I Will

Readings for today: Genesis 12-13

I will. Such powerful words. Especially in a world where we too often expect “I won’t.” It’s one of the biggest lessons I’ve had to learn in my life. God’s will for me is good not evil. God’s will for me is blessing not curse. God’s will for me is joy not sorrow. God’s will for me is peace not conflict. God’s will for me is love not hate. God is positively disposed towards me. He wants to give me good gifts. He has an eternal inheritance stored up for me. He has a plan for me. A plan to give me hope and a future.

For most of my life, I believed God’s primary words to me were “I won’t.” You can’t. Thou shalt not. It shaped how I perceived God. I perceived God as a stern judge. A harsh taskmaster who didn’t tolerate failure. I had an unhealthy fear of the Lord. A relationship based on fear and shame and trembling. I assumed God punished me for every misstep. Every mistake. Every wrong turn. I assumed God was just waiting to cast me out. Send me to hell. Torment me eternally. The pressure to perform was immense. The pressure to be perfect was overwhelming. To be honest, I cratered under it. I collapsed. I couldn’t do it. I didn’t have the strength or ability to manage it. So I turned to all sorts of things to cope with my failure to live up to God’s commands. None of them satisfied. Not for very long. Then I heard the gospel for the first time. I heard about the unconditional love of God. The free gift of God’s grace. The infinite depths of God’s mercy. It was life-changing.

I cannot begin to express how much the shift from “I won’t” to “I will” impacts my life. Every morning I wake up and my first thought is to say “Good morning” to God. I sit quietly in the warmth of His presence. I sense His smile upon me. No matter what I am facing that particular day, I know my Father already knows and has it handled. I may not have it all figured out. I may not have the wisdom or strength to handle the challenges. But I walk with confidence because I know God’s power is made perfect in my weakness and He will work all things to my ultimate good.

Abram must have experienced something similar in his own life. Look at all the “I wills” in these two chapters. I will make you great. I will bless you. I will make your name great. I will give you this land. I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth. These are powerful promises, especially for a man who has experienced so much grief and hardship in his life. A man whose wife is barren and whose future prospects seem dim. A man whose legacy will end with his death. Abram must have thought his life was full of “I won’ts.” But God was faithful. He turned Abram’s “I wonts” into “I wills” and the rest is salvation history. What would it look like for you to approach today with the understanding that God “wills” your good? Are you willing to trust Him?

Readings for tomorrow: Genesis 14-16

The Simple Life

Readings for today: 1 Thessalonians 5, Psalms 17

Following Christ is not easy but it is fairly simple. I love how the Apostle Paul puts it at the end of his first letter to the Christians living in Thessalonica. Christians living under persecution. Christians living under more pressure and stress and anxiety than we can possibly know. What’s his advice? “Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in everything; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians‬ ‭5‬:‭16‬-‭18‬ ‭CSB‬‬) Rejoice. Pray. Give thanks. This is God’s will for you.

Rejoice always. I’ve had several conversations recently where the discussion began with how challenging life can be but then quickly turned to how good God is. This is why we rejoice because even in the midst of all the challenges we face. Figuring out marriage. Raising kids. Working jobs. Managing friendship drama. Finding balance and rest in life. Overcoming fears and failures setbacks and struggles. All of these things are real and all of these things threaten to rob us of our joy unless we keep our eyes fixed on Christ. We rejoice because God has revealed Himself fully in the Person of Jesus. And who has God revealed Himself to be? A God of grace and mercy and love and kindness and truth and righteousness and holiness and justice and peace. Our God is faithful and true. He is good. He never leaves us or forsakes us or abandons us. This is why we rejoice.

Pray constantly. God wants to hear our prayers. He wants to hear every concern, great or small. No concern is too big for God to handle. No concern is too small for God to take notice. There is plenty of God to go around. He is not limited. He is not finite. There is no end to His resources so we do not need to worry about there being less of God available to others if we bring God our requests. Furthermore, God wants to be in constant contact. He wants to be in constant conversation. God wants to know it all and hear it all so He can respond to it all. This is God’s great desire.

Give thanks in everything. God has blessed us with so much, especially if one lives in America. It is so easy to fall for the devil’s lies and play the comparison game. It is so easy to look at what our neighbor or co-worker or colleague may have and start to feel jealous or envious. But God has given us more than enough. He has given us all we need. He has poured out blessing upon blessing, grace upon grace, and sometimes we just need to pause and consider all God has done for us.

Imagine how your life would be different if you endeavored to engage these three practices on a daily basis? Rejoice always. Pray constantly. Give thanks in everything. I can tell you from personal experience that engaging just these three spiritual disciplines will set a person free. I know I am free. It is why I bounce out of bed every morning. It is why I get so excited for all I get to do. It’s why I love what I do and who I get to do it with so much. I have learned the secret to God’s will for my life. Rejoice always. Pray constantly. Give thanks in everything.

Readings for tomorrow: 2 Thessalonians 1-3, Psalms 18

The Will of God

Readings for today: Isaiah 1-4, Psalms 109

What is the will of God for my life? It’s a question I field all the time. I hear it from young and old alike. New believers and mature believers have it in common. We all want to know what God wants from us. Typically, when we ask the question, we want to know something specific. What is God’s will for my family? What is God’s will for my future vocation? What is God’s will as I hit my golden years? What is God’s will with the years I have left? Who should I marry? How many kids should I have? These are the kinds of questions we often associate with “God’s will.” But what if God’s will were bigger and grander than we have ever imagined? What if God’s will had less to do with the actual events of our lives and more to do with the kind of people we become? (Let me hasten to add, I believe His will involves both.) That’s what Isaiah the prophet was wrestling with in the first chapter of his book.

“Wash yourselves. Cleanse yourselves. Remove your evil deeds from my sight. Stop doing evil. Learn to do what is good. Pursue justice. Correct the oppressor. Defend the rights of the fatherless. Plead the widow’s cause…Zion will be redeemed by justice, those who repent, by righteousness.” (Isaiah 1:16-17, 27 CSB)

The people of God were engaged in all the “right” activities. They were bringing all the “right” sacrifices and worshipping at all the “right” seasons. But they were just going through the motions. Their hearts were not in it. They were too busy chasing their own desires and following their own dreams. The reign of King Uzziah was one of great wealth and power and prestige. It was a golden age of sorts. And yet the seeds of Judah’s destruction were already being sown. The people had abandoned their God. They tolerated injustice. Their leaders were corrupt. As a result, God brought judgment upon them. Warfare. Violence. Suffering. Pain. God exposed them to the consequences of their sin with the hope they would return to Him. “Why do you want more beatings? Why do you keep on rebelling? The whole head is hurt, and the whole heart is sick. From the sole of the foot even to the head, no spot is uninjured  — wounds, welts, and festering sores not cleansed, bandaged, or soothed with oil.” (Isaiah 1:5-6 CSB)

And what would a return to God look like? It would look like repentance. Confession of sin. Turning from wickedness. Learning to do what was good. Pursuing justice and righteousness. Defending the defenseless. Rising up against the oppressor. In short, it was about seeking God first in their lives and aligning their hearts with His will. Nothing has changed over the centuries. God’s will remains the same yesterday, today, and forever. He has clearly revealed in His Word what He wants for our lives. He wants us to live justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with Him. He wants us to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. He wants us to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love our neighbors as ourselves. As we do these things, He promises to bring blessing to us and through us to the world.

Readings for tomorrow: Isaiah 5-8, Psalms 110