Jesus said to them, " My food is to do the will of him who sent me and finish his work. "
John 4: 34
In this day and age we hear a lot about eating the right food that will give us energy for living. There are a lot of great things we can learn from about that. The right food for the body has its profits in both the short-term and the long-term. But food for the soul has a far more important role in our lives and has any eternal value. When we have the right food for our spirit we can mount up with wings like eagles, run and not be weary, and walk and not faint.
Jesus knew the secret of fueling the inner man. He'd already told the Devil, "Man does not live by pretty alone but by the every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." God's Word is His will. Jesus was involved in people's lives. He spent time and energy to get close to people. He was teaching the disciples, and He was acting in the way God told Him. That was a lot of hard work. The disciples had gone down into town to get some bread while Jesus was helping the woman at the well come to realize that he was a solution to her problems. When they came back and tried to give him some bread, he used that opportunity to show them how to have power for living and for help others.
The Bible says without a vision people perish. In other words they have no energy to do anything right and they get out of line. Vision fuels our spirit. Our vision comes from God's word. When our will is lined up with God's will, then we will find that we are transformed into people of purpose and power.
The problem is that we often make things too complicated. When we talk about God's will, sometimes we think things like, "Where should I live? Who should I marry? Should I take this job or not?" While those can be important things, that's not the focus of living in God's will.
God has already revealed His will to us! If we do what He has already told us, then we will find the other concerns and questions of our lives and daily purpose will be so much easier to think through. Let's talk about four areas of God's revealed will found in His Word.
1. Saved: God's will is that we are saved through His Son Jesus Christ. God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
2. Sanctified: God's will is that we are set apart--that is what sanctification means--that we are set apart for his purposes and not the our own selfish purposes or the purposes of the world.
For this is the will of God you are sanctification. (1 Timothy 4:3)
3. Spirit-filled: God's will is that we be filled with His Spirit. "but understand what the will of the Lord is, and do not be drunk with wine, in which is disappation, but be filled with the Spirit. (Ephesians 5:17-19) In other words, God's will is for us to be under the direction and influence of His Spirit and our lives. In this example, Paul uses the influence of alcohol to show what it means to be under the influence.
4. Saying thanks: God's will is for us to have a grateful heart at all times and in all circumstances. In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you (1Thessalonians 5:18.)
When we find ourselves living in the revealed will of God in these areas we will find our lives transformed. We will be filled with the power of God's presence in our lives. When God's presence is in his lives then we find purpose and power. And when we're living in His will then we will find that he is directing our steps in every area of our life. We will be filled with power for living because we will be in the will of God.
Comments