What is God’s Will for Me?

Have you ever wondered what God’s will is for you? I grew up thinking that God’s will was something that was difficult and certainly not anything which was enjoyable. I am not saying that I was ever taught such a thing about what God’s will is but it is the conclusion that I reached based upon life experience and observing people who were religious. It was my understanding that the will of God is expressed in the words of Colossians 2:21, “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!” When I was a teenager I was drawn into sexual immorality of various forms after being introduced to pornography as a pre-teen. I knew what I was doing could not be God’s will for me but I felt trapped between the enjoyments of the immorality yet wanting to be free from it. What was I to do?

Out of fear of eternal condemnation for my participation in immorality I responded to what I understood the gospel to be when I was in the eighth grade. I had been taught that through Jesus that God had given us a plan of salvation from eternal condemnation that included five steps. Those steps were: to hear about Jesus and his death for our sins, to believe that Jesus is the Son of God, to confess my sin, repent from those sins and to be baptized. My response to the gospel was during what was called a gospel meeting at our church which were special times of preaching about the plan of salvation that were held twice a year. I honestly wanted to be changed so that I would no longer “handle, taste or touch” the things of sexual immorality or other sin and I fully expected for that change to happen when I was baptized. I was quite disappointed after being baptized that there was no change in my heart. However, I decided that since I had made the commitment to be a Christian that I would give it my best effort to not “handle, taste or touch”. That effort lasted about six weeks until I realized it was hopeless and so I stopped trying to be good and returned to my old ways. For many years I was trapped in the endless cycle of sin, confess, repent, sin…….., etc.

Years later I came to understand that the Christian life was not a life of human effort to not “handle, taste or touch” to be pleasing to God but rather it is Jesus himself alive and living in me, the hope of glory. Not only had he forgiven me of all my sin but he gave me a new heart and filled me with his Holy Spirit by which I would have power over sin controlling me. Because of the presence of the Holy Spirit I was able to turn away from pornography and its power over me was broken over a period of time.

I was quite surprised later when I read the words of Colossians 2:21 in the context of the passage in Colossians 2:20-23 which states, “Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules: “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.” Wow, that is good news to realize that God never intended for me to live a life of trying to please him by “do not handle, do not taste, and do not touch”! So if that is true, then what does please God, and does this have anything to do with what is the will of God for me?

If God is love, if he is good, if his love endures forever and if he has promised to never leave us or forsake us then his will must be rooted and expressed in love, goodness and faithfulness towards us. I know this to be absolutely true but I find that I still have remnants in my thinking that are rooted in the empty way of life of the “do not handle, do not taste, and do not touch” approach to pleasing God.

I was quite surprised when I recently looked up the meaning of the Greek word that is translated as the English word will in the New Testament. The word has no negative connotation but rather means desire or pleasure. This reframes the question of, “What is God’s will for me?” to being “What is God’s desire or pleasure for me?” God’s desire and pleasure for us is that we would know him and enter into his very life and fellowship that exists between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We were created for that purpose but it got all messed up when Adam and Eve believed the lie of Satan when he accused God of being unloving by telling them to not eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Jesus told us that he came that we might have the abundant life of knowing God our Father. God was in Christ Jesus reconciling us to himself when Jesus was crucified and he is no longer counting our sins against us! The only thing that separates from knowing God is our own unbelief that he is that good and our efforts to come to him by the empty way of life of the “do not handle, do not taste, and do not touch” approach to pleasing him.

Please spend some time pondering the verse below and then join with me in believing what God has declared to be true about himself and us.

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God–this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Rom 12:1-2)

Blessings,
Kevin