Determining the Will of God, Pt. 1

"My son, keep your father's commandments, and forsake not your mother's teaching.  Bind them on your heart always; tie them around your neck.  When you walk, they will lead you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; and when you awake, they will talk with you.  For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of disciplines are the way of life" (Prov. 6:20-24, ESV).

How do determine to do the will of God?  This passage offers us a good starting point for understanding how to determine the will of God.  The first point we need to know when trying to determine the will of God is that we must know what God has commanded.

If we are to do the will of God, we must know what he has commanded us to do and what not to do.  If we know that God says, "Be fruitful and multiply," then we don't really need to question whether or not we need to live a fruitful life.  We have been commanded to be productive (and reproductive), so while we may have questions about how exactly that applies to our lives, we can have no doubts that it does apply to our lives.  When God says, "You shall not lie," then we can know that God does not will for us to lie.

Thus, knowledge of the commandments liberates us to do the right things.  The first step in doing God's will is doing what he has commanded.  We must do what he says.  As we walk in obedience, we will learn more of his will.  In the future, we will look at the next two steps of doing God's will: walking in wisdom, and following our (sanctified) hearts.

If the Lord Wills

I find it difficult to make plans. I was raised to believe that once you have given your word that you would do something then you are honor bound to keep that commitment. The Lord and his apostles also teach us this. Our yes is to be yes and our no, no. James informs us that our plans are to be made in light of the Lord's will.

I am working on becoming more decisive. I want to approach everything in a prayerful attitude and walk in faith. I want to be able to say, "I have committed these plans to the Lord, if he allows, this is what we will do." The reality is that sometimes plans change. A person may think he has to leave by a certain time, and the phone rings or he is headed out for dinner and a friend drops by. These things can't really be planned, but they can be kept in mind when we are making our plans.

If you tell someone that you will be there at 6 p. m. you need to do everything in your power to be there by the determined time. However, you might want to tell them that your plans are to be on time, and Lord willing you will be. This doesn't mean that you wait to leave your house at 5:50 and expect the Lord to turn a thirty minute drive into a ten minute one. Being fifteen minutes late because you got a ticket doesn't qualify as providential hindrance. It is receiving the consequences of poor planning and law breaking. It is much better to leave early and give yourself ample time to get where you are going.

Let's say that you have to meet your friends at 6, so you leave your house an hour early in order to give yourself plenty of time to arrive. While driving to your friend's house you see someone stranded on the side of the road in need of assistance. With time to spare, it may be that you can pull over and offer them assistance, help them change a tire, or let them use your cell phone to call someone. Now if assisting them takes more time than you anticipated, then you can say to your friend, "I was providentially hindered." God in his providence had placed you in the path of someone in need, with the ability to help them, and called you to love your neighbor. Thus, you did everything in your power to be on time, but something unplanned for held you up.