Over 32 years ago, I concluded that it was God’s will to marry Charis. Soon after our marriage, we believed it to be God’s will to help a small church in Colorado right after receiving my master’s degree. Then we believed God led us to ministry in Wisconsin, then back to Colorado to plant a church, and then back to Wisconsin where He led us to Grace Baptist in Marshfield. We have believed God has led us to stay here at Grace Baptist Church for 14.5 years now. Understanding God’s will seems a mystery to so many, yet God does not intend to make His will difficult to know and follow!
We must sharpen our focus on God’s will. Sometimes following God’s will is easier than others. For example, following God’s will in obeying your parents to clean your room is a battle of the wills but it is relatively easy. However, following God’s will to plant a church in a Muslim dominant nation that has made the Bible illegal is much harder. Look at how Paul prepares to follow a more challenging call to follow God’s will:
Paul calls the leaders of the church of Ephesus together (20:17) to bid them farewell.
This is possibly the 12 men mentioned in Acts 19:7.
The elders would have to travel about 30 miles to get to Paul (so this is no small undertaking at this time of history).
He is going to Jerusalem and does not know what will befall him...however, he has a good idea that it is going to be pretty rough (20:22-23). The Greek here means that bonds and afflictions “remain or await” Paul. The ESV translates this verse with that very word, “…imprisonment and afflictions await me.” The NKJV and the NASB use translate this Greek word “await me” as well.
The one thing Paul does know is he will not see these dear believers again (20:25). These are sad tidings.
It is interesting and curious to note that the threat of harm doesn’t change Paul’s mind. Why? Well, Acts 20:24 reveals that Paul’s focus is sharpened on what he has received from the Lord. Paul has not forgotten what happened on the road to Damascus (Acts 9). It has been years since that transformational journey to Damascus, but Paul still recalls God’s gift of salvation like it was yesterday…and Christ’s call is more important to him than his own life!
Sometimes God will lead you to flee in the face of persecution or harm. In fact, there were times that Paul removed himself from harm’s way. However, harm is not the deciding factor for God’s will. For example: Noah, Joseph, Daniel, the disciples, & Paul were actually brought to harm’s way (but not because of their own sinful choices). Discern God’s will with:
First – Confess Known Sin
Ps. 119:9-11; James 5:16
Second - God’s Word & Much Prayer
Ps. 119:105; Prov. 3:5-7
Third – the counsel of God’s men & women
Prov. 11:14; 15:22
Fourth – God’s leading your heart
Ps. 37:4
Fifth – God’s peace
Phil. 4:6-7
Walter Knight told of an old Scottish woman who went from home to home across the countryside selling thread, buttons, and shoestrings. When she came to an unmarked crossroad, she would toss a stick into the air and go in the direction the stick pointed at when it landed.
One day, however, she was seen tossing the stick up several times.
“Why do you toss the stick more than once?” someone asked.
“Because” replied the woman, “it keeps pointing to the left, and I want to take the road on the right.”
Many people know the will of God but refuse to do it because it is not their will. (Source: Today in the Word, May 1989)
…part 2 will be posted on June 18…