Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Christian Podcast Central

Home
Evangelical - Sponsored
Confessions Of A Closet Christian 30: Why Is It Hard To Follow God’s Will?

Confessions Of A Closet Christian 30: Why Is It Hard To Follow God’s Will?

Last updated on: February 23, 2016 at 10:47 pm by Christian Podcast Central

Confessions Of A Closet Christian 30: Why Is It Hard To Follow God’s Will? 2016-02-23T22:47:10-08:00 Christian Podcast Central

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Confessions Of A Closet Christian 30: Why Is It Hard To Follow God’s Will? [ 4:44 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

When I think of “God’s Will”, I think of something really ominous – like dark clouds, a thundering voice, and a deep command to go to Antarctica and evangelize to the penguins.

I think it’s easy to be afraid of God’s will.

Still, I think we can get caught up in waiting for God’s “perfect will” to reveal itself. We long for writing on the wall, an airplane to sketch us a note in the sky, or a text from J.C., Himself.

“Where are You, God? What’s Your plan for my life? Just give me a hint. A peek. Say something. Anything. Give me clarity. A roadmap.”

And we wait.

Now, don’t get me wrong. God does ask us to wait – days, weeks, months… even years sometimes. But I think that sometimes we get so hung up on “waiting for God’s perfect plan” that we miss His will for our daily lives.

The word “will” actually means: The mental faculty by which one deliberately chooses or decides upon a course of action.

I think this means that in order to discern what God’s will is for our lives, we have to make a decision. And then we have to do something.

God’s a big God with a big plan. And I’m completely convinced that if we decide to do something that isn’t according to His plan, He’ll shut the doors. But we have to take action toward a door in order for Him to close it and open another one.

My generation, the millennials, is accused of being enabled and lazy. And as I look around at my Christian peers as they just sit and wait for that perfect job, spouse and life to drop on them prepackaged and ready to go – I think that perception is accurate.

I mean, when we look at the Bible, God didn’t show up on Noah’s door with a ready-made ark and tell him how long he’d be on the ark or even if he’d ever get off the ark. He didn’t lay out the whole picture for him from beginning to end.

God said, “Make yourself an ark of cypress wood, make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out. This is how you are to build it.”

God essentially laid out an instruction manual for how to build an ark. And that was it.

And then Noah had to do it. He had to actually build an entire ark. From scratch.

Now, if I were Noah, I’d be thinking, “Say wha?? Ain’t nobody got time for that, God.”

But Noah did it. And, he trusted that God was going to take care of him.

When Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane, He prayed, “Father, if You are willing, take this cup away from me.”

Being the Son of God, He knew God’s plan for His life in full. He was sweating blood as He anticipated in anguish what was about to happen to Him. But He still finished praying, “Yet not my will, but Yours be done.”

And then He took action.

When the crowd came to arrest Him, He called off the fight. He went with them willingly, decisively, deliberately, actively.

They murdered Him and then He rose again. He had to trust God in that separation from the Father.

When I look at my own life, it doesn’t always seem to makes sense. It feels mismatched, out of sequence, stalled, rushed, convoluted, and sometimes just stupid and pointless – like it’s not going anywhere at all.

I can’t see the full picture. I never will.

But, thankfully, God can. And His timing is perfect. He’s never late and He is always there. I just need to keep taking action day by day, moment by moment, and keep putting my trust in Him.

We don’t know. We just don’t know what God’s will is. And we won’t know it in full. We’ll be lucky if we recognize it a piece at a time. And yet there’s something. We have to do something.

Decide. Act. Trust.

Trust that God is going to direct us in our choices. Trust that He is going to take care of us in our pursuits. Trust that He already is.

Proverbs 3:5-6 says:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

And lean not on your own understanding.

In all your ways, submit to Him,

And He will make your path straight.

christian bible study podcast

christian culture

christian culture podcast

Christian millennials

is the bible reliable

is the bible true?

Jesus Christ

millennial

millennial generation

Previous Post

July 7, 2014

The Daren Streblow Comedy Show Mini-Cast 60: Toddler Stuck In Claw Machine, Liz Thompson & Know It All Guy

Next Post

July 8, 2014 Loving God with Your Mind, part 3 with JP Moreland

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Brad Stine Has Issues Christian Podcast Central Classic Podcast Experience God Life Grounded Ouxano Parent Like You Mean It The Protest Show with Thor Ramsey The Summit Lecture Series Uncategorized What You’ve Been Searching For

Select a Month July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 June 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz