“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Rom. 12:2)
Dearly beloved in Christ,
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!
It is God’s desire that we do His will. Unless we know what God’s will is, we cannot do His will. We will be able to know God’s will, if we refuse to be conformed to the world, and instead allow ourselves to be transformed by the Holy Spirit. As we know, the world is our enemy and it always wants to control our minds; but God wants to transform our minds. The world puts pressure on us externally to change our minds so that we will conform to its pattern, but the Spirit of God works in us internally to bring transformation.
God wants that our minds be renewed so that we may know God’s will. Our body is controlled by our minds and our mind is controlled by our will. Many people boast of their willpower, but they normally fail. However, when we yield ourselves to the Holy Spirit, our minds are transformed and we will be able to know the perfect will of God.
Jesus, when he came into the world, said: “I have come down from heaven not to do My will, but to do the will of Him who sent Me” (Jn.6:38). He denied His own will for his Father’s will though He was the Son and was equal with God. In the Garden of Gethsemane, He prayed that the cup be taken away, but He added: “Yet not My will, but Your will be done.” He told His disciples “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work” (Jn.4:34). He also taught us to pray: “Let Your (God’s) will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
A question generally people ask is how can we know God’s perfect will in our lives. We know from the Bible that it is not God’s will for us to murder, to commit adultery, to steal, to tell lies, or to bear false witness, etc. We don’t need to pray and seek God’s will for such things, because the Word of God is very clear in these matters. When it comes to knowing God’s will for things like our job, or buying a house, or about marriage, we normally take decisions and seek God’s approval, because we do not know how to know God’s will in such situations.
We have a will of our own. But God wants that we surrender our will to God so that the Holy Spirit can work in us. When He brings transformation by renewing of our minds, we will be able to know God’s perfect will for us.
Does God speak to us today? Many people have this doubt. We believe that, in the past God had spoken to His people; but does God still speak and reveal His will to His people? The answer is yes, but, we are unable to hear God, because of the noises of the world. We will be able to listen to His voice only if our ears are tuned to hear from Him. Jesus said: “My sheep hears My voice.” Like the sheep recognises the voice of its shepherd, we will be able to hear and recognise our Father’s voice if we belong to Him.
If you are really interested in knowing God’s will, you need to develop a relationship with Him. For many, Christianity is another religion. But Christianity is a relationship – a Father-son relationship. When we have a close relationship with our father, we know what his desire is. We also know the likes and dislikes of our father. The same is true in our relationship with God. The better we know Him, the more we know His will. We have the Word of God, which reveals God and His will to us.
Also, we need to remember that God’s will is what He commands us to do. When God reveals His will to us, we are expected to obey. Obedience to God’s will is very important and if we are not obedient to the things that God has clearly revealed to us, then do not think that He would reveal His further plans for us.
Our freewill is God’s gift to us. God does not take our freewill away from us even after we have become His children. He gives us the choice to obey or disobey His will, even after it is revealed to us. God expects us to obey Him. But, if we disobey God, it has its consequences. God’s patience does not mean that He is blind. Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 7:21). It is God’s desire that, as His children, we know and obey His will.
Dear brethren, God wants that we not only know His will, but also do His revealed will to us. Let us be obedient to the revealed will of God so that He will reveal His further will for us, for His will is good, pleasing and perfect.
Blessings
Pastor M.A. Jacob
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