Doing The Will of God

Finding and doing the will of God are two of the most important things you will do in your Christian life.  Bob Jones, Sr. said that a successful man is the one who finds what God wants him to do and then does it.

In Mark 3:31-35, Jesus was approached by his family who wanted him to stop what he was doing and tend to some family business.  He didn’t jump up to go to them.  Instead, he used the opportunity to instruct his disciples in the will of God.  He told the crowd, “For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother”, Mk 3:35.

The will of God was so important to Jesus Christ that he found it even before he was a teenager and went right about doing it.  When he was just 12 years old, he explained to Joseph and his mother that he had stayed behind when they left town because, “I must be about my Father’s business”, Lk 2:49.  And he never left that purpose the entire time he was here on the earth.  Even when he didn’t want to take our sins and the wrath of God that was poured out upon them, he still submitted to his Father’s will when he prayed, “not what I will, but what thou wilt”, Mk 14:36.

So, if Jesus was doing the will of God for his life as a youngster and stayed with it until he finished his ministry, then we must be able to do the same thing.  But the question is, “How”?

First, you must have the desire to do his will.  The Bible says about pastors, “If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work”, 1 Tim 3:1.  While not everyone is going to be a pastor, the idea holds true that a man starts out finding the will of God for his life when he has a desire to do it.  Ps 37:4, “Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart”.

Second, you must deny yourself.  There comes a point in your life when your will crosses God’s will and you must forsake your own will to do his will.  Jesus said to his disciples, “And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.  He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it”, Matt 10:38-39.  What you end up doing may be what you have always wanted to do but you’re not going to get there without first laying down your own will.  And self-denial will be a way of life for you from now on if you are intent on doing the will of God.

Third, you must be transformed.  Your nature is the nature of a man.  Your interests naturally are earthy.  But in order to find God’s will you must be heavenly minded, Col 3:1-2.  Therefore Paul said, “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 this 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”, Rom 12:1-2.  So, you have to cut off the influences that make you worldly and you have to concentrate on the influences that transform you into a heavenly minded person.  This will also become a way of life for you.

Fourth, you have to obey God and do what he gives you to do. You can’t just sit around and hope to find God’s will for your life.  You have to be doing something for him now.  Bob Jones, Sr. said that the best way to prepare for tomorrow is to do what you ought to do today.  God’s will is found along the road of service.  James put it this way, “Be ye doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves”,  Jas 1:22.

Now, accomplishing God’s will in your life requires some special things, as well.  After all, when Jesus died on the cross, he said, “It is finished”.  When Paul came to the end of his ministry, he said, “I have finished my course.”  How did they get to the end with the certainty that they had done what God wanted them to do?  How can you get to that point in your life?

First, you have to trust God.    Prov 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths”.  Ps 37:5 says, “Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass”.  So, to accomplish anything that God wants you to do, you are going to have to trust God to get you there.  You cannot put your trust and confidence in man to do for you what only God can do through you.  You will hit obstacles along the way that will seem to be road blocks to accomplishing what you perceive to be God’s will.  You have to trust God with these because they are often used by God to direct you into his perfect will.  They are part of doing the will of God.

Second, you have to walk by faith.  2 Cor 5:7 says, “We walk by faith, not by sight”.  “Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God”, Rom 10:17.  “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path”, Ps 119:105.  God will direct you through his words, showing you details from his Book that guide your life.  Much of what is done today that is attributed to the Lord’s will is just man involving the Almighty in his own plans.  God’s words, as they are read, preached, and taught will reprove you, rebuke you, correct you, and instruct you.  And they will make you into what God has called you to be.

Third, you have to rely on God’s grace.  In 1 Cor 15:10, Paul says, “But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me”.  Paul knew that the work he was getting done was being accomplished through the supernatural power of God.  He was working beyond his human capability in doing the will of God.  He knew that most profoundly when he was too weak to do what needed to be done, 2 Cor 12:7-10.

Fourth, you have to look for the joy.  Heb 12:2 says, “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God”.  It is ultimately the joy of doing the will of God that keeps you going until you get it done.  Paul endured all of the hardship, affliction, persecution and difficulty of his ministry that he might finish his course with joy, Acts 20:24.  One of his great joys was seeing souls come to Christ.  He said, “For ye are our glory and joy”, 1 Thes 2:20.  When you find what it is that God wants you to do and start doing it through the supernatural provisions of the Lord, you find a joy that exceeds every earthly pleasure and keeps you going till you are finished.  The Macedonians experienced this joy apart from every earthly pleasure in 2 Cor 8:2.

So, make it your utmost objective to be able to say in truth, “I must be about my Father’s business”.