Pastor Steve Treash preached Sunday’s sermon at Black Rock-Long Ridge Congregational Church (North Stamford, Connecticut). His question was, “How do we discover God’s will for our lives?”
God knows everything, because he created us and everything in the universe.
Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. (Hebrews 4:13)
God is all-wise; He knows what is best for me.
- to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen. (Romans 16:27)
God loves me.
He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? (Romans 8:32)
God cares about every detail of my life.
Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. (Luke 12:7)
Surely then we can ask for God’s guidance about our personal lives.
Too many of us, however, start with our own immediate concerns: how to get a better job, whom should I marry, should I buy that new car, etc.? We then ask in our prayers what God advises us to do to achieve our goals.
That places priorities upside down.
Begin instead by asking what God wants us to do in the broader context of His providential and His scripturally-proclaimed Will for our lives.
It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God; and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you. For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit.
Now about brotherly love we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. And in fact, you do love all the brothers throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers, to do so more and more.
Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.
Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.
According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4:3-18)
Rather than dwelling upon what we want in our lives, we should begin each day thanking God for his manifold blessings.
Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
If we prayerfully seek God’s will for our lives and follow Jesus, no matter what befalls us, we will be most perfectly fulfilled. We must want God’s will, not our own.
Then [Jesus] said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? (Luke 9:23-25)
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