*What Are You Seeking?*
The goal of seeking to know God’s will is a noble one if
properly understood. A clear understanding will draw the
Christian toward Jesus Christ. When grace rules our decision making process, our focus will be on Him, not a plan.
The propensity toward seeking the right path presents
another subtle danger. It places the responsibility on us to
figure out God’s will. Where grace rules, man is the recipient of
good things and God is the Giver. So under grace, it isn’t the
Christian’s duty to find God’s will, but rather God will reveal
His will to the one who rests in Him. A person ruled by law will
pursue God’s will with sincerity and yet never be confident that he has discovered it. One who enjoys intimacy with Jesus will
know it without struggling to find it.
A biblical model for knowing the will of God is presented in
Acts 13, where Paul and Barnabas were sent out on a
missionary journey by the church at Antioch. How did this
church know who to send out as their very first missionaries?
There was no missions committee meeting in which key leaders
decided that the church needed to begin a missions program.
How did these early Christians know the will of God
concerning the great missionary, Paul? Luke records how it
happened:
Now there were at Antioch, in the church that was
there, prophets and teachers: Barnabas, and Simeon who
was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen who
had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
And while they were ministering to the Lord and fasting,
the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul
for the work to which I have called them. Then, when they
had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they
sent themaway (Acts 13:1-3).
The key to their understanding of God’s will is that it was
revealed to them “while they were ministering to the Lord and
fasting.” These saints were not merely seeking to know the
will of God; they were seeking God and He spoke clearly to
them, making His will clearly known. They discovered the plan
while they were seeking the Person of God.
While legalism insists that we find the will of God, God’s grace causes Him to speak to us concerning His will as we
experience intimate interaction with Him. Legalism puts the
burden on the Christian to listen hard enough to hear God’s
will. A Christian ruled by grace knows that God is quite capable
of speaking loudly enough to be heard!
Imagine me coming into the room where my teenage son is
watching television. “David, I want you to mow the lawn,” I
might say. He doesn’t respond. He is mesmerized by the
programhe is watching.
“David, did you hear me? I want you to mow the lawn,” I
repeat. Still no response.
“David!” I say louder. “Yes sir?” he finally answers. “I want
you to mow the lawn.” “Okay, dad.”
Am I angry with my son because he honestly didn’t hear
me? Of course not. I wouldn’t scold him, saying, “Whenever
you are watching television, you had better keep one ear open
to me in case I want something from you!” I know that in that
instance, the burden of communication is on me.
That’s how it is with God. He is our heavenly Father and it is
His responsibility to cause us to hear when He speaks. You
don’t have to worry about missing God’s will because you
weren’t listening carefully enough. When you abide in Christ,
He assumes the responsibility of causing you to hear.
What are you seeking? What good would it do a Christian to
discover the plan God had for him if he were not experiencing
the intimate union of being joined to Jesus Christ? By what
power can we fulfill His purpose apart from Him? Given
numerous options, does it matter which one we choose if we
then seek to carry out the plan by our own strengths and abilities? Even if we knew the right plan, it would be pointless
to seek to do God’s will apart from intimate dependence upon
Him. When we live in total dependence upon Him, His will will
be revealed with absolutely no struggle on our part. That’s
how to experience God’s will through grace!
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