Raise your hand of you have ever asked these questions: “What does God want me to do? What is God’s will for my life?”
I have been in so many conversations where people ask, “How do I know if I am in God’s will?” I especially hear these questions when people are looking for direction and purpose in life. They usually surface when someone is entering a new season of life or have some decisions to make.
The problem with these questions has to do with perspective. People 2,000 years ago actually had these same questions. Shocking that they also had the same perspective problem.
Our world drives home the mentality of “doing.” The world says the more you do, the more you will have; the more you do, the more you earn; the more you do, the more you are. We have allowed that mentality to dictate our lives.
Jesus came to redefine our “do-mentality” with a “who-mentality.”
We attribute the word “will” to mean purpose. The question of “what is God’s will for my life?” becomes the perspective of “what is God’s purpose for me? What does he want me to do?”
Jesus came to show us that it is not about doing at all. Jesus came to show us that his will is about believing.
There are two specific examples that clearly illustrate Jesus redefining our “do-mentality.” The first comes from a conversation between Jesus and a rich young ruler. This man thought he had it all, but still felt empty. He approached Jesus to ask him a very familiar question that we still ask, “What good thing must I do to have eternal life?” Jesus immediately points out the perspective problem with his question. Jesus states, “why do you ask about what is good? There is only one WHO is good.”
It is not about doing that makes life, life. It is always about the WHO.
The second examples comes from John chapters six and seven. (These chapters are worth marinating on.) In chapter six, people approach Jesus and ask him another familiar question, “What must we do to do the work God requires.” Jesus again addresses the error in perspective. He responds by saying, “the work of God is this: to BELIEVE in the one he has sent.”
The will of God is to believe in him. Eternal life comes from believing. We still get stuck on the perspective that “doing” is what earns us eternal life. God’s will for our lives is not something we will do. God’s purpose for our lives will always be for us to believe in him.
I think that through believing in him our passions, pursuits, and dreams become clear.
Look at it from James’ perspective. James talks about faith and action, but faith comes before action. Believing is God’s will for my life and for yours.
I’m going to go out on a limb and say that I don’t think God is too concerned about the decisions we make about which job to take, which school to go to, or maybe even where to move. The answer Jesus always gives is about believing in the WHO. If we choose to believe in him, the leading from him becomes clearer on the where and the what.
Jesus ends one of his points by saying, “For my father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life.”
I am making the shift from a “do-mentality” to a “who-mentality.”
What are your thoughts on his will?
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