The WILL of GOD

I have this theory, but you might think I'm crazy. Recently I listened to a sermon by Francis Chan in which he talks about the "WILL of GOD." To some people the will of God is scary, and I guess in some ways it is scary. I mean, what if God doesn't want for our lives what we want? What if He wanted us to give up everything we love and call our own and go live in African jungles or in the middle of a trailer park or a cardboard box in Mexico? Ha. I don't think that's what really scares people about the will of God. It's definitely not what scares me. What is scary about the will of God is the little things: what if I don't make as much money as I could because God doesn't want me in the posh office job? What if I have to move a couple of states away from all of my family and friends? What if I have to give up my dreams for God's dreams? What if I don't get the house, the car, and the 2.5 kids in the American dream? Now that, to some people, is scary.

Then there are people who are on the totally other end of the spectrum when it comes to the will of God. These are the people who cannot even decide what restaurant to eat dinner at because they want to be "in the will of God." That example is a bit drastic, but seriously, there are those of us who really do that. I say "those of us" because I am guilty. I have gotten in the mindset that if I want to be used by God I have to be in the right place at the right time doing the right thing. I have broken up with boyfriends because of the "will of God" (which I do think was the right thing to do haha) but I have also missed out on great opportunities because I was too busy looking for the will of God to realize that he could use me right where I was. My uncle Greg is a great Sunday school teacher and he once said, "Sometimes we miss wonderful opportunities from God because we are too busy waiting for what we think He should give us." Greg's lesson that Sunday was about being less of a "reactionary," someone who just moves when God moves, and to be more willing to take action.

This is where my theory comes in. And don't take me the wrong way, I'm not trying to step on the toes of anyone's doctrines or dogmas, I just really believe that whatever we do, "in word or in deed" as long as we do it in the name of Jesus, we are going to be blessed, God is going to use us. The word tells us that God uses willing vessels. I think this means that he uses people in every walk of life, no matter what they might be doing. I don't think its a matter of "God show me where you want me to go" but rather, "God, here I am, use me." That's my prayer. I know that God made me who I am for a reason. Here I am, a twenty-year-old college student. I go to a small country church. I want to be a teacher, a wife, and a mom someday. I think God placed me here and gave me these desires because that's the way he wanted me. So why would I question what He is going to do with my life? I think too many times we believe, like the first person I described, that being in God's will requires sacrifice, and maybe sometimes it does, if we are hanging onto things for selfish gain, but often times I think we forget that God loves us and wants to bless us. 

I just imagine, as God's child, how much I love him and how much I desire to please him and do good things for him, but moreover, I realize that his Word tells me that he loves me so much more, so wouldn't that mean that he wants me to be happy? One of my favorite psalms says "Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart." Whoa. Does that sound like anything anyone has ever told you about the will of God? Probably not. But its true, because if you are delighting yourself in the Lord, chances are, your desires are the same as his. And he will give them to you.