Principles for Knowing God's Will for your Life
the Series
Good evening,
I hope you all had a chance to read my last devotional on "Seeking Godly Input." If you remember I will be discussing different principles to help guide you in to hearing God's will for your life. Lets review:
- We first must be walking with God
- You must surrender your will to God
- You need to obey what you already know to be God's Will
- Seeking Godly input
- Pay attention to how God made you
I would like to discuss the fifth principle in being able to hear God's Will for your life, and that is by "Paying attention to how God made you". Have you ever thought about why God did this and that with you? Do you wish you were as smart as someone you know, or maybe have that awesome God given talent? Well guess what?
Did you know as soon as you became a Christian the Holy Spirit gave you a Spiritual Gift? Notice I said Spiritual Gift, not a talent. You may be asking yourself what is the difference. Well, a talent is something you can learn and do well. While a Spiritual Gift is something that only God can give you, it is something that you do not have to practice in order to be good; it just comes natural to you. Giving, singing, teaching, preaching, helping others, and so many more that the bible talks about in Romans 12:6-8, 1 Corinthians 12:8-10, and 1 Peter 4:11.
1 Corinthians 12:4 says, "There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. While Verse 7 says, "Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. And Verse 11 says, "All these gifts are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines."
This was a 'WOW" moment for me when I read that last line. Please read that part again. That means, whatever God's Gift to you is, He specifically picked it out just for you. Do you know what your gift is? If you do know, are you using it? If you do not know, please go back and read what they are in the Verses I have given you. We want this devotional to be more than just me writing it out. This is to help you find that desire to read God's Word even more often. Go look and see what matches you best!
So let us expand on this gift thing as God's Little Gift, as it is pretty awesome, because it will bring you Joy! Is that not the purpose of giving and receiving gifts? So as to bring joy to someone?
Understanding how God made us is key to knowing what God's Will for our lives. If we are using our Spiritual Gift, then just possibly that will help you determine what job you should take, an what Ministry in which you should involve yourself; then you will begin to see the joy in God's Plan for you.
Here are some wonderful verses to meditate on:
Jeremiah 29:11 says, "For I know the plans I have for you, 'says the Lord.' They are the plans for the good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope."
Psalms 16:11 says, "You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever."
Isaiah 58:11 says, "The Lord will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring."
1 Peter 4:10 says, "As each one received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God."
God has gifted everyone of us to perform a special mission for which we alone were created. So when you seek to discover God's Will for your life, pay attention to how He gifted you. His Plan for you will always be directly related to the gifts that He has bestowed upon you already. Again, the great news is that you will automatically be good at whatever it is that He has called on you to do!
Tomorrow I will discuss "Listening to God's Spirit". Are you a talker? Are you always interrupting in the middle of someone speaking because you feel like what you have to say is more important? Ouch! :) Lets see what God say about this tomorrow.
God bless,
E.