are doing what He intended for us to do.
God speaks to us through our desires.
So….if you are like I was years ago, searching for that illusive will of God, determined it must be something painful, boring, or self-sacrificing, I have two questions for you:
- Are you walking with God?
- What is it you want to do?
The answers to those questions may be all you need to know when determining how God desires to use you.
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