One
of the most powerful questions of life is “What is God’s will for me?” Theologians
through the centuries have pointed out that God has both a general will for
people and a specific will for individuals. It has been my experience that if I
am sitting around waiting for God’s specific will to be revealed to me, it will
be a long wait; but if I am working on living out God’s general will, then his
specific will is revealed in the middle of that obedience.
Paul
wrote to the Christians in the city of Thessalonica
And we urge
you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage
the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but
always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else.
Rejoice
always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will
for you in Christ Jesus.
Do not quench
the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies
with contempt but test them all; hold on to
what is good, reject every kind of evil.
May God
himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole
spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do
it. (1 Thessalonians 5:14-24)
God’s
will involves our relationships with one another. Paul reminds these
Christians that they are now family because of their common commitment to Jesus
Christ. As a spiritual family they are to support one another through warning, encouraging,
helping and being patient with each other. This commitment to one another
demands a willingness to be involved in daily life with each other, not just to
see each other for an hour on the weekend.
God’s
will involves our relationship with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Our deepest questions in life focus on
being loved and being competent to love and help others. When we come to
understand that God is our Father who has a deep love for us and who works for
our benefit then we can trust him enough to begin to live in obedience to his
commands. That obedience changes the way we experience life – we have a peace
and a confidence that does not exist apart from knowing that God treasures us.
Knowing that God loves us frees us to develop in our spiritual life – we can grow
up to become like our older brother Jesus!
God’s
will depends more on God’s faithfulness than our strength! Paul knew that
judgment day was coming, but he also knew that he did not have to stand in
judgment with only his strength to rely upon, rather he could stand sanctified
and blameless because of the amazing faithfulness of God!
“The
one who calls you is faithful and he will do it!”
- Kenny Payne
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