Making decisions about the numerous questions we face every day is usually a small matter of what's the next thing to do, or what's my schedule priority for the day. But making decisions on a larger scale, for life decisions and knowing God's will for our lives, is a little bit more complex. One of the questions many pastors and Christian teachers face from their people is, "What is God's will in this matter, or for me personally?" It's never an easy answer to know the particulars.
One of my favorite ministries is John Piper's, Desiring God Ministries, DGM. His materials and blogs can be found at www.desiringgod.org. Just today I was reading this blog and found "Why God's Will Isn't Always Clear," April 30. It caught my attention for several reasons not the least of which is that I struggle to know what God would have me do sometimes. In fact, if the whole truth is told, I've struggled with this all my life, and I look back and realize I've made some mistakes in key decisions, or so it would appear.
This article is written by Jon Bloom and he covers some good territory in a short time. For we know that God wants us to "walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him," Col. 1:10. But this doesn't address the particulars in our lives, and the big decisions we make. Bloom explains, "But one reason why God usually doesn't give us specific guidance in our sometimes-perplexing decisions is that he places a higher priority on our being transformed than on our being informed in order that we will be conformed to the image of Jesus, (Romans 8:29). This can be difficult, and he also says, "It means that God has a design in the difficulty of our discerning." Really? Why would God allow us to struggle with the hard decisions? What design is worth all the difficulties?
In the big picture of life, I am also reminded that all the difficulties, brokenness, struggles, and hardships of life are not God's fault. All the sins, disappointments, setbacks, and even death itself are not part of God's original design. In the Garden of Eden God made it clear that if (we) ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, we would surely die. And Adam and Eve represented us as we would have acted in the same way they did, and as a result, we received their sinful natures.
But from the beginning, God has created a personal relationship with humanity for his glory, as we are made in his image to be like him. We were to be his church, his bride, and the faithful people that worship him. And Bloom describes, "But the father is not seeking workers, but worshippers (John 4:23). And he knows that if he made his will for our specific decisions more explicit more often, we would tend to focus more on what we do rather than what we love." God is interested in our hearts and minds so that we would have a personal relationship with him.
God is still seeking worshippers of what is truly worthy of our lives. We are called in general to seek after God and his kingdom, and this develops a pattern of decisions that are based on our highest priority. "But if we really love Jesus, we will increasingly love what he loves - we will be transformed by renewed minds. And our love for him and his kingdom will be revealed in the pattern of small and large decisions we make." This pattern of godliness is God's will.
God does not dictate our decisions but he reveals his grace and truth to us to show us not only what is best for us but also what we were created for. Our affections will never be ultimately discouraged when we place them on God and the pattern of seeking him in all our lives. Bloom concludes, "And someday, if we really seek to love him and trust him, we will see that he really was leading us through the confusing terrain of difficult decisions all along." Amen.
FAITH TODAY: Romans 12:2, "And 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."
One of my favorite ministries is John Piper's, Desiring God Ministries, DGM. His materials and blogs can be found at www.desiringgod.org. Just today I was reading this blog and found "Why God's Will Isn't Always Clear," April 30. It caught my attention for several reasons not the least of which is that I struggle to know what God would have me do sometimes. In fact, if the whole truth is told, I've struggled with this all my life, and I look back and realize I've made some mistakes in key decisions, or so it would appear.
This article is written by Jon Bloom and he covers some good territory in a short time. For we know that God wants us to "walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him," Col. 1:10. But this doesn't address the particulars in our lives, and the big decisions we make. Bloom explains, "But one reason why God usually doesn't give us specific guidance in our sometimes-perplexing decisions is that he places a higher priority on our being transformed than on our being informed in order that we will be conformed to the image of Jesus, (Romans 8:29). This can be difficult, and he also says, "It means that God has a design in the difficulty of our discerning." Really? Why would God allow us to struggle with the hard decisions? What design is worth all the difficulties?
In the big picture of life, I am also reminded that all the difficulties, brokenness, struggles, and hardships of life are not God's fault. All the sins, disappointments, setbacks, and even death itself are not part of God's original design. In the Garden of Eden God made it clear that if (we) ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, we would surely die. And Adam and Eve represented us as we would have acted in the same way they did, and as a result, we received their sinful natures.
But from the beginning, God has created a personal relationship with humanity for his glory, as we are made in his image to be like him. We were to be his church, his bride, and the faithful people that worship him. And Bloom describes, "But the father is not seeking workers, but worshippers (John 4:23). And he knows that if he made his will for our specific decisions more explicit more often, we would tend to focus more on what we do rather than what we love." God is interested in our hearts and minds so that we would have a personal relationship with him.
God is still seeking worshippers of what is truly worthy of our lives. We are called in general to seek after God and his kingdom, and this develops a pattern of decisions that are based on our highest priority. "But if we really love Jesus, we will increasingly love what he loves - we will be transformed by renewed minds. And our love for him and his kingdom will be revealed in the pattern of small and large decisions we make." This pattern of godliness is God's will.
God does not dictate our decisions but he reveals his grace and truth to us to show us not only what is best for us but also what we were created for. Our affections will never be ultimately discouraged when we place them on God and the pattern of seeking him in all our lives. Bloom concludes, "And someday, if we really seek to love him and trust him, we will see that he really was leading us through the confusing terrain of difficult decisions all along." Amen.
FAITH TODAY: Romans 12:2, "And 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."
No comments:
Post a Comment