The Will of God

Knowing God's will seems tricky sometimes. Many believers find themselves wondering what God's will is for their lives. Sometimes the question is about our life's calling and at other times it is about a decision or set of decisions. For us, it is about adoption, seminary, finances, etc. There is a highly quoted portion of Scripture often used at such times. Romans 12:1-2. The Holy Spirit reminds us through Paul to be a "living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God." This is a lifestyle, a life, which itself becomes worship with every choice. Further, Paul wrote we are not to be conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewal of our mind. Then we can discern the will of God, "what is good, acceptable and perfect." He did not say we are to rely on sincerity or feel-good self-talk. We are to use our brains.

However, in the midst of trying to discern the next step along the path, the lamp of God's word can seem dim to us. But I submit that it is not because the lamp has lost any lumens. It is because we are walking through the dark, maybe even using the lamp of God's word to light the way, but all the while we wear dark sunglasses of pride. Because of this it helps to remember what was written before and after Romans 12:1-2. The general context is salvation, for both Israel and Gentiles. For many who knew that Israel is God's chosen people, Paul began to unravel the mystery of why they rejected the Messiah while Gentiles received Him. In Romans 11:25 and following, Paul states, "Lest you be wise in your own sight, I want you to understand this mystery..." In short, Paul reminds us that God's ways, knowledge and wisdom are unsearchable and inscrutable. In other words, God's plan is His plan, not ours. God brings even Gentiles into His fold and this was hard to understand for "good" Jews like Paul.

Paul says God's ways are of such depth we cannot fully understand them, yet he immediately turns around and says for us to renew our minds and know the will of God! Seems quite difficult. But I believe the key point here is the transformation. When we become a living sacrifice, we are surrendering to the Lordship of Christ. In that surrender, we are transformed by Him. Only with a mind transformed and renewed by Christ can we really begin to recognize the sunglasses of pride on our face. This is why Paul immediately writes about how this plays out within this new community of Jews and Gentiles: "For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned." (see Romans 12:3 and following)

Right now, our family is praying through multiple decisions. Adoptive children come with needs of healing from their past. Are we healed enough from our past to help a child heal from theirs? We must pray repeatedly, because in that prayer-time God first reveals the shades of pride that obfuscate the light of His word. As we peel those off, He renews our mind. Then, with sober judgment we can make decisions with the measure of faith God has assigned us. God's plan is never revealed in its entirety to us. But His will for the next step becomes visible as long as, through surrender, we remove the sunglasses. As one friend said in our Bible Fellowship Group, "The problem with living sacrifices is that they try to crawl off the altar." I pray we will stay on that altar, renew our mind and see the next step by the light of His Word.