As I read through this chapter, I was challenged over and over. It wasn't that I'm failing in any particular point being made, but more that I tend to take some of these challenges for granted. For instance, I know I love the Lord, plain and simple. However, is there really evidence of that? Sometimes we can see what looks like evidence in someone's life but nobody sees someone's heart truly except for God and that individual. So I have to ask myself, just as in one of the previous chapters (Quit Kidding Yourself), "am I being real, or am I deceiving myself?" I want to be real with God - He knows if I am anyway!
Each note below has Wiersbe's page number and paragraph and his quoted text in italics, followed by a couple of thoughts and the challenge as I see it.
I'd love to know what your thoughts are too!
“If the Lord will” is not just a statement on a believer’s lips; it is the constant attitude of his heart. “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work” (John 4:34). Often in his letters, Paul referred to the will of God as he shared his plans with his friends (Rom. 1:10; 15:32; 1 Cor. 4:19; 16:7). Paul did not consider the will of God a chain that shackled him; rather, it was a key that opened doors and set him free.
CHALLENGE:
Have I come to the end of myself yet, and come to the conclusion of the matter: that I am not here for my own pleasure or amusement?
I have not been saved because I was worthy of salvation?
Do I know and live as if I’ve been saved from hell, unto something better—for the glory of God?
This should not be some far off “when-I-get to-heaven”-time-and-place realization.
It should be now, while we can do His work!
God’s will for our lives is comparable to the laws He has built within the universe, with this exception: Those laws are general, but the will He has planned for our lives is specifically designed for us. No two lives are planned according to the same pattern.
To be sure, there are some things that must be true of all Christians. It is God’s will that we yield ourselves to Him (2 Cor. 8:5). It is God’s will that we avoid sexual immorality (1 Thess. 4:3). All Christians should rejoice, pray, and thank God (1 Thess. 5:16–18). Every commandment in the Bible addressed to believers is part of the will of God and must be obeyed. But God does not call each of us to the same work in life, or to exercise the same gifts and ministry. The will of God is “tailor-made” for each of us!
CHALLENGE:
WHAT IS MY CALLING?
This is a repeated challenge, but I'm convinced that when we seek the Lord, and He knows if we really want to know the answer to this, then He will either show us precisely what our calling is, or He will simply establish it in our lives!
The secret of a happy life is to delight in duty. When duty becomes delight, then burdens become blessings. “Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage” (Ps. 119:54). When we love God, then His statutes become songs, and we enjoy serving Him. ... The important thing is a heart that loves God and wants sincerely to do His will and glorify His name.
CHALLENGE:
This is a great principle—but how do we get there?
How do we learn to love God’s will over our own?
Basic practical truths:
- Knowing Him first;
- Remembering what He’s done for us;
- Remembering what follows this life;
- Remembering the brevity of life;
All of Psalm 119 is a great testimony of the writer having learned that God’s ways are not burdensome.
Which of these three attitudes do you have toward the will of God?
This is Wiersbe's summary challenge to us!
Do I:
- Totally ignore God’s will as you make your daily plans and decisions?
- Know God’s will and yet refuse to obey it?
- Or am I the Christian man who knows, loves, and obeys the will of God, and as a result, will enjoy God’s blessings.