Whose will?

A pastor I used to work with would often suggest that life would be much easier if God just had a big projection screen, and whenever he had something to tell us, he’d just project it all right there on the screen, in all its beautiful, 70mm, technicolor glory. No guesswork required.

Maybe God would just project something like, “Hey, knucklehead, stop floundering around, and do this…” followed by clear, step-by-step instructions on how to make it happen, and possibly some entertaining YouTube-type videos that would walk you through the whole thing. 

Or maybe it would be more like a cosmic google maps.

Anyway, I used to agree. I used to think it would be cool to have a clear path set before me; but recently, I’ve been less sure about that. I’m not sure I like the implications that come with that level of certainty.

First of all, I like to think that what I do matters. I like to think that, if I feel God leading me in a certain direction, my response to that leading actually has real impact. And I think Scripture backs that up. 

Also, I like to think that God is not directly responsible for everything (for example, mass shootings and genocide and that sort of thing), and those things might muck up our plans without notice.

Finally, I believe that God actually desires that we be discerning and responsive and make good decisions based on our relationship with him and our understanding of his Son, not based on visions and dreams. 

What should I do? What difference will it make? Will God’s will be done in my life regardless of whether I choose to align with it? What if I'm trying to do God's will but I don't?

While I’m not sure I will actually answer all of those questions for you next Sunday, I definitely want to invite you into the conversation. 

Join us on December 13, 3:30 pm, St. Peter Life Center, 111 W. Olive St., Arlington Heights, as we continue our study of The Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:5-13) with the verse 10b “…Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

See you then! 

Pastor Ed 

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POSSIBLE QUESTIONS FOR SMALL GROUP or PERSONAL STUDY:

(feel free to chime in on these questions in the comments!)

- Does God make everything happen or does he just know what will happen (or is it neither of these)?

- Is it possible to know, with certainty, what God’s will is for my life? Is it okay to just be pretty sure?

- Does God still do the whole fleece thing (Judges 6)? Is that cool today?