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Article: God's Will and Destiny

God's Will and Destiny
by Bud, posted in his blog at Discover your Destiny on October 4, 2004


Have you ever prayed to know the will of God?

I know a lot of religious people have prayed that kind of prayer; maybe a lot of not very religious people have done the same, I don't know.

If you have prayed to know the will of God, what actually was the "life domain" in which you wanted to know God's will?

Probably, it was the arena of a major decision in your life, such as, "God, is it your will for me to change careers?" Or, "God, is it your will for me to do this or that?" Most likely, your prayer was about "do" and not "who". Right? "God, what should I do?"

What if I said that you don't have to pray to know will of God? After all, the model prayer – that is, the Lord's Prayer – says, "Thy will be done." It does not say, "Show me your will."

Consider this story from the gospels:

While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. Someone told him, "Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you." He replied to him, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?" Pointing to his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister
and mother." (Matthew 12:46-50 NIV)

Surely, it is not our career choice that makes us Jesus' brother or sister! It doesn't fit, does it? "Whoever chooses the right career is my brother and sister."

How about this: "Whoever is my disciple and learns of me is my brother and sister." Does that not sound much more likely?

What if I said that I can tell God's will for your life right now? Here are some direct quotes from the Bible:

Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. Do not get drunk instead, be filled with the Spirit!

It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality…

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

Submit yourself… to every authority instituted among men… for it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men .

So the will of God is much more about "who" than "do". Who are you to be? You are to be sober, spiritual, self-controlled especially in the realm of your sexuality, joyful, prayerful, thankful, and a law- abiding citizen. That is the will of God for your life.

So then, what about career decisions? How do we pray about those? Those decisions are a matter of wisom. And if anyone lack wisdom, let him ask of God who, according to one verse, "doesn't mind if you ask". The interesting thing about wisdom is that it implies that we ultimately must participate in the decision and make the decision. It
is really easy for God to move us into the right career and the right geographical location if we are genuinely committed to becoming His kind of person.

The "do" flows from the "who".

Focus on become the kind of person you were designed to be; career and financial prosperity will flow out of a series of events in your life which will in the end prove to have been providential.

posted by ASKSonnie @ Sunday, April 17, 2005