I had an interesting experience a few days ago. I was spending time in prayer. Mostly I was trying to discern God's will for what sort of things He would like me to do now that I've finished college. The opportunities are endless and I don't want to go off and invest years of my life in something only to wake up one day and realize I've wasted however many years doing a "good" thing but it wasn't the thing God had intended for me. With that desire before me I had gone to prayer and was an hour or so into a good conversation with God when I felt inclined to go clean the living room. It was a bit odd but I needed to clean it up anyway and figured maybe God was sorta tired of talking to me and wanted me to go do something useful instead of just sitting around. I cleaned for maybe an hour, did a pretty good job and sat down to rest. As I sat I looked around and saw all the things I could have cleaned but didn't or should have cleaned but was too lazy.
That's when God broke His silence and said, "you can't even clean a room well when I tell you to. Why would I explain all my big plans for your future when you couldn't even accomplish my plan for the next hour?If I told you everything I wanted you to do, you'd set out and try your best and fail utterly because your not ready. Too much information at the wrong time is harmful. Do the things I tell you to really well and I'll reveal my future for you in stages as you become mature enough to handle the information"
It was a sobering reminder and a more real conversation with God than I usually have. Basically God was saying, I want to know my future but I'm not ready yet. As I meditated on it God seemed to be teaching me two things. And these are the things which you might find applicable to your own life.
1. God will only show us as much of His will as we can do well. This means God won't tell you to do something you are incapable of doing. It also means that everything God does tell you, you can do. So when God says, "love your enemy" you are capable of doing that. You may not know how which is why we take time and study. God may need to help you but He promises to help those who trust in Him. When God says, "Take up your cross and follow me" It means that our cross is not impossible to bear. This truth is encouraging but also embarrassing. It means that God trusts enough to do things and He believes in us to accomplish as much of His will as He's communicated. That's encouraging. It's encouraging to think that the God of the universe who has all power and all control has given me some of that power and control so that I can make a small part of the world the way God wants it to be. It's embarrassing and disgraceful because, God, the one who holds the universe together, the One who can tell the planets to spin and they spin, who can tell the stars to shine and they shine, the One who can command the sea, "thus far you shall come and no further", He also commands us, "come and be my disciple" and I say "no I have tv to watch." Or, "no I want to hang out with my friends."
2. Make sure we're doing well the part of God's will He's already revealed to us. The Bible is full of God's will and it doesn't take long when we read it to find somethings God wants His people to do. Some of the most obvious examples I know of are the following.
Deuteronomy 6:5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength.
Micah 6:8 He has shown you own Mortal what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
Hosea 6:6 For I desire mercy not sacrifice and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.
Philippians 2:12 Therefore my dear friends, as you have always obeyed-not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence- continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.
Luke 12:22 Therefore do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body what you will put on. For life is more than food and the body more than clothing.
I have not given translations or commentaries on any of these passages. The point is that God has communicated an awful lot of his will to us already and most of us just don't like it so we ignore it. We want God to reveal His will that will be easy and fun and full of blessings. We don't want Him to reveal a will like what He revealed to Saint Anthony who had to sell everything he owned and live in the same suit of clothing for 54 years praying for the world. We are scared to do the will of God that has already been revealed and we are scared to make a major life decision without God saying it's ok.
3. There are two types of God's will. General will and specific will and we must learn the general will before we try and discover the specific will for us. God has certain things which apply to everyone. I think it's fair to say God doesn't want anyone to be an idiot. or lazy, or a coward, or a weakling. God wants everybody to be wise, merciful, loving, and virtuous. Those are general things which apply to everyone and we should always be working on. Personal will is are the aspects of God's plan which only apply to a specific person or group. God's will was for Moses to lead the people of Israel, He willed that David would be king of Israel, He willed that Jesus would suffer and die so that we might have redemption and forgiveness of sins. Not everyone is supposed to be a king and just because that was God's will for David doesn't mean it His will for me. So after we work on fulfilling the general will of God we can start asking Him what his will is for us specifically.
I don't really understand all of this, or even most of this. These are my thoughts after thinking about my experiences in prayer and the conversations I've had with God. fortunately for us we serve a real God who is involved in the lives of His followers so when we do start wandering away from the truth He will call us back. For those who will hear and obey there is satisfaction, peace and joy in the fulfillment of God's will. No matter how difficult the task may appear, no matter how against your personality what He calls you to do may be, when God is involved all the virtues of godliness are present as well. Let us open ourselves to God and make time and room for Him to work within us, scraping out the junk and repairing that which is broken. He is the master craftsmen and never fails to produce beauty wherever He is welcomed and destruction where he is rebuffed.
That's when God broke His silence and said, "you can't even clean a room well when I tell you to. Why would I explain all my big plans for your future when you couldn't even accomplish my plan for the next hour?If I told you everything I wanted you to do, you'd set out and try your best and fail utterly because your not ready. Too much information at the wrong time is harmful. Do the things I tell you to really well and I'll reveal my future for you in stages as you become mature enough to handle the information"
It was a sobering reminder and a more real conversation with God than I usually have. Basically God was saying, I want to know my future but I'm not ready yet. As I meditated on it God seemed to be teaching me two things. And these are the things which you might find applicable to your own life.
1. God will only show us as much of His will as we can do well. This means God won't tell you to do something you are incapable of doing. It also means that everything God does tell you, you can do. So when God says, "love your enemy" you are capable of doing that. You may not know how which is why we take time and study. God may need to help you but He promises to help those who trust in Him. When God says, "Take up your cross and follow me" It means that our cross is not impossible to bear. This truth is encouraging but also embarrassing. It means that God trusts enough to do things and He believes in us to accomplish as much of His will as He's communicated. That's encouraging. It's encouraging to think that the God of the universe who has all power and all control has given me some of that power and control so that I can make a small part of the world the way God wants it to be. It's embarrassing and disgraceful because, God, the one who holds the universe together, the One who can tell the planets to spin and they spin, who can tell the stars to shine and they shine, the One who can command the sea, "thus far you shall come and no further", He also commands us, "come and be my disciple" and I say "no I have tv to watch." Or, "no I want to hang out with my friends."
2. Make sure we're doing well the part of God's will He's already revealed to us. The Bible is full of God's will and it doesn't take long when we read it to find somethings God wants His people to do. Some of the most obvious examples I know of are the following.
Deuteronomy 6:5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength.
Micah 6:8 He has shown you own Mortal what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
Hosea 6:6 For I desire mercy not sacrifice and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.
Philippians 2:12 Therefore my dear friends, as you have always obeyed-not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence- continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.
Luke 12:22 Therefore do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body what you will put on. For life is more than food and the body more than clothing.
I have not given translations or commentaries on any of these passages. The point is that God has communicated an awful lot of his will to us already and most of us just don't like it so we ignore it. We want God to reveal His will that will be easy and fun and full of blessings. We don't want Him to reveal a will like what He revealed to Saint Anthony who had to sell everything he owned and live in the same suit of clothing for 54 years praying for the world. We are scared to do the will of God that has already been revealed and we are scared to make a major life decision without God saying it's ok.
3. There are two types of God's will. General will and specific will and we must learn the general will before we try and discover the specific will for us. God has certain things which apply to everyone. I think it's fair to say God doesn't want anyone to be an idiot. or lazy, or a coward, or a weakling. God wants everybody to be wise, merciful, loving, and virtuous. Those are general things which apply to everyone and we should always be working on. Personal will is are the aspects of God's plan which only apply to a specific person or group. God's will was for Moses to lead the people of Israel, He willed that David would be king of Israel, He willed that Jesus would suffer and die so that we might have redemption and forgiveness of sins. Not everyone is supposed to be a king and just because that was God's will for David doesn't mean it His will for me. So after we work on fulfilling the general will of God we can start asking Him what his will is for us specifically.
I don't really understand all of this, or even most of this. These are my thoughts after thinking about my experiences in prayer and the conversations I've had with God. fortunately for us we serve a real God who is involved in the lives of His followers so when we do start wandering away from the truth He will call us back. For those who will hear and obey there is satisfaction, peace and joy in the fulfillment of God's will. No matter how difficult the task may appear, no matter how against your personality what He calls you to do may be, when God is involved all the virtues of godliness are present as well. Let us open ourselves to God and make time and room for Him to work within us, scraping out the junk and repairing that which is broken. He is the master craftsmen and never fails to produce beauty wherever He is welcomed and destruction where he is rebuffed.
No comments:
Post a Comment