DO YOU DESIRE TO KNOW THE WILL OF GOD IN YOUR LIFE? THE TRUTH IS THAT IT SHOULDN’T BE A MATTER WHICH BRINGS SUCH DREAD IN OUR HEARTS!

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. Rom 12:2 

Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. Heb 13:21 

Yes, few subjects are as scary as the desire to know the will of God in one’s life. But the truth is that, when all things are considered, it shouldn’t. Because one, life is serious and it is never simple. It is only easy while we are still young and when we have to depend on others to make decisions on our behalf. And it is only after we have grown up and left the safe shelter of our parents that we discover just how rough the terrain called life is…when we entered school for the first time, when we met other children like us – we detected it in the bullying we received at some unpleasant kids, who made great fun of us, who laughed at us and called us very unpleasant names. We also detected it earlier when we became sick and we were taken to somebody strange called a doctor…and nurses who caused us great pain through injections! We detected it earlier too in some adults, probably our own parents, our relatives, our neighbours, our friends and our teachers. So from very early we have known that life isn’t easy, and never will.

That’s probably the way of God to make us reflect, think, and importantly (and perhaps the hardest), to decide. But some people paused – and they paused permanently from early on in their lives. They were unable to decide for themselves. So unconsciously they surrendered their lives to others to think for them, may be a guardian, parent, teacher but mostly friends. Very few of us have surrendered their troubles to God from early on. Yet he has been there since we were children waiting for us to ask him to show us the right way. Imagine the peace which we should have enjoyed from very early on if only we had known! How much money should we have saved, or how many troubles? So we plodded on sometimes in total darkness about what was the right thing to do – for we didn’t believe God in the first place. And therefore mistakes happened and they just went on happening in our lives until now.

But thanks be to God because he has never quite given up on us! He was there in the beginning and he is still there today, and he will be there tomorrow, and in eternity. He is there always waiting to hear someone answer his knock, even now. But why do we fear to be associated with God so much? What drives our dread? Is it something we have heard of him, or is it something we have experienced of him? Chiefly the main reason why we fear him is because we fear losing our independence. And we are born with a hard heart more given to rebelliousness than obedience. We detected this even as earlier as we were still children. We hated being told what to do, wear this, don’t wear that, comb that hair, go there, we didn’t even love the names we were given at birth, we changed them.

Sometimes we hated God simply because our parents drummed God down our throats since we were children. Their portrait of God wasn’t one to drum up love in our hearts. The God they drew up to us almost resembled a dictator. He was ruthless, eagerly waiting on the margins of our lives to just make one mistake, and then he pounced on us with bloodletting fury and hailstones. He wasn’t a God of mercy. He rejoiced over our failures. He magnified them until they became like an ogre in our lives. We grew up with that picture. In one day alone the word hell was dropped about ten times. That is the picture of God most have up to this day. But I am here to tell you that that picture is from hell and not from heaven! It is the devil!

But you can begin now to trust this God. It is not easy, after all the years of mistrust, but try him and see whether he is faithful or not. Don’t be afraid. Ask God for forgiveness. He does it so wonderfully beautiful! How ugly have your sins been like? What is the worst colour you can associate with them, black or red? God promises he will make your heart white as snow. He will take away the heaviness and leave your heart feeling as light as wool (Isaiah 1:18). You can believe that today and be free forever. And who knows whether that is not the will of God for you today? Oh God help our unbelief!