Will Of God - Part II

Walking in God’s will:

Why must one walk in God’s will? This is an intriguing question because the answer to this question would direct us into looking at the foundations of our faith. We must remind ourselves of the Gospel and the question as to ‘why’, will dissolve itself in the Gospel for there is no other Name by which we can be saved and there is none that ‘willed’ for us to take us to our Home, beyond the grave to the celestial shore. The question dissolves itself or loses its meaning once we acknowledge the lordship of Jesus Christ over our lives. To ask ‘why should one walk in God’s will?’ is to questionone’s own commitment to follow Jesus Christ. A commitment to follow Jesus is a commitment to walk in the will of God.

The will of God is certainly the best we can have for our lives, ever. Because of the mystery that exists in this will of God for our lives, in life’s situations many a time, we fail to see the beauty and majesty of God’s will and sovereignty in our lives and thereby fail to trust Him. This makes us stoop down into situations rather than focussingon Jesus, who has willed and designed our lives for His glory. He knows the big picture and we will do well if we would simply trust Him through all our situations. Yet, God has not left us in the dark to wander about without any directions but God has placed many a sign-posts along the way and has given us His precious Holy Spirit, the Counsellor, to guide and lead us in all our ways. A life, lived according to God’s will is glorious and the end thereof is eternal life.

I have borrowed the following principles from the book, ‘The Grand Weaver’ by Ravi Zacharias. It was expedient for me to do this as it provides clarity in what I intend to share with you. Although, the content of it, I’ve written it as the Lord has led me.

ABCD’s to walk in God’s will:

A - Asking without pettiness.

B - Being before doing

C - Convictions without compromise

D - Discipline without drudgery

Asking without pettiness:

⁹“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. ¹⁰“For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks, finds, and to him who knocks, it will be opened. ¹¹“If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? ¹²“Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? ¹³“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”. Luke 11:9-13.

Jesus spoke these words to His disciples. He urged them to ask, to seek and to knock. Let us then ask, seek and knock! What do we ask of God? Here, when Jesus quotes of asking of the heavenly Father, He speaks of asking for the Holy Spirit and not a material or a physical thing. We must ask without pettiness. The verse speaks of us receiving the Holy Spirit as well as being filled with Him each day. As we read in the following verses, it’s Him who can guide and lead us to know the Will and the mind of God.

⁹ However, as it is written:

“What no eye has seen,
    what no ear has heard,
and what no human mind has conceived”—
    the things God has prepared for those who love him—

¹⁰ these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.¹¹ For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.¹² What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us.¹³ This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. ¹⁴ The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.2 Corinthians 2:9-14.

If there be God’s will for one’s life and if he must walk by and in it, then he must be filled with the Holy Spirit. It is not an event that happens on some special occasion but it is an everyday experience of being renewed in Spirit. We see, in the life of Jesus that He would seclude Himself to be alone with the Father, so must you seclude yourself to be alone with God. It is not the spirit of this world, but it is the blessed Spirit of God that the redeemed of Christ have. So then, child of God, be renewed in the Spirit each day, be led by the Spirit of God and walk in step with the Spirit. How shall I renew myself in Spirit each day? It is simply by sitting in His presence with absolute surrender and asking of the Holy Spirit to come and fill you. Then, there shall be a flame that never goes out, a communion that never ceases and in all your walk, you will walk in the Will of God.

Being before doing:

We are God’s marvelous created ‘beings’ and not doings. As uniquely as we were created, we were created for the glory of God. Herein, what is impressed is this, you and I,‘being’ a child of God goes before any of our doings. When we believe in Jesus Christ, we become new creatures in Christ Jesus, born not of the flesh but of the Spirit, a heavenly being called to live with eternal purposes. This ‘being’ that you and I are by believing in Jesus, takes its preeminence before the actionscome forth through us.

Everything that we do, must always be an act that is birthed from the beings we are. We are the children of God, redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. Also, we see in the life of Joseph, though opportunity presented itself before him to commit adultery, Joseph, ‘being’ one who fears God fled from the place. His ‘being’ went before his doing and thereby he kept himself holy. (Genesis 39:9). It is very much necessary for you and me to ask ourselves whether the action that is done is fitting for a child of God. The identity that you have in Christ goes way before what you and I may do. We may ask ourselves questions like these: Will a child of God do this? Will a child of God choose this? Et cetera.

Convictions without compromise:

Jesus said that the Spirit of God will convict us of sin, righteousness and judgment. There are several convictions that the Spirit of God has given and continues to give us. This includes personal convictions as well as impersonal convictions. It is paramount for us to have ‘convictions without compromise’ to walk in God’s will. We must be willing to be led by the Spirit of God and must have convictions that we will not compromise on which the Spirit of the Lord has given us. It is very important that our convictions must be shaped and given by the Spirit of God, else they might lead us away from God’s will and His purposes.

We all have convictions, if we do, we must check whether it be of the Spirit of God or by our own fleshly intentions. Now, having convictions that is given by the Spirit of God, it is necessary that we do not compromise on them in our walk with God. I love this passage in the book of Daniel of Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah.

We read in Daniel, chapter 3. King Nebuchadnezzar sets up a golden image for all officials and peopletobow down and worship at the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music. The Word of God speaks of three, Hananiah(Shadrach), Mishael(Meshach) and Azariah(Abed Nego), who held on to their convictions with no compromise despite the King’s command. Their faith in God was with unflinching boldness. Having refused to obey the King’s command, they are summoned before the King. They stood regal before the King and replied with great effrontery as the following passage shows us,

¹³ Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, ¹⁴ and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up? ¹⁵ Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?”

¹⁶ Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. ¹⁷ If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us^[c] from Your Majesty’s hand. ¹⁸ But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

It is important that we have convictions without compromise as these children of God had. Their convictions went beyond their own lives. They were willing to lay down their lives but will not compromise on their conviction of worshiping the only true living God. Their conviction was rooted in their obedience to the commands of God. They trusted God beyond their lives according to His sovereign Will. It is not that God is incapable of saving them from the fiery furnace but even if the latter be the sovereign will of God, they were willing to yield themselves but not compromise. However, we see how God saved them from the fiery furnace and glorified His name throughout the kingdom. It is the same when we hold on to the convictions given by the Holy Spirit without compromise, we bring glory to God.

The same can be said of the apostles when they declared to the persecuting officials that it was necessary for them to obey God rather than men. It is the same of Joseph, Daniel and many saints of God who held on to their convictions with no compromise.

In our walk in God’s will, it is clear that many a time we walk away from His will when we truly do not have convictions in many areas of our life. I believe it is expedient for us to have convictions that are guided by the Holy Spirit and thereby walk in His will.

Discipline without drudgery:

In walking with God’s will, I believe we must have discipline without drudgery. Having a discipline everyday might be mundane and ritual yet I greatly believe it is necessary to walk in God’s will.

It’s written “Fear of the LORD is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.”Proverbs 1:7 (NLT).

⁵ And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says,

“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline,
    and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
⁶ because the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
    and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”

⁷ Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? ⁸ If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. ⁹ Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! ¹⁰ They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness.¹¹ No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.Hebrews 12:5-11.

God disciplines those he loves.

But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.1 Corinthians 9:27.

In like manner, discipline is necessary to walk in the will of God. I believe this to be one of the most important discipline of a child of God, to spend time in the presence of Jesus every day. We must speak to him and spend time in His presence each day without drudgery.

That’s all with the principles. I would like to conclude with an excerpt from the book ‘On Being a servant of God’ by Warren W. Wiersbe.

“If you’re serving in the will of God, you’re like Esther: “You have come to the Kingdom for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14). What God starts, He finishes (Phil. 1:6). If you decide to quit, He will lovingly discipline you until you’re willing to obey, just as He did with Jonah. If you persist in your rebellion, He may put you on the shelf and label you “disqualified” (1 Cor. 9:27). God will get his work done either with you or without you (Esther 4:14), but you’re the loser if you quit. 

You must depend on the eternal purposes of God and the unchanging promises of God if you’re to keep going when the going is tough. Take my word for it, the going will be tough; but God’s purposes and promises will not fail."

I urge you then to take out time, give yourself to God in prayer and surrender to Him to walk in His will. A life lived according to the will of God is glorious irrespective of what we walk through. Greater trials bring greater glory. God bless you.

                                                                     Allen Joseph Abraham

        SRM Alumnus

            Instrumentation and Control Engineering

Will of God - Part I

PART I

In the recent days I had come to a point of desperation to know what God has planned in my life, His purpose for my life and His Will. In such a quest, God taught me certain things regarding life’s purpose and His Will in our lives. As I write this, I am certain it will bless you. This blog on the ‘Will of God’ will be published as two blogs as it is difficult to cover the subject in a single blog.

Will of God:

This is a huge subject to study and what I write here regarding the Will of God is too little. However, I pray earnestly that it will help you to understand what it is. The Will of God is His heart’s desire, His purpose, His persistent intent. When we look through all of Scriptures, we can understand that the Will of God is revealed in three distinct ways as R. C. Sproul puts it:

1     .      The decretive will of God or His sovereign will;

2     .      The preceptive will of God; and

3     .      The dispositional will of God.

The Decretive Will:

Though the term sounds like a theological jargon, it isn’t. It is derived from the word ‘decree’ which means ‘decide with authority’. This speaks of God’s will that cannot be altered by any man or by any event. It’s the will that He has decreed and none can ever bring about a change in it. This will of God is clearly seen in several events throughout the ages. Job, at the end of his sufferings, speaks of this sovereign will of God saying, “I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted”. (Job 42:2) We see God’s decretive will revealed in our own lives as we look at our own lives. You and me, we did not have the choice to choose our parents or our siblings. It was His sovereign will that brought forth all of these in our lives. His sovereign will is always at work in our lives, every day. His sovereign will for our life prevails through every circumstance and situation. There are several things, you may wonder, how could this have happened in my life, you must remember that it’s His decretive will which is unfolding in our lives. As we ponder at the decretive will of God in our lives, it’s appropriateto look at the scripture from Jeremiah 29:11. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future”. Although this was a prophesy to the people of Israel, we must understand that it applies to each of us as well. This scripture reveals the significant purpose of God intricately placed within the decretive will of God. The decretive will of God demonstrates God’s sovereignty over every creature. Yet, it is very important to understand that the decretive will of God does not overrule the freedom ofwill that God has freely given to every individual. Now, the things that are not under your control are always under God’s control and His will overrules them all. This is His decretive Will. This reveals much of His godliness in the light of His sovereignty. God has a plan in your life, that which is decretive and that which has a purpose in itself, that which is to prosper you, that which gives you a hope and a future. There is much to know and understand of God’s sovereign will but I shall end here.

The Preceptive will of God:

Few term this as the permissive will of God. This ‘will’ in all its essence is interwoven with our will. This will reveals God’s intent towards us and His desire for us. God has laid down precepts (commandments) for His children and He expects His children to walk in them. A man’s free will is tested if it is obedient to God by the preceptive will of God. God has given us His commandments and He has commanded us to walk in it, yet He has given us the free will to decide for ourselves, whether we would walk in them or not. Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commandments”. (John 14:15). Jesus didn’t enforce it upon His disciples to follow His commandments but He gave them the choice to either love Him or not. ‘If you love me’: making it clear that it is by their own will, they choose to love Him and if they love Him, then they are obliged to follow His commandments. John writes in his epistle, “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome”. (1 John 3:5). The love that we have for God is expressly revealed in walking according to His commandments and to a redeemed soul, His commandments are not burdensome.

Personally to each of us, God’s preceptive will means to walk and be in the will of God by our own choice. Jesus said, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent me and to accomplish His work”. (John 4:34). The will of the Father was as food to Jesus Christ. In other words, His life on earth was sustained and lived by fulfilling the will of the Father. This must be the same believers;their sustenance and living is by knowing and walking in His will every day. I’ll address these in depth later. For now, the preceptive will of God is laid down in His Word and all those who choose to love Him are obliged to know and walk in it.

The dispositional will of God:

This is God’s dispositional will, in effect, it is what God is ‘willing’ but this does not overrule man’s free will. Jesus said, “In the same way your Father in heaven is not ‘willing’ that any of these little ones should perish”. (Matthew 18:14). Peter writes in his epistle, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is long suffering toward us, not ‘willing’ that any should perish but that all should come to repentance”. (2 Peter 3:9).  It’s His dispositional will that none should perish but all should have eternal life and yet many perish as they choose to walk in their own ways. We clearly see how a man’s free will is not affected in any measure by God’s will in any way.

As I’ve written earlier, much of our wills and us living our lives deal with the preceptive will of God. As we walk in the preceptive will of God, His will of disposition becomes our will of disposition and with that comes a burden for the souls that are lost.

The will of God that is displayed in these three distinct ways help us understand the working of God in our lives in full measure. Irrespective of our experiences or events in life, God’s plan and His intent toward us is always good. As God’s children, several things that we go through in life would have nothing to do with ourselves but will have everything to do with His plan for our lives. As we walk in His will, let us continue to trust Him, because He is our Father.

In the next blog, I will be sharing on how we can walk in the will of God. 

Allen Joseph Abraham

SRM Alumnus

Instrumentation and Control Engineering

Gratitude

Living with gratitude has not come easily for me.

I know I should count my blessings, but sometimes it’s just easier to count my miseries. That comes more naturally. And miseries capture my thoughts and interrupt my days more readily than blessings. But counting my miseries seems to shrink my soul, and in the end I am more miserable than when I began.

We are, for the most part, troubled people. We are troubled within, and troubled without. We are troubled in our bodies, and in our families. We are troubled with our relatives. We are troubled with our property disputes. We are troubled when we see our loved ones in pain! We are troubled in our workplaces, and in our churches. We are troubled in our neighborhoods, and across our nation.

We welcome trouble with our sin, but we are plagued by trouble even in our best efforts. Job’s friend, Eliphaz, while not the best counselor, got it right when he said, “Man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward”(Job 5:7). Jesus himself said, “In this world you will have trouble” (John 16:33).

Therefore, we, for the most part, are burdened people, because troubled hearts carry heavy burdens with them.

And in the midst of all our nearly constant and complex trouble, Jesus says to us, “Let not your hearts be troubled” (John 14:1). And Paul, who knew more constant and complex trouble than most of us will know, says to us, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

Desire Diminishes Gratitude

 I have often lived my life when my focus  on what I don’t have has blinded me to all that I have received from God. Desire has diminished gratitude. And I know I’m not alone. Many of us live so focused on what we don’t have that we miss the present gifts we could be enjoying. We’re blessed and discontented, with lowered joy and heightened dissatisfaction.

Singles pine for marriage; couples for freedom. The unemployed long for jobs; workers for weekends. Childless couples yearn for a baby; parents for sleep. We want what we don’t have — until we have it. And then we want something more or something else. 

Enjoying Gifts, Not the Giver

Of course, we’re not always moping for what we don’t have. We’re not afraid to enjoy the good things of this world. Billions of people daily experience trillions of moments of pleasure, joy, and satisfaction. But this creates another massive problem: Most of those moments are enjoyed without any response of thankfulness to God.

Even when we don’t miss the gift, we often miss the Giver. This thanklessness deeply troubled the apostle Paul, who diagnosed it as an act of rebellion against God:

“Although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened” (Romans 1:21).

Paul connected the sin of thanklessness with idolatry. Instead of thanking God for what he gives, we assign ultimate value to things God made, worshiping and thanking them instead of God. It’s what Israel did at Mount Sinai: claiming the golden calf had brought them out of Egypt, they gave honor and thanks to a pile of gold.

Heaviest Heart in History

No one in the history of the world was burdened in his soul like Jesus on Thursday, April 2, AD 33. No one — no grieving spouse in a solitary house, no weeping parent beside a child’s grave, no heart shattered by a love betrayed, no wordless ache for a wandering prodigal, no desolate soul staring at a terminal test result, no felon in an isolated cell of relentless shame knows the burden that pressed upon Jesus as he walked up the stairs to share the final meal of his mortal life on this earth.

Worship Grows in Gratitude

Often the things that pour off our tongues to others can be complaints of things not going our way or how we’ve been mistreated by others. We’re a rights-oriented culture, and if we don’t get what we think is rightfully ours, we storm off in anger or despair. Often, we slip on the sins of entitlement and discontentment down the slope to anxiety and depression. We can become surrounded by dark thoughts and unmet expectations that weigh down our hearts and put a cloud over our minds.

On the other hand, we will never be able to lift our hearts from despair to worship without expressing thanks to God. The theme of thanksgiving runs throughout all of Scripture. In the Psalms we’re commanded to give thanks to God:

Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples! (Psalm 105:1)

Thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man! (Psalm 107:8)

Remember to Say “Thank You”

The spiritual cost to us of being thankless is much higher than we might think. Thanklessness is not merely the absence of verbalizing a “thank you.” It is a symptom of spiritual dullness, of spiritual poverty. Because it is taking for granted and not appreciating grace being shown to us.

Parents know what this looks like. Children, being born self-centered sinners, naturally take for granted all the blood, sweat, tears, and dollars their parents invest in them. So parents are frequently reminding their children to give thanks.

“Remember to thank your mother for making dinner.”
“Thank your grandparents for that nice birthday gift.”

Why do parents do this? For most, it isn’t merely to get their children to perform a social courtesy. What they want is for their children to see grace and feel thankful. 

Gratitude is a virtue most worthy of our cultivation. Indeed, in all the Christian life, gratitude is to be planted, watered, dressed, and harvested. Gratitude gets at the very essence of what it means to be created, finite, fallen, redeemed, and sustained by the God of all grace.

Our Gratitude Is to Be Pervasive

In everything give thanks. Not in some things, but in all things. Every thing, every area of life is to be a the subject of thanksgiving. There's so much to be thankful for.

• Spiritual things — if you didn't have anything else but Jesus, you would have enough to praise God for all eternity. 
• Simple things — you should be thankful for your families, health, food, and even a glass of water. Thank God for the simple things. Thank God for the people He has placed in your life, for the Fellowship He has provided us here at SRM.
• Sorrowful things — you can even be thankful for the heartaches, the pains, and the sufferings.Romans 8:28 says, "...All things work together for good...." That is, the thing itself is not good, but it is God Who is working all things together for good.

Do you want to live on the highest level of life? Cultivate the attitude of gratitude always and in all things. I don't care how bad, difficult, dark, or mysterious things get; take the ultimate step of faith and say, "God, You're greater than this, and I thank You." You say, "Well, I don't feel like thanking Him." Don't thank Him by feeling; thank Him by faith. You're not told to feel thankful but to be thankful. Nothing shows your faith in the absolute sovereignty of God more than just simply thanking God in every situation.

Abhilasha Dey

II Year

Computer Science and Engineering