FINDING THE WILL OF GOD

I had a wonderful dinner with some friends at Melbourne's famous Lygon Street. There are many restaurants situated in this area. Many people come to Lygon street for Italian, Greek and Chinese cuisine. I like the pizza, pasta and ice cream on Lygon street too.


FINDING THE WILL OF GOD

When I was in Melbourne, Australia, I was asked to share to a group of working adults on the topic of “Finding the Will of God”. I was contemplating what to share because this is such an important topic. As I was waiting on God, some scripture passages and thoughts came to my mind.

The word of the LORD came to me, saying, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." Jeremiah 1:4-5

God told a teenaged Jeremiah in the Old Testament that He had a calling for Jeremiah even before he was born. God had a specific plan for Jeremiah to be a prophet to the nation of Israel. God knew us before we were born and He has a specific plan for our lives.

Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. Mark 8:34

Jesus told the crowd and His disciples to follow Him. It means that God had a plan for the people and the disciples – otherwise he would not invite them to follow Him. If God has His plans for our lives, we should try to discover it rather than living aimlessly, without any purpose or direction.

I would like to share some ways of finding the will of God.

Surrender to God

It is difficult to discover the will of God if you are too preoccupied with your own plans, dreams and desires. I remember when I was a young Christian, I had many of my own plans that I wanted to accomplish in life. Even though I wanted to know God’s plan for my life, I was too busy pursuing my own dreams. I had to come to a stage when I was willing to surrender my plans in exchange for God’s higher plans and purpose for my life. Sometimes, we are reluctant to surrender to God because we are afraid of losing out in life or missing opportunities.

Over the years, I have discovered that God’s plans are always far superior than ours. He desires the very best for my life and I should learn to trust in Him every day.

Pursue God

We make appointments with friends or family so that we can become closer with them. We want to form stronger relationships by making the time and effort to be with them. Likewise, in order to know the will of God, we need to pursue God. We can pursue God by arranging a specific time with Him such as daily devotion or just by communion with God throughout the day. God is everywhere and He can communicate His thoughts and will for our lives anytime He wishes. We need to learn to cultivate the presence of God wherever we are so that God can communicate with us on a regular basis.

I got into a routine of worshiping God, reading the Bible and journaling each morning so that God can speak to me.

Persevere until the end

“Never, never give up!” were the powerful words uttered by Winston Churchill, prime minister of the United Kingdom in World War II. We have a tendency to give up too easily especially when we face obstacles, challenges or a delayed answer. We should persevere until God provides an answer in his etiming. Giving up is like throwing in the towel or walking away from the blessings or promises from God. Sometimes, we need to go through the storms of life in order to gain a greater victory in God. We have a faithful God who will never leave or forsake us. God will fulfil His promises in the right time.

Many people in the Bible had to persevere for many, many years before they discovered and realised the will of God like Abraham, Joseph, Job, David, Moses, Joshua etc. Let God fulfil His purpose/will in your life as you persevere.