God's Will

Receiving God's Will
Genesis 13:1-14:24

"After Lot left, the Lord said to Abram, 'Look all around you- to the north and south and east and west. All this land that you see I will give to you and your descendants forever. I will make your descendants as many as the dust of the earth. If anyone could count the dust on the earth, he could count your people. Get up. Walk through all this land because I am now giving it to you." (Genesis 13:14-17)

Like Abram, I have had received the blessing of God's will as it has been presented in my life. While I haven't been promised an abundance of property or descendants, I have covered quite a bit of property and met many wonderful people. Opportunities to go to conferences such as VEV, to volunteer and serve in a variety of different countries such as Guatemala, Mexico, Brazil, and the DR with school and church. I've also received God's will to get to know so many different churches (Maranatha, Hbg 1st, Tucson, Shalom, Providence, Green Tree, Brazil, DR, etc). I also feel that I've learned from each of the people that I've met. While I sometimes wonder why I have this blessing, I am very grateful and pray to know God's will as His plan for my life unfolds.

Knowing God Will
Proverbs 2:1-5

"Listen carefully to wisdom; set your mind on understanding. Cry out for wisdom and beg for understanding. Search for it like silver, and hunt for it like hidden treasure. Then you will understand respect for the Lord, and you will find that you know God." (Proverbs 2:2-5)

This morning and this year I really know God's will for my life which does seem like hidden treasure. It seems such a mystery at times, but a conversation yesterday with Brad gave me some good ideas on how to go about my discernment: prayer and quiet time listening for God's will as well as listening to God's people... close friend and family and people from the church. Lord, this year especially I am trying to search and hunt and cry out to know Your plan for my life... that I may forever follow faithfully in the plan You have for my life.

Seeing God Will
Matthew 6:1-18

"May your kingdom come and what you want be done, here on earth as it is in heaven." (Matthew 6:10)

May God's will be done... really be done. The words are easy to say but hard to really live out. We have a lot to lose if we really believe these words... we lose our independence, our own plans for our lives, our own feelings of self-importance, our own ambition. Yet we soon learn that we gain far more than what trivialities we lose. As I heard in one sermon, "He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." Our will or our desire become one with God's. Lord, I really want to seek the guidance of Your heart. Where would You have me be? What would You ask of me? What would You have me do? May I do Your will here on earth and later on in heaven.