God's Will?

At times I find it comical that we are so prone to extremes, or perhaps I shouldn’t lump everyone into the same mold. I guess you can just read this and see if it applies. I started reading a book today called “Just Do Something” where the author makes the argument that there are times when we find ourselves guilty of not doing anything because we are waiting on God’s will. He claims that there are times when believers try and find God’s will in a situation when maybe God is indifferent to that situation. Now granted I am only half way through the second chapter but it is an intriguing idea.
On the other hand, my devotions this morning form Oswald Chambers claimed that if there is any doubt in the heart of a believer about a situation one is in, then the believer is not in the will of God. He states that we must wait until God’s will is absolutely clear before we make a move lest we run ahead of God’s plan and mess the whole thing up.
Well, what is one to think? It can easily be tempting for believers to adopt one or the other extreme: to just run through life doing whatever pleases you, all the while claiming it is the will of God; or to not do anything, take no chances, exercise no faith because you feel a shred of doubt and so therefore it must not be God’s will. I’m sure that both of these authors would agree that it takes equal amounts of both views to follow God’s will. In scripture we see where Jesus’ disciples tried to run out ahead of God’s will and had to be reigned in. On the other hand we see where God wanted His people to move but they were afraid of what that might mean for them.
Ultimately I believe that when we are truly seeking God we do not have to fret about whether or not we are or are not in his will. In Isaiah 30, the prophet is telling the Israelites that when they repent and come back to God, He will receive them and forgive them. Then in vs. 21 he says, “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’” Meaning that when we truly seek God, we can take comfort in the fact that he will guide our steps, the only thing we have to do is keep following where He leads.

Eat Your Soup!

Last week, Albertein made some awesome potato soup that I absolutely love and am quite sure I could eat my weight in! It's full of bacon, cheese, and of coarse potatoes and for some reason Jackson got it into his head that he just would not eat it. Well, the way it works at our house is that what we have for supper is what we have, and if you don't like it well, tough. So as Jackson made his displeasure known, I informed him that he was going to have to sit there until he ate his soup and that was that, and of coarse that caused more whining, which in turn caused my temperature to go up and so on and so forth. Anyway, after quite a while of this, Jackson decided that it would be better to just suck it up and eat his soup than to have to sit at the table all day and night and low and behold, he found out that he loves potato soup. As I watched him scarf down his soup that he finally tried I said, "See Jackson, isn't it so much easier when you just do what I ask?" And in my mind or heart, or both I heard God say "Yes Luke; isn't it so much easier when you just do what I ask?"
Why is it that the majority of the time we fight so hard against what God has for us, and yet when we finally shut up and follow Him, we find out that following Him is where we always wanted to be.

ready to follow?

Do you ever wonder why you are where you are? Why you are who you are? Why you live the life that you are living? I often wonder how I got where I am, not that I am unhappy about where I am. I love my wife, I love my kids, I love my profession, but still I can't help but wonder about the steps that I have taken down the path that has lead me to this point. What if things would have been different? Where would I be if I would have made better choices? Why didn't God choose to develop one of my other gifts into a profession? As we live out our existence in a fallen world, I really think these questions are natural because all of us stray off the path at one point or another.

In the midst of all this I was reminded of the account of Jesus reinstating Peter after Peter's denial. Do you remember the situation? Jesus had risen from the dead after three days of being in the grave and he shows up on the beach while his disciples were out fishing. After Jesus cooks them all a hearty breakfast, he pulls Peter aside and three times he asks him if he loves him. After the third time of Peter saying yes, and Jesus telling him to feed his sheep, Peter looks at John standing a little ways away and says, "Well, what about him?" I love Jesus' answer here! Jesus says, "What about him? If I want to keep him alive until I come back, I will." And then he said, "You follow me." The thing I love about this is that no matter where we find ourselves, God is calling us to serve Him where we are. You don't have to know where tomorrow will lead you, or how you got to today; the only thing you need to know is that no matter what God calls you to do, you are ready and willing to do it.