What does God want from me? What does he want me to do? Where is he leading me? Where is my life going? These are questions we often ask. I believe that they all spring from good intentions. But the questions may miss the point.
I will draw from three sources to illustrate my point, Hudson Taylor, Oswald Chambers and my Dad.
While Hudson Taylor was pleading with God to send men into China, when everything seemed hopeless and no one was coming to Christ, he came to a realisation and wrote, “Why, if we are obeying the Lord, the responsibility rests with Him, not with us!…at Your bidding, as Your servant I go forward, leaving results with you.” When we live in obedience to God, the responsibility of leading, of results, of success, lie with God, because we have submitted ourselves to him and surrendered in faith.
Oswald Chambers writes, “You have no business trying to find out where God is leading – the only thing God will explain to you is Himself” (July 8) This take some explaining, what about Jesus’ words, “I no longer call you servants, because servants do not know their master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.” I don’t think Chambers is refuting Jesus’ words, rather he is making a point. Our focus needs to be on God, who He is, not what he wants us to do or where he wants us to go, the latter will naturally flow out of the former.
My Dad said to me one day, “You will know God’s will through your daily relationship with him” God’s will doesn’t just appear to us out of the blue when we beg him to tell us (maybe some people get lucky), it comes from a close relationship with Him.
The question we should be asking is: How can I know you better Lord? We should ask Him to reveal more of himself to us, we should draw near to Him, so He will draw near to us. When we are so close that our hearts are one, beating to the same rhythm, we will be doing what He wants us to do, going where He wants us to go.
What do you think?
Open My Eyes, Lord – Ephesians 1:15-23,“We begin to see things through God’s eyes and less through our eyes. Peace only comes from this level. It is not measurable, explainable, nor understandable. Levels 1 and 2 are not prerequisites. I see prayer lifting the illiterate to great levels of peace and wisdom where certain PhDs in religion may feel empty. Our prayers become less ‘gimme’ and more ‘help me see what you want me to learn through this–to deepen my relationship with you.’",But at this point we encounter a most liberating truth from our text. Paul prayed for the Ephesians that “the eyes of your heart might be opened.” One translation says, “that the eyes of your heart might be flooded with light." Opening blind eyes is the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit. He and he alone can do it. But he can do it, and this is the source of our hope. :)
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