Reflections on the Will of God and the Christian Life

I suppose that most people, including myself, often think that they already know everything they need to know about these two phrases. They are popular buzzwords in Christianity, but they are the essence of Christian living and sanctification, so it is integral that we understand what they mean.

Today, as I was reading, pondering, and meditating, it struck me just how simple the will of God is...how uncomplicated the daily Christian walk is...how straightforward our relationship with our Heavenly Father is.

It really is.

In my analytical, type-A mind, I tend to complicate it all and make it so much loftier and harder than it actually is. I also tend to leave Christ Himself out of the equation and place the Christian life and the responsibility of the relationship all on my shoulders. When I leave everything up to me, I only get more discouraged, frustrated, and disturbed at my utter failures and inadequacies.

I can’t live the Christian life on my own. That much I know. Lately, the Lord has been gently reminding me how true this statement is and how desperately I need to simply turn my eyes on Him.

In her classic The God Of All Comfort, Hannah Whitall Smith writes, “The power for victory and endurance are to come from looking to Jesus and considering Him. When we look at ourselves, we see nothing but ourselves and our own weakness, poverty, and sin. We do not and cannot see the remedy and supply for these, and we are defeated.”

I don’t want to live a life of defeat and frustration. I want the victorious, abundant life that Christ offers.

The essence of the Christian life is so simple: placing my complete trust in my infinitely kind, caring Savior and showing my love for Him by implicit obedience to His will. His Spirit provides the strength as I yield to His work in my life.

Phillip Keller defines faith as “my personal, positive response to the Word of God, to the point where I act in quiet trust.” It is not a wishy-washy faith, but a trust that flings itself fully and wholly upon the One who cannot change, cannot fail, and cannot lie.

But we cannot trust One we do not know. Keller points out that our response is to the Word of God. When we read His Word, we learn Who our God is. We discover He is infinitely kind, merciful, faithful, powerful, sovereign, omniscient, omnipresent, eternal, beautiful, good, and perfect love.

Hannah Whitall Smith writes, “The only road to Christlikeness is to behold His goodness and beauty. We grow like what we look at, and if we spend our lives looking at our hateful selves, we will become more and more hateful. Looking at self, we are more and more changed into the image of self. While on the contrary, if we spend our time letting our minds dwell on God’s goodness and love and trying to drink in His Spirit, the inevitable result will be that we will be changed into the image of the Lord.”

When we know Who our God is, we can trust Him completely and we will desire to do what He asks – what will please Him. Obedience cannot help but follow a true knowledge of God. “Love for Christ is a deliberate setting of the will to carry out His commands at any cost. It is the delight of accomplishing our Father’s highest purposes, no matter how challenging. The end result of such conduct is to bring sweet satisfaction to the Good Shepherd. Because of such single-minded service we sense His approval of our behavior. We know of a surety that we are loved and appreciated” (Phillip Keller, Lessons from a Sheep Dog). He reinforces this point again in a different chapter: “Our love for God is demonstrated in implicit obedience to His will, expressed in our loving cooperation with His commands.”

What does God command us to do? How do we know what His will for us is? We go back to the Scriptures to learn what He requires of us.

“‘And you shall love the Lord your God with all your

heart and with all your soul and with all your mind

and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment.

And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your

neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment

greater than these.”

 – Mark 12: 30-31

 

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God,

that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable

unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not

conformed to the world: but be ye transformed by

 the renewing of your mind that ye may prove what is that

good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.”

– Romans 12:1-2

At a recent Bible conference I attended, one of the speakers pointed out the simplicity of the will of God and how plainly it is stated in Scripture. Below is his summary of the will of God and the corresponding verses:

 

§  Progress in sanctification: “For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: that every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour” (I Thessalonians 4:3).

 

§  Submission to the authority over you: “Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by Him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men” (I Peter 2:13-15).

 

§  Giving thanks: “In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (I Thessalonians 5:18).

 

§  Stand strong in suffering: “Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to Him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator” (I Peter 4:19).

If we are faithfully reading His Word, praying, and obeying these clear elements of His will for our lives, we can trust Him to faithfully guide us and further reveal His will to us. In other words, how could you expect God to show His will for something in your life – career, spouse, ministry – if you refuse to obey the parts of His will that are written out specifically in His Word?

 

One hymn writer summed up the Christian life in three simple words: trust and obey. When we walk by faith each day in humble obedience to His Word, we discover the secret of the abundant, victorious life Christ offers us freely in John 10:10.

 

For there’s no other way

To be happy in Jesus,

But to trust and obey.

 – John Sammis

The Jewel // Little Things Part III

I always enjoy perusing a jeweler’s glass-encased cabinet full of glittering gemstones. Sapphires, rubies, emeralds, diamonds. They glitter and sparkle under the bright lights, drawing attention to their beauty. Their rarity and value make them treasured and sought-after possessions. 

My grandfather used to say that consistency is a jewel.

In modern society, consistency is indeed a jewel. It is exceedingly rare -- at least in the circles I frequent. To find someone who is actually consistent in thought and deed is like finally finding a diamond deep in the heart of an African mine. 

Think about it.

When was the last time you met someone who lived up to their word – someone you knew you could trust?

Do you regularly disregard what certain people say because you know they don’t mean it and their lives don’t reflect it?

Or, how often are Christians accused of hypocrisy?

Not surprisingly, the Internet has a great deal to do with the lack of inconsistency in modern times, simply because it offers its users a place to project any image they want. It is disheartening to read Christian blogs filled with spiritual encouragement and models of purity and then to stumble upon the author’s Twitter or Pinterest account and find endorsements of images, behaviors, and words that are far from the standards of Philippians 4:8. Another example is people who get zero channels on their television and claim to be free from the influence of modern television programming but have Netflix or Hulu accounts where they watch any show or movie they wish. And I am sure we have all run across those individuals who spout off wisdom and advice but seem to inevitably do the opposite of what they are encouraging us to do.

In the “olden days,” a man often only had his word of honor to offer another person as a guarantee. If he went against his word, then he garnered the reputation of being untrustworthy. In the legal realm, the underlying principle of contract law is that each party will hold to its part of the agreement. The parties of every contract enter under this obligation of good faith.

We have all probably had the proverb “actions speak louder than words” quoted at us from the time we could walk and talk. Do we really understand what it means or actually practice it in our daily lives?

One characteristic of my role models is consistency. I admire people whose lives are in harmony with what they believe and what they say. They abide by the principles of honesty and integrity in each facet of their lives. They respect each person they interact with, regardless of circumstance, race, creed, education, or religion. They don’t condemn a behavior in someone else and then go out and practice that behavior themselves. They confess when they have made a mistake and seek to rectify their wrongs. They are eager to learn and strive for something higher because they are discontent with mediocrity. They are the same person in their own home as they are out in public. They seek the good of the other person, endeavoring to live out Philippians 2:1-15 in all areas of life.

Image via Pinterest.

Our family is often on stage as part of our music ministry, and in many ways, what happens offstage before and after the concert is more important than the performance itself. Singing about Christ’s love onstage and then arguing or tearing each other down offstage is not only inconsistent but a poor witness for the Saviour we are representing. It is sobering to think about, and we strive to keep each other accountable in this way.

Image via Pinterest.

I find that I often begin evaluating an individual’s trustworthiness from the moment I first meet them. To me, trust is a mammoth part of any relationship. I have to have something concrete to build that relationship on. When I am getting to know someone who regularly says she’ll call me back and never does, is usually late when we get together, or rarely does what she says she will do, then it is not as easy for me to trust that person. Almost inadvertently, I find myself transferring their unreliability in such little things to bigger things, like whether or not I will trust them with a confidence.

(Now, mind you, none of this is to condemn anyone personally. We would all admit, deep down inside, that we have been inconsistent at some time or another.)

Someone once said, “What you are in public is your reputation, what you are in private is your character.” We often focus on how we will look to others in public and then “let everything go” when we are alone or in our private homes.

Image via Pinterest.

The problem is that both arenas are seen by One who matters far more than any other human could. God is all-knowing and everywhere at all time. 

He knows if you’re saying one thing and doing another. 

He knows the difference between genuinely caring for someone or simply using him or her to further your own ends. 

He knows when you claim to be doing ministry or service for Him but your motives are selfish and self-aggrandizing. 

He knows when you go to church on Sunday and then curse or gossip about your co-workers during the week. Both the Israelites and the Pharisees were rebuked for inconsistencies between their words or behaviors and the condition of their heart.

“Wherefore the Lord said, ‘Forasmuch as this people draw near Me

with their mouth, and with their lips do honour Me, but have

removed their heart far from Me.’”

 – Isaiah 29:13

“[Jesus] answered and said unto them, ‘Well hath Isaiah

prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people

honoureth Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.’”

 – Mark 7:6

Honesty and integrity stem not only from proper beliefs but also from consistency in thought, word, and deed. Not only do you know what the right course of action is, but you actually do it, regardless of who is watching. 

Image via Pinterest.

People will trust you if they know your words and actions will not and do not contradict each other. Cowboy wisdom says, “The best sermons are lived, not preached.” As a Christian, you are representing Christ to every single person you come in contact with, and you will either point them to Christ or push them away with the message you send.

Image via Pinterest.

(To see the rest of this series: Part I and Part II.)