God's Will for Your Life

Over the past 14 1/2 years of Pastoral ministry, I have watched countless people struggle over and strain to uncover God's will for their lives.  I am sympathetic because I also used to see God's will as some sort of great mystery that only the super-spiritual types among us could ever truly discern.  Furthermore, I use to see God's will as a tight rope; it was this very narrow line you walked and the slightest deviation would leave you plummeting into the darkness of being "out of the center of his will."  Many people over the years has confirmed that my past view of God's will is a common one, if not the prominent view. 

But then, several years ago, C.S. Lewis, in his small allegory, "The Great Divorce," along with some other wise College and seminary professors began to challenge my perception of God's will.  What if God's will is less like a tight rope and more like wide open spaces?  What if God's will is less a mystery and as simple and plain to see as the nose on your face?  What if the point of God's will is not to bring about great anxiety and discouragement, but to be the place where we tap into the depths of God's power and love?  Suddenly, God's will was not something I dreaded seeking, but something I found myself desperately hungry to explore. 

So, let me ask you a question:  Do you know God's will for your life?  If your answer is anything but certain, I have good news for you. I know the answer to that question.  You no longer need to fret over it because I am going to tell you plainly and clearly, right here and right now, what God's will is for your life.  Are you ready? 

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, spells it out this way: "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."  What if God's will is less about where you work or where you live or what car you drive or where your kids will go to school and more about how you live where ever you live.  The Bible says it so clearly.  God's will is not a mystery. His will for your life is that you will be joyful always, pray continually and give thanks in all circumstances.

Think about how our lives and those we come in contact with would be changed for the better if we grabbed hold of this as God's will for our lives and became absolutely determined to let God makes a person who lived joyfully, prayed continually and gave thanks all the time.  Wow!  Talk about the power to change your home, your work place, your kid's school, your community, our country, the world...!  This is God's will for you!  Don't cheapen his will by turning it into tight rope details!  Rather, let this, his will, spelled out for us in 1 Thess. 5:16-18 expand his purpose for us into the wide open spaces, where no matter how far we run, we can never reach the boundaries of the joy, fellowship and thanksgiving we can experience and lead others to experience in Christ Jesus!