"Living Life God's Way"
10/15/2007
God's Will
The angel answered, "I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been
sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. And now you will be silent and not be able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words,
which will come true at their proper time."
Luke 1:19-20
Look at that title.I'm not sure what it conjures up for you, because it can be one of many things: expectations, questions, worries, frustrations. When we consider the will of God, we must admit that along with knowing that God works in all things for the good of those who love Him, we are often bothered by the more simple fact that God works all things. Oh, that goes against our human grain! We want so much to be in charge.That is why, even as amateurs, we practice a game like golf, for instance. We're trying to get better. We're putting our effort into it. And we want to know that there is a connection between what we do and what we get.Or do we?Sometimes what we do is not so good at all. It lacks faith, say - like Zechariah lacked, when he was told that his old, barren wife Elizabeth would bear John the Baptist, the one who would "go before the Lord." John would herald the Messiah. That was God's will.That's what the angel told Zechariah.But Zechariah's response was doubt. He questioned how this could be naturally possible at this late stage of life.And so, Gabriel assured Zechariah of the authenticity of his message and then added another, for your unbelief, you will be mute, from now until the day your son is born.It is in reading an account like this that we can take refuge in the adage that, in Scripture, "not all that is de4scribed is prescribed." Good thing! For I have been many times guilty of faithlessness greater than Zechariah's. If God's will for me - not just in the joys of life, but also in the disciplines - were as they were for Zechariah, I would be mostly speechless, and not of my own accord.Do you see how it is? In all things, God works His will. And while that will can be reduced in song to two key traits - trust and obedience - in life it is far broader and far more personal than that.How God asks me to trust Him will be different than how He asks you. And how He deals with us when we don't trust Him will also be different. Few of us will be visited by angels; few of us will be struck dumb. But all of us will be called upon "to give an account on the day of judgement" (Matthew 12:36). So today we do all that we can to discern and live out God's will for our lives.Jeff Hopper, Links Players International; 9/18/2007
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God has given us the courage and confidence to trust and obey.
Ask for the power of the Holy Spirit to be courageous and confident.
In God's Love, Ross
