Day 321/365- 1 Thessalonians 4:3

"Doing God's will"

God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin. (1 Thessalonians 4:3 NLT)

There are only a few times in the Bible when the text says the actual words, "This is God's will." 1 Thessalonians has one of them.

We often are confused with the idea of God's will. We talk a lot about searching for it & seeking it. But could it be that it's been under our nose the whole time?

If I told you I knew God's will for your life would you want to know it? Better yet, would you commit to do it?

Here it is, black ink on white paper: "God’s will is for you to be holy." God's will for our lives is our holiness. We often think that it has something to do with our happiness but God is more interested in our holiness. How interested are we in our holiness?

If God's will is for us to be holy, how does it rank on our priority list? How should it? God's heart for his people is to be holy as he is holy. To be unique & distinct in this world as he is. His desire is for us to be made more & more into the image of Jesus.

Often when we think of God's will we think of it in terms of specific life decisions. But according to this verse & other Scriptures like it (see Romans 12:1-2), God's will is more about obeying his Word than seeking for a decision. In other words, it's more about relationship.

What if we spent our energy seeking to obey the will of God we DO know in his Word that's been clearly revealed, rather than seeking for something that we don't know? What if we did what we know to do in the Word of God & trust him to lead us as we make decisions?

I believe that God gives us a lot of freedom in decisions making if we are seeking his will that's found in his Word. Again, because it's about relationship, not so much about a decision.

For years I tried to find answers to God's will in decisions making. I could not say 100% that I made the right call ever. I would pray, seek, ask, think, & agonize & feel like I had nothing. I felt almost worse off than before I started the discovery process! Finally, I just gave up trying to know God's specific will & just sought to obey his will in his Word. I still make decisions based on his leading, but it's always a leap of trust. I trust him, his leading, & his Word.

What about you? How do you discern God's will? Has this been frustrating for you as well? How can we focus on God's clear will in his Word to help us to be more obedient to his will for our lives?