Discovering God’s will
is interesting to most people. We would like
to consider what God’s will is for our
lives and decide if we want to follow it. We
find doing His will compelling in some ways
and terrifying in other ways. The truth is that
most of us don’t wake up each morning
with the thought: I wonder what God’s
good, pleasing and perfect will is for me today!
The reason for that can be deduced from Romans 12:1-2,
“Therefore, I
urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy,
to offer your bodies as living sacrifices,
holy and pleasing to God—this is your
spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any
longer to the pattern of this world, but be
transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Then you will be able to test and approve
what God's will is—his good, pleasing
and perfect will.”
The reason we don’t
think of God’s will as good, pleasing
and perfect is probably because our minds are
focused on a different definition of good, pleasing
and perfect.. That should be freeing news in
some ways. It’s not that God’s will
is something to be feared; it is that God’s
will is something that requires the right kind
of mind—one that is not conformed to this
world.
You might think that loving God’s will
means loving God. That is not necessarily true.
You can believe God, love God and even believe
He cares for you and not love His will if you
haven’t loved Him with all your mind.
Loving God with all your heart is believing
God is good, loving and kind. Loving God with
all your mind is believing God is good and His
ways are good.
Thomas Keating says, “…the prayer
of the day asks that we be shown, the good,
the acceptable, and the perfect will of God.
This prayer suggests that there are three degrees
of submission to the will of God. The good will
of God is the will above every other affection.
And the perfect will of God is his will above
every other love including ourselves. ”[1]
Keating didn’t make a suggestion about
the acceptable will of God. I might add the
acceptable will of God is when we respond to
His will above our own will. We can only fully
accept God’s will when our minds are transformed
enough to believe His will is perfect and good.
If you are having trouble knowing the will of
God, turn your attention to knowing the goodness
of God. Your mind won’t accept what it
doesn’t believe to be good. Oh that we
could all honestly pray the prayer of St. Francis:
God:
I offer myself to Thee to build with me and
to do with me as Thou wilt.
Relieve me of the bondage of self that I may
better do Thy will.
Take away my difficulties so that victory over
them may bear witness to those I would help.
Of Thy power, Thy love and Thy way of life,
may I do Thy will always. AMEN.
