Strength Will Rise: Obeying The Will Of God

"The following night the Lord stood by [Paul] and said, 'Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome.'" (Acts 23:11 ESV)

Paul set an amazing example of persevering in the will of God. He endured much grief, pain, stress, and persecution for the Kingdom. Acts chapter twenty three records a turning point in his ministry and future. It is here that we read the clear word he received from the Lord about him going to testify in Rome. What great assurance and joy it must have given Paul to know he was on track with God's will for his life. This was a huge moment of confirmation.

Each of us who desire to live a Christ-centered life need to know what God's will is.
We need to pursue it will all our heart. It can sound confusing and very mysterious to hear some people describe the process of discovering the will of God. There are certainly things we cannot know about the will of God, however there is still much we can and should know about his will for our lives and his church.

A good word of advice I once received from a Christian friend about discovering the will of God is this: "Don't worry about the mysterious and confusing aspects of the will of God until you are certain you are obeying what is clearly identified in the Bible as the will of God."

Here are some verses that clearly identify what God's will is for every Believer.

And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.

We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.

Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. living as servants Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.

(Mark 12:30, Matthew 28:19-20, Romans 12:1-2, 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8, 1 Thessalonians 5:12-22, 1 Peter 2:13-17)

Once we are certain we are living in obedience to the word of God, if there is any doubt about a decision that we need to make we should simply take it to the Lord in prayer and wait for him. He will confirm his will to us and strengthen us to accomplish it. There is a popular worship song called "Everlasting God" that echoes Isaiah 40:31 saying "Strength will rise when we wait upon the Lord." How true those words really are!

Today, as an act of worship, surrender your life to the will of God as outlined in his word. Praise him for promising to strengthen us to go where he wants us to go, do what he wants us to do, and be who he wants us to be.

Enjoy the video below (on the blog) of "Love The Lord" by Lincoln Brewster. It's a great song based on Mark 12:30 which we read today. I'm excited about learning the song and using it in corporate worship sometime soon. (I use it in personal worship quite frequently already!)