Seeking, Finding &
Living In God's Will

When I was asked if I would be interested in speaking before the men’s fellowship, it was short notice and my first reaction was, I don’t have time to prepare. Then I remembered that I had decided that with God’s help I would begin, whenever possible, to take every opportunity presented to speak for Him. I had shirked this responsibility from time to time and missed the blessing. Since I didn’t have a lot of time to prepare, I thought I would just share some of what the Holy Spirit was impressing on me at the time.

Psalm 103

1. Bless the Lord, O my soul and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
2. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.(KJV)

1. Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name... (NIV)
2....And forget none of his benefits. (NAS)
2... and not forget all the glorious things he does for us. (TLB paraphrase) Note the use of the present tense.

I have read and heard this many times and never gave a lot of thought to it. Sounds pretty basic and easy to understand. Just read it and go, right? Not according to Charles Spurgeon. I have started through his commentary and discovered he has devoted about 25 pages (very small type) to Psalm 103.

I realize that I don’t have an understanding of how to praise God properly for his many benefits—benefits for which I don’t begin to have an appreciation. I certainly don’t understand what it means to praise God in my soul! The more I read and study, the more I realize how much I don’t understand. The good part is that it makes me crave more understanding, which of course leads to more study. More study in turn shows me how many more truths that I know little or nothing about, ad infinitum.

One of the first things that comes to my mind from this study is how little and how insincere our praises often are. We sometimes thank God for the greatest gifts, for instance our eternal salvation like we were thanking someone for holding a door open. By that I mean, we often don’t really think about what we are saying when we are talking to God, nor to whom we are talking.

Spurgeon said, “Halfhearted, ill-conceived, unintelligent praises are not such as we should render to our loving Lord. If the law of justice demanded all our heart and soul and mind for the Creator, much more may the law of gratitude put in a comprehensive claim for the homage of our whole being to the God of grace.”

We seem to have a much better grasp of asking for blessings than we have about praising for blessings already received. Have you noticed that at almost any Wednesday evening prayer service, at almost any church you’ve ever been in, that the asking vs. praising ratio seems a little disproportionate? We do tend to be a “gimme” people don’t we? Not that there is anything wrong with asking. We are told to ask. But we are also instructed to praise and thank.

Have you ever seen a church bulletin or program guide with a big long list of praises? We all have a long list of “requests”. Again – nothing wrong with requests, but shouldn’t we give voice to more of the blessings already received? Perhaps a shift in emphasis is in order. To quote Spurgeon again, “Babes may praise the divine goodness, but fathers in grace magnify his holiness.” And in another place he says, “If we never cease to bless him till he ceases to bless us, our employment will be eternal.”

I think we understand where our hearts are and where they should be. The question is, how do we go about positioning ourselves so that our minds are set in the right direction? How do we learn to have “The Mind of Christ” as T. W. Hunt speaks of it in his wonderful book of the same name? How do we learn what it means to praise God with our souls? I think it has much more to do with our minds than we sometimes imagine. The more I study this, the more I realize how the condition of my mind controls the condition of my soul. What I learn and understand in my head has a profound effect on my heart relationship with Jesus Christ.

As we study and pray and ask for understanding it would be good to remember David’s words in Ps 103: 7 “He made known his way to Moses, His acts to the sons of Israe.l” See? He made known... that is where our understanding comes from. He makes known to us. If He doesn’t reveal himself to us, we will never have an understanding of him.

Referring to this passage, Spurgeon said, “It is a great act of sovereign grace and condescending love when the Lord reveals himself to any people, and they ought to appreciate the distinguished favor shown to them.” So how does God reveal himself to us? We know first and foremost it comes through His Holy Word. The Bible is his revealed word and from it comes all our understanding of him. I believe in order to enable our understanding of his Word he also uses other Christians; Sunday school teachers, pastors, friends, authors of Christian literature, study resources and so on. I believe when we are in fellowship with him he guides our thoughts and speaks to us as we commune with him and seek his guidance.

Think about times when you and another believer come to “independent”, almost simultaneous conclusions concerning something about which you have been seeking his will. Or what about when he clearly speaks simultaneously to two or more of us concerning something we weren’t even consciously prayerfully considering together?

I have been amazed at how many times my wife and I have been led to the same conclusion about something before we ever discussed it. For instance, there have been a number of times that we were both led to support some Christian endeavor—even being led to the identical dollar amount—before we talked about it. I remember one time it was almost instantaneous, as soon as we heard of the need she said, “I think we should send something to support that,” I said “how much?” She told me and I said “Yeah, me too.” Other times it has been decisions that don’t seem so “spiritual” but are nevertheless important to us. Yes, God definitely reveals his will to us when we are seeking to be in his will.

I think that if all the members of a church congregation were walking in his will, they would come to a consensus concerning budgets, the direction of the church, missions etc. They may discuss things enthusiastically but eventually there should be consensus—and the process shouldn't take very long. Our God is not a God of confusion but rather a God of unity.

So, if we agree that we must seek after him and study his word; if we are to become more like Jesus and have “The Mind of Christ” which will enable us to get our spiritual priorities in order, we must be prepared to WORK. If I want to know his will for me, I must have an understanding of him. If I want an understanding of him I must develop a relationship. If I want a relationship I must work at it.

Learning is always built on a foundation of previous experience, study and understanding. A deeper comprehension of a subject always follows a thorough grasp of the basics.

• You will never understand quantum physics if you never learned basic mathematics.
• It’s difficult to learn from a book if you don’t know how to read.
• You probably won’t learn much from a teacher who doesn’t speak a language you understand.
• You can’t build a house, repair a car or fix a faucet if you don’t have at least a rudimentary knowledge of the tools you need for the job.

The point is that we’re not born knowing the things we need to know just to survive, much less prosper. All those life-skills must be learned. Without that knowledge and those survival skills we would die early.

When we are reborn into the family of Jesus Christ, we don’t automatically get the knowledge we need to have a full abundant Christian experience here on Earth. We get the Holy Spirit to teach us and give us understanding but we have to make the effort. I’ve heard someone say that even the Holy Spirit will not work in a vacuum. I suppose he could open our heads and dump in everthing we need to know but that is not the way he has chosen to work.

We have the best life manual, and the greatest teacher known to man, the Bible and the Holy Spirit of God. However, we serve a God who invites us to partake of his gift of salvation. In the same spirit, He is not going to force feed us if we don’t have a desire to come to an understanding of his will for us. We have to want it and seek after it. If you find you don’t have the “want to” ask for it until you get it.

Everything I have any understanding of came about through some kind of learning process. There are various ways to learn, some more pleasant than others. Some things come to us easily and quickly; the stove is hot, the dog bites, forgetting her birthday or our anniversary is a bad thing, roses smell good but thorns hurt.

Trigonometry, Einstein’s theory of relativity, computer programming, brain surgery and such take a bit more time and effort.

Our understanding of our Heavenly Father falls into the latter category. It takes effort. It is not easy. Sometimes he will thump us on the head to teach us something, but like the stove, and the dog and the anniversary, it is neither a pleasant nor the preferable way to learn. We have his promise that he will reveal himself to us if we seek after him. That is a promise from a God who cannot lie. Seek his will, and he will reveal it to you. But, be aware that we will, at least initially; appreciate some of his revelations less than others. Sometimes we will prefer to have a more superficial understanding of what he wants to teach us in depth.

For instance, I liked it when he initially revealed a little to me about a question that for some reason came to my mind as I was reading Psalm 103. I wondered, “How does God picks and chooses the people he wants to use and bless and to whom He wants to give great understanding and full ministries? Why David and not me? After all, he wasn’t near 'bout perfect and I really do want an understanding of God’s will. I want a full abundant spiritual life. I want to be used wherever he wants me.”

Oh? Really? Be a little careful what you ask for.

So I’m reading Chuck Swindoll’s book about David. It was my wife’s suggestion. I was explaining to her how I was having trouble with this “Soul praising” thing in Psalm 103. She suggested that a better understanding of the man who wrote it might give me a little insight, and since Chuck’s book was sitting unread on a shelf…

I got all the way to page 6 (of 298) before I read “what is God looking for?”

The answer:

“Men and women whose hearts are His—completely” (okay, I think I would like to learn that).

“second...humility...a servant” (hmmm, that one’s not so easy but – okay).

“third...integrity” (I’m a pretty honest person but real full-time integrity might involve more than I care to think about).

“God is not looking for magnificent specimens of humanity. He’s looking for deeply spiritual, genuinely humble, honest-to-the-core servants who have integrity. (I qualify based on the not a “magnificent specimen” and in my heart I want to be all those other things. I think I’m ready to learn!)

Then I read on Pg. 9 – “God’s method of training his servants” (I thought, ok, here comes the nice neat answer I'm looking for. "Servanthood for Dummies" I had read Chuck’s books before so I should have known better but hope springs eternal..)

Then Chuck goes on to explain how God trained David in solitude, obscurity, monotony and REALITY. (Uh, that sounds a little ominous.)

• Solitude – “he needed to learn life’s lessons alone before he could be trusted with a public ministry.... If you can’t stand to be alone with yourself, you have deep, unresolved conflicts in your inner life. Solitude has a way of helping us address those issues.”
• Obscurity – “...servant leaders in the making are first unknown, unseen, unappreciated (don’t we hate that one) and un-applauded.... Those who first learn to accept the silence of obscurity are best qualified to handle the applause of popularity.”
  • Obscurity builds character.
• Monotony – “being faithful in the menial, routine, insignificant, routine, regular, unexciting, uneventful, daily tasks of life.”
  • If we think that God is going to give us some big important ministry while we are skulking around at work not doing all the things we are supposed to—and more, we are definitely in line for something big—big disillusionment and disappointment.

Joyce Myer says that God wants us to put the shopping cart in the rack where it belongs, pick up what someone else dropped and left, be on time (constantly being late shows a disrespect for others), take care of personal business on personal time—not company time because it’s stealing. And be dependable. When you make a commitment at work, at church at home, to a friend, a spouse, a child, a stranger—keep it. Dull, routine, everyday, unappreciated, necessary monotony and dependability.

Whether or not you agree with Joyce most of the time, it's pretty hard to find fault with that.

(This isn’t exactly what I wanted to hear. I was kind of hoping to learn all this by observation or osmosis.)

Sometimes ignorance seems better. God’s boot camp is hard!

• Reality —I almost forget about that one. Chuck reminds us that “ ... it means you get alone and discover how to be more responsible and diligent in all the areas of your life, whether that means fighting lions or bears or simply following orders.”

God never intended for us to sit around, hiding from the rest of the world, seeking a “deeper spiritual life” expecting him to do everything for us. When was the last time God cut your grass, painted your house, gave you answers for a test you didn’t study for or personally did any other project for you?

God enables us. He gives us the means. But He expects us to do what he sets before us. That includes coming to an understanding of who he is and what he wants and expects from us. It means searching out and finding answers to questions like “How do I bless him with all that is within me?” That’s reality. Reality doesn’t sound like it’s always much fun, does it? But the beauty of God’s plan is that the more we accept responsibility for and put into practice that which God reveals to us, the more abundant and full and satisfying our Earthly lives become. As we grow spiritually we will be compelled by our love for God to become more and more involved in the work of the Kingdom. That, my friends, is the treasure we lay up in the eternal storehouse and the crowns we get to lay at his feet. And that is what our time on Earth is all about.

Remember, we’re in training. We’re soldiers and we must learn to take orders. Sometimes the orders are from people in authority, sometimes from God as he reveals Himself to us. Patience. God is not in a hurry to develop our character. Our thought process often goes something like “I want to learn patience—and I want it NOW!”

Alan Redpath said, “The conversion of a soul is the miracle of a moment, the manufacture of a saint is the task of a lifetime.”

• Solitude
• Obscurity
• Monotony
• Reality

Want to become “a man after God’s own heart”? Be prepared to go through God’s training regimen. It’s not quick. It’s not easy. It is thorough and the results are eternal. It’s worth every effort, every drop of sweat, every tear, every moment of being alone, and all the time spent on the shelf of obscurity. All the unrecognized, unappreciated, behind the scenes secret service that you will ever do is worth  “Well done thou good and faithful servant.”

He never said it would be easy. Worthwhile pursuits seldom are. But, as we get closer and closer to “graduation day” we, like David, will begin to appreciate God’s blessings. Only then will we learn to praise him with “all that is within me.”

I said earlier that God sometimes reveals Himself to us through other people. Keep in mind that you too are sometimes a conduit of his revelation. The first glimpse an unsaved person usually has of Jesus Christ is what they see in us. Sometimes the newborn babes in the faith are looking to us for an example to follow. Do we present to them an image of Jesus in the best possible light? Do they see someone who is joyful, content, thankful, faithful, and at least attempting to live a life that is above reproach? Do they see something in us they don’t have? Do they desire what we have because they can see we live in joy and have a peace that is peculiar to believers and that, although they don’t understand it, they want to experience for themselves?

If we are seeking after his will, if we are actively and faithfully seeking his guidance for our lives, they will notice. And we will begin to notice something wonderful in our own lives as well. Jesus wants our relationship with him to grow stronger and better every day. He has provided the means. It is our responsibility to take full advantage of what he has so freely given.

This is a selection of articles concering Spiritual growth