What is God’s Will for you – Right Now?

Some of you may have read this quote before. It was written by Walter Ciszek, a Jesuit who found himself imprisoned in the Soviet Union for many years after World War II.

“God’s will was not hidden somewhere ‘out there’ . . . the situations [in which I found myself] were his will for me. What he wanted was for me to accept these situations as from his hands, to let go of the reins and place myself entirely at his disposal.”

What Water is saying is that for most of the time, God’s will is where we are. He has willed the things that are put in front of us moment by moment – for a reason. Yes, we need to seek His will all the time, especially with the ‘big’ things (like where to live, where to work, who to marry) – but it’s moment by moment that His will is worked out in our lives, in all the things we face and are challenged by daily. He has a great point – even the little things we face are God either working on us, or using us to work on others. The detail is mind boggling and pretty amazing all at once!

So take a look at your day. Who did you talk with? What challenges did you face?

Mostly*, it is these things that are God’s will for your life. He is guiding you, shaping you, turning you into the person He wants you to be, to fulfill the good works He has already set aside for you – through your every day life.

Ephesians 2:10
For we are His creation, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them.

(*I say Mostly – there are things that happen in our lives that I would not consider to be God’s express will for your life. Sin and suffering being the two things that come instantly to mind. He can use both of these things, and often will, but they are not what God wants for your life)

And as a final note, I must say thanks to Craig for the good chat today (which was caused by his email being hacked) – that led to remembering this and therefore, this post directly! See? God can even use the really annoying things that happen to us for something good.

Perspectives in Time…

Genesis 12:1-3
The Lord said to Abram:

Go out from your land,
your relatives,
and your father’s house
to the land that I will show you.
I will make you into a great nation,
I will bless you,
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.

I will bless those who bless you,
I will curse those who treat you with contempt,
and all the peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.

Just a random and interesting thought.

Did you know that the time this happened to Abram (soon to be Abraham, father of the Israelite nation), was around 1850BC (dated range from about 1800-1900BC, depending on how you count).

So, even at the oldest estimate, Abraham was closer in time to Jesus than we were?

I know, that was a useless piece of information, but I thought it very interesting none the less!

Born to Eat?

Here is an interesting question – were we born to eat? Or to ask the question another way, how important is eating?

I guess in some ways i’ve answered the question already by the way I’ve posed it.

Eating is important. But it is not all that there is to life. We have all heard the saying ‘eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die’. For if life was just about food, then that would be the best we could hope for – to eat, to be happy, and to die in the end.

So are we born to eat? No. Eating is something we must do if we are to continue to live, but it is not what we are here for. And now, let’s take it just a little further again.

How important is our work? Are we born to work?

Hmmm. Much trickier. In some ways, yes, we are born to work – to do a special work that God has called us to. If that work is to be an office worker, or a truck driver, or a street cleaner, then yes, we were born to do those things, because God has called us to do them. This is your ‘vocation’. Maybe you are called to be a pastor full time – or maybe you are called to be in a secular profession full time and minister in place. Either way, God has called you to something – to a place where you will be the most effective for His kingdom.

So are we born to work? If by work, you mean do something to earn some money so you can eat, then no.

But if you mean to fulfil God’s purpose and plan for you in this life, then yes, that is what you are born to.

And the final challenge? To keep that in perspective. We do not work to eat, but we work for God. Whether we work as a pastor or a truck driver, both of us do what God is calling us to do – to fulfil His purpose in this life, whatever that is.

So when you get up for work tomorrow morning (or today!), think of this – when we work it is not for us, it is not for food, it is not for our family, but it is for God that we work. The other things are good things, but they are secondary to our Lord and Saviour who has called us to our profession, and is using us, daily, to bring about His purpose in the world.

Matthew 6:25-33 (HCSB)
“This is why I tell you: Don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the sky: They don’t sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they? Can any of you add a single cubit to his height by worrying? And why do you worry about clothes? Learn how the wildflowers of the field grow: they don’t labor or spin thread. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was adorned like one of these! If that’s how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, won’t He do much more for you-you of little faith? So don’t worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For the idolaters eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.

(photo flickr\globalmouser)

More……

Psalm 91:1-2 (HCSB)
The one who lives under the protection of the Most High
dwells in the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”

God is More.

Our lives are busy things (for most of us). We have things that call upon us every day, maybe our jobs, our family, our friends, our habits, our hobbies, our wants and our needs. For many of us, life is a busy thing that we just don’t have the time to interupt.

But then when trials come in our life, we run – we hide – we pray – we call out to God to help us, save us, protect us, shield us. Like the psalmist calls out, God becomes our refuge.

But that is not all that is there is it?

God is More.

God is just not a refuge, but also our fortress. A refuge is indeed a place we run to when we are scared, under attack, or just can’t take it anymore. But a fortress is a place to reside, a place to live, a place to remain.

We are not called to just run to God when times are tough, or worse, when all else fails. But we are called to live in the presence of God.

Galatians 2:20 – I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

So yes, life is busy. But we need to live our life in the presence of God. We need to trust in God as our fortress and our refuge – not just a place to run to when our own strength finally fails us.

(Photo flickr\sologenesis)

The God of Comfort – 2 Corinthians 1:3-7

2 Corinthians 1:3-7 (HCSB)
Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort. He comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction, through the comfort we ourselves receive from God.  For as the sufferings of Christ overflow to us, so through Christ our comfort also overflows. If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation. If we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which is experienced in your endurance of the same sufferings that we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that as you share in the sufferings, so you will share in the comfort.

Welcome back to Delving into the Scriptures! Yes, I am still here. On a personal note, I have simply been very busy, and when not busy, taking time out either to recover or spend time with my family… But I am still here, still reading my Bible and finding things to share, I have just not had the time to share coherently! So over the next month or so posts will be irregular – normal service will resume no doubt in God’s timing!

One change you may notice is that I will be using more translations of the Bible from now on. Spending much time reading different versions, and also lots of comments about different versions, I’ve basically come to the conclusion that just as I write these posts to try and help myself and others better understand the Bible and our God, different versions can help with that. Some more literal versions such as the ESV really help with seeing how the words, sentences and paragraphs were put together, and help give an understanding. But other versions, such as the NIV and HCSB help bring out the meaning more clearly when ‘language equivalence’ just clouds the issue. Language and meaning changes – and since I don’t speak or read ancient Greek, I need to rely on those that have spent the time studying both the language and the Word to bring out what will not simply translate in words.

Moving on!

These verses really stuck out to me when I was reading them recently! Not because my bit of hard work and ‘busyness’ is an affliction – but I think it helps us to focus. Hard times are going to come to us all – and when they do, they accomplish God’s purpose.

When Jesus suffered, was punished, and was hung on a cross and left to die publicly for our sins, He did not shirk back from what He was called to do. He did not ask to at least be hidden. He did not call down a legion of angels to save Him from what was coming, though He could have without even speaking. He chose to suffer for our sake, for our cause, for our sins. He chose to suffer and die, publicly, for the stupid things we have all done in our lives.

So with that context, how can we expect any less?

And if we get less than what Jesus Himself faced, should we not think that a blessing, no matter how hard it is? I know suffering is hard, I know pain is hard, I know affliction and persecution is hard. But the things we experience do not compare to what our Lord experienced in just one day in Jerusalem.

And to add to all of this, for any suffering we receive now, we will receive comfort from God. That comfort may not come immediately – we live in a fallen world, and the time will come for all of us to pass away some time. Even those who Jesus healed of all of their afflictions have since passed away – a long time ago. But the comfort will come, and it will be infinitely more than any suffering we endure for His sake.

So take heart. If you are suffering, I am truly sorry, and I pray God will comfort you. And not only that, I pray when you are finally comforted, you can take that comfort to others in His name, and show them the love and heart of Jesus, the God who loved us so much He freed us from our sins by taking the ultimate suffering upon Himself.