June 7 “Finding God’s Will For Your Life” James 4:15
Good morning from Pastor Glen Brock, Baptist Tabernacle Church, Wendell, North Carolina… “For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.” (James 4:15)
There are some people that have the idea that God does not have a specific plan for their lives so they just go on keeping busy and feel that as long as they are sincere about something that is all that counts. It takes more than just being sincere. Many of us go through life busy and sincere, not realizing that God has one specific will for our lives. God has a plan for everything! God is a God of plans. In the Spiritual realm, there is order as there is in the Physical realm. Can you imagine the total folly of one who was to have a house built and the carpenter asked for the blueprints and the builder said, “I don’t have no blueprints; just put the windows, doors and walls where you want them and I am sure that when you are finished, everything will be just as I would have it!” For that matter, can you imagine, in any situation, building something without a plan? The results of this would be disastrous! When God told Noah to build the Ark, He gave him minute details to follow, like how long, how wide, how many doors and windows. God gave specific instructions on how to build the Temple. From the inside to the outside, He gave specific directions. The Bible tells us that God had a specific plan for Jonah’s life. God told him to go to Nineveh, but he didn’t want to go to Nineveh, so he went to Tar-shish. Because he didn’t carry out God’s instructions, he almost lost his life. God has something for each of His children to do. One thing that He tells us all to do is to “STUDY HIS WORD,” and to “PRAY,” and in so doing this, His will for our lives will be found! God is a God who wants His instructions and plan followed---When are we going to learn that? Even in the “natural” realm, we know that things must be done a certain way to achieve the right results. Wonder why every Christian isn’t fulfilling God’s will for their lives? Could it be that many of us have the wrong ides about the “Will of God?” In Psalm 84:11b, it says, “…the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.” Some of us think that God’s will for our lives, can’t be discovered. Many years ago, I felt the “Calling” to preach and, like Jonah, I ran. I tried to camouflage my feelings and attempted to “act” as if nothing was different. Apparently, I did a poor job of acting. Daddy and I were having one of our “under the Hickory Tree” talks, and he said something that got my attention. He said, “Son, God has a plan for you and He does not want to play ‘Hide and Seek’ with you!” He went on to say, “Seek His will and He will guide you, equip you and open opportunities that you can’t even imagine at this moment!” It took this “Hardheaded Jonah” longer that, maybe, it should have to embrace His plan for me, however, Daddy was right, and I missed it, in the beginning. Did you miss it? The key, for me, and God’s word clearly instructed me and He used Daddy to reinforce it, yet it took some time and some challenges to realize! The key….. SEEK IT! For me, once I understood, I began to do just that! Just before Daddy made his graduation to Glory, I told him that I was so sorry that I wasted so much time in “running,” when I could have been “serving,” and he said, “Glen, regardless of how long it takes to get to the top, the view is still the same!” I believe that he was trying to tell me that “Obedience doesn’t have a deadline!” Folks, I am still “Seeking it!” I am still praying for God’s will to clearly unfold before me! I am convinced that every one of us have a Divine plan for our lives, and as believers, we must “Seek it” in order to find it! I encourage you to “STUDY THE WORD, PRAY, AND TO SEEK HIS WILL FOR YOUR LIFE! Stay Strong, Stay Focused….Remember, THE BEST IS YET TO BE!