The Will of God

“She is a traitor to the Master who sent her if she is so beguiled by the beauties of taste and art as to forget that to ‘preach Christ ... and Him crucified’ is the only object for which she exists among the sons of men. The business of the Church is salvation of souls.”

Charles Spurgeon

Kirk Cameron’s Comment

In frustration over wanting to know God’s specific plans for my life, I’ve even asked Him to kindly send me a brief e-mail, detailing His instructions. This lesson is better than e-mail; it put me on the right track and engaged my ability to further trust in God.

Questions & Objections

Lesson

When things don’t work out as we think they should, we often quote Isaiah 55:8: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the LORD.” God’s ways are higher than our ways, and often we have no idea why He allows certain things to happen. But the Scripture we so frequently lean on for consolation is not directed at the godly. Here it is in context:

Seek the LORD while he may be found, call upon him while he is near: let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts ... For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the LORD (Isaiah 55:6–8).

God is directing this to the wicked and unrighteous man. He is speaking to the unregenerate, those whose “carnal mind is enmity against God” (Romans 8:7), who “walk in the vanity of their mind, having the understanding darkened” (Ephesians 4:17, 18). Before we trust in the Savior, we are enemies of God in our minds through wicked works, and even our thoughts are an abomination to the Lord (Proverbs 15:26). Like lost sheep, we have all “gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way” (Isaiah 53:6), and our way is an abomination to the Lord (Proverbs 15:9).

Once, our lives were dead in trespasses, governed by sin, selfishness, Satan, and our senses. Upon our conversion, God puts His Law into our minds (Hebrews 8:10), gives us the “mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16), and renews us in the “spirit of our mind” (Ephesians 4:23). Now God’s ways are our ways and His thoughts become our thoughts. We are led by the Spirit, walking “in His ways” (Psalm 119:3).

If we are walking in the Spirit, with our sinful nature crucified, we can be assured that the desires we now have are in line with God’s desires. For example, before I was a Christian, it never entered my mind to publish a paper about Jesus, or get a bus and put Bible verses all around it; that would have been the last thing I would have been interested in. Now my desires are radically different.

I’m sure few of us have failed to underline Psalm 37:4 in our Bibles: “Delight yourself also in the LORD: and he shall give you the desires of your heart.” But what are our desires? What do we want most in life? Do we desire above all things to have a better paying job, a bigger house, thicker carpet, a superior car, and more money? Are we controlled by the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life? Or have we been transformed from the way of this world by “the renewing of [our] mind” (Romans 12:2), that we may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God? Are our desires now in line with God’s desires? Are we above all things “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9)? If that is our testimony, it is because we have the same Spirit in us as the apostle Paul, who said, “For it is God who works in me both to will and to do of His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13). Look at this verse in the Amplified Bible:

(Not in your own strength) for it is God Who is all the while effectually at work in you—energizing and creating in you the power and desire—both to will and to work for His good pleasure and satisfaction and delight.

Scripture tells me that the reason I have desires to do exploits for God is that He is in me “energizing and creating in [me] the power and desire ... to work for His good pleasure.” When I get aspirations to do things to reach the unsaved, it is because His desires have become my desires. I can pursue these aspirations, trusting that they are in the will of God, and therefore I can confidently expect Him to grant them. Remember, this is not presumption, “an arrogant taking for granted,” but a pure, unadulterated desire to do the right thing by reaching out to the lost.

Read the following verses and see if you can detect whose idea it was for Peter to walk on water:

In the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spoke to them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be you, bid me come to you on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus (Matthew 14:25–29).

Peter said, “Lord, if it be you, bid me come to you on the water.” Peter had the concept, and Jesus put His blessing on Peter’s idea. Peter knew Jesus intimately—he knew the mind of the Master. He knew that his desire wasn’t an impertinent presumption, but just a longing to follow the Lord into the realm of the supernatural. Jesus said, “If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honor” (John 12:26).

This is why, when you and I do godly exploits, we can trust that we are in the will of God and that He will honor them. This is the thought behind Jesus’ words in Mark 11:24: “What things soever you desire, when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you shall have them.” The same applies to John 15:7: “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done to you.”

Does this mean that we need merely speak the words, “Mercedes Benz, diamond rings, fur coats,” into the air in believing prayer, and God will give them to us? Not according to Scripture. If our covetous heart has been crucified with Christ, our desire won’t be for material things, but that none would perish. When we seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, God promises to meet our true needs—food, drink, clothing, etc. (Luke 12:31). Scripture actually warns that a covetous prayer will not be answered: “You ask, and receive not, because you ask amiss, that you may consume it upon your lusts” (James 4:3).

Instead, if we follow the advice of Psalm 37:4 and delight ourselves in the Lord, the desires of our heart will match His—and those are the desires He will grant.

Feathers for Arrows

“Read and read again, and do not despair of help to understand the will and mind of God though you think they are fast locked up from you. Neither trouble your heads though you have not commentaries and exposition. Pray and read, read and pray; for a little from God is better than a great deal from men. Also, what is from men is uncertain, and is often lost and tumbled over by men; but what is from God is fixed as a nail in a sure place. There is nothing that so abides with us as what we receive from God; and the reason why the Christians in this day are at such a loss as to some things is that they are contented with what comes from men’s mouths, without searching and kneeling before God to know of Him the truth of things.”— John Bunyan

Words of Comfort

I had a can of Diet Cherry Coke in hand. As I poured the foaming syrup into a plate on the ground, I mumbled, “A dog’s life is too short; they need to have some pleasure in life.” Then I switched from benefactor into more of an analyst. The older dog turned her nose up at the drink, while the younger one lapped it up. I thought it must be that the older dog discerned all the chemicals in the drink.

This was interesting to an inquiring mind, so I called my daughter and said, “Look at this. The older dog hates this drink, but the younger one loves it!” Then I said, “I had better put this away before your mother sees it. She would be upset that I was giving this stuff to the dogs.” A minute later, all the evidence was gone. The incident optimized my kind heart ... kind of like a dog Santa Claus.

About five minutes later I heard my wife, Sue, yell, “Yuk! The dog’s thrown up!”

Questions

1. Upon conversion, what does God do to our minds?
2. If we are walking in the Spirit, what should we have assurance of regarding our desires?
3. According to Psalm 37:4, what should be our desires?
4. What can we learn from the reaction of Jesus to Peter’s idea to walk on the water?

Answers to these review questions are provided in the back of the printed book / source PDF.

Memory Verse

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.”

Matthew 7:21

Last Words

Voltaire, the noted French infidel, used his pen to try to retard Christianity. He once boasted, “In twenty years Christianity will be no more. My single hand shall destroy the edifice it took twelve apostles to rear.” Shortly after his death, his house became the depot of the Geneva Bible Society. The nurse who attended Voltaire said, “For all the wealth in Europe I would not see another infidel die.” His physician said that Voltaire cried out most desperately: “I am abandoned by God and man! I will give you half of what I am worth if you will give me six months’ life. Then I shall go to hell; and you will go with me. O Christ! O Jesus Christ!”

Voltaire