Doing God's Will

Have you ever been stumped as to how to understand what God’s will is for your life? For anyone that professes to follow God, this is probably something that comes up continually. There are times when it seems easy to understand what God wants us to do. But at other times, it’s mystifying. God’s will isn’t followed spontaneously on large and challenging decisions, but is learned through obedience in small, normal, daily decisions.
 
This week’s chapter (23 in The Story) is about Jesus starting His ministry. Throughout the chapter you will see that Jesus confirms again and again that He has come to do the will of God in Heaven. Jesus humbled Himself in His baptism, trusted God for His sustenance, relied on God’s Word to rescue Him from temptation, and rested in God’s will for Him to be the long-awaited Blessing for the entire world. Jesus’ relationship with God and desire to do His will was so strong vertically that He didn’t fall horizontally.
 
We often find it tiring to obey God even in the smallest matters, which consequently leads to us wobbling back and forth in following Him. May Jesus’ example encourage us to understand God so well that our relationship with Him makes us stand firm.
 
Ivan
 
(Below are some Scriptures that show God’s will for us. Sometimes we make things too difficult in trying to discover God’s will. At times, God is silent in His direction because He has already given us His will to follow in many aspects.)
 

• 1 Thessalonians 5:16-19 - Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
• 1 Thessalonians 4:3 - It is God’s will for you to avoid sexual immorality, that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God.
• Luke 9:23 - If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me.
• Micah 6:8 - No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
• Mathew 6:33a - Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously.
• 1Timothy 2:3b-4 - God our Savior who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.
• Romans 8:29 - Be conformed to the image of His Son.
• James 4:7 - Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
• 1 John 3:10 - By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.
• Matthew 28:19-20 - Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
• Mark 12:30-31 - And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”
• Ephesians 5:28-29 - In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself. No one hates his own body but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the church.
• Ephesians 5:33 - And the wife must respect her husband.
• Ephesians 6:1 - Children obey your parents, for this is the right thing to do.
• Ephesians 6:4 - Fathers do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord.
• Ephesians 6:5-7 -  Slaves, obey your earthly masters with deep respect and fear. Serve them sincerely as you would serve Christ. Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. As slaves of Christ, do the will of God with all your heart. Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.
• 1 Peter 2:13-15 - Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.
• Titus 2:3-5 - Similarly, teach the older women to live in a way that honors God. They must not slander others or be heavy drinkers. Instead, they should teach others what is good. These older women must train the younger women to love their husbands and their children, to live wisely and be pure, to work in their homes, to do good, and to be submissive to their husbands. Then they will not bring shame on the word of God.

 
For Jesus:

• John 6:38-40 - For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will. And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them up at the last day. For it is my Father’s will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life. I will raise them up at the last day.”