How can we come to delight to do God’s will when it’s contrary to our desires?

When we don’t feel like reading the Bible or praying or going to Care Group or asking forgiveness.  How do we rejoice when we feel like cursing or crying?  5 suggestions:

Confess. Tell Jesus you don’t feel like doing this.  Ask him to forgive you for your coldness heart and lack of desire to obey him. Confess your inability to do anything apart from him.

Pray. Ask Jesus to help you delight to do his will and to give you joy in obeying him.

Remind yourself of the truth of God’s word. His commands are not burdensome.  None of our work in the Lord is in vain.  His yoke is easy.  This is the reality of the situation.  The good fight of faith is to battle to believe God’s word and not our feelings.

Look ahead. Look to Christ’s reward.  For the joy set before him Jesus endured the cross.  He looked past the cross to the joy he would experience later.  Look past the immediate hardness of your situation to the joy afterward.

Obey until it becomes delightful. “Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words BECAME to me a joy and the delight of my heart” (JE 15.16).

“Not only did Jesus do the will of the Father, not only was that His whole goal in life, but Psalm 40:8 tells us that He delighted to do the will of the Father. To become like Jesus, then, is to come to the place where we delight to do the will of God, however sacrificial or unpleasant that will may seem to us at the time, simply because it is His will.” — Jerry Bridges

What would you add to these suggestions?

photo by ground.zero

I’m not talking about trying to fix your bathtub and instead setting it on fire. I’m not talking about a missed layup or forgetting an appointment. I mean big, life-altering failure.

The girl you were so interested in isn’t so interested in you. The ministry you lead and love gets shut down due to lack of participation. The promotion you wanted vaporizes. Your financial stability is turned upside down. Then what?

In his upcoming book Rescuing Ambition, Dave Harvey makes the following, helpful statement:

The divine perspective on human failure is this: Failure is ambition refused for a better plan.

At times God refuses our ambitions for marriage or ministry or kids or missions so that He can carry out His better plan. God allows us to fail so that He can put us on a better path. God redirects us onto a path that will bring Him more glory and us more joy than our little ambitions ever could.

I’m going to fail in my life. I want to remember that there is a better plan than my own.

Questions for discussion:

• What is one way that you’ve seen God use your failure for His good?
• What does it look like to honor God in the midst of failure?
  

You’ve got a big decision to make.

You’ve got a fat job offer, but there’s some potential. You’re thinking about this girl that you really like, but you’re not sure what the outcome will be. You’re trying to figure out if you should buy a house or keep renting. How do you decide?

How about putting out fleeces? You know, just like Gideon. In Judges 6, God called Gideon to deliver the people of Israel from the hand of the Midianites.  But Gideon was a jittery, nervous fellow, and he wanted to be sure that God was with him, so he asked God to give him signs.

In Judges 6:36-40 Gideon laid out a fleece. If the fleece was wet but the ground was dry, then he could be sure that God was on his side. Next day, wet fleece, dry ground. But Gideon needed a little more assurance, so he decided to ask for one more test. If the fleece was dry but the ground was wet, then God was definitely with him. Once again, God came through. Dry fleece, wet ground.

So should we follow Gideon’s example?

Should we ask God for signs when we’re making decisions? Lord, if this job is from you, let me see a cloud in the shape of a cross right now. If I’m supposed to ask this girl out, let her text message me in the next five minutes. Is this what we’re after?

I don’t think so. If you read the story of Gideon closely, you’ll see that Gideon is not an example for us to follow. In Judges 6:12,14, the angel of the Lord came to Gideon and said:

“The LORD is with you, O mighty man of valor.”…And the LORD turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?””

God tells Gideon flat out that He’s with him, and then commands him to go and give the Mideanites a beat-down. But Gideon isn’t buying it. Even though he is speaking face to face with God, he isn’t convinced that God is with him. So he starts playing the sign game. In Judges 6:36, Gideon says, “If you will save Israel by my hand…”, and then he lays down the first fleece.

A few verses later, before putting down the second fleece, he says, “Let not your anger burn against me…Please let me test just once more…” Gideon knew that he shouldn’t be putting God to the test, but he just had to have a sign.

Why did God answer Gideon’s requests? Because He’s gracious and often stoops to our level of faith.

Should we ask God for signs prior to making big decisions? No. Gideon isn’t our example. Don’t lay any fleeces before the Lord. Rather, go through the biblical process of asking God for wisdom, seeking the wise counsel of others, and then making a decision.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have an Old Navy fleece jacket that I need to bring inside.
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+photo by seeks2dream

Why is it that so many people (including myself) make so many foolish decisions? Why do people get entangled in messy relationships, sticky job situations, and dire financial crisis?

Often it’s because they don’t ask others for counsel. Wise, God-honoring decisions are made in the abundance of counsel.

Proverbs 15:22 says:

Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed.

I’m a big fan of having my plans succeed. If I want my plans to succeed, if I want to honor God, if I want to walk in God’s will, I must surround myself with many advisers.

One of the primary ways that God reveals his will is through the wisdom and advice of other godly men and women. God created us to need other people. We have gaps in our knowledge. We don’t see everything clearly. We get fuzzy on what really matters. The advice of others fills in the gaps, brings clarity, and cuts through the fog.

God reveals himself and his will through others.

When you’re facing an important decision – a new job, relationship, church, etc. – bring it before others. Talk to men and women who are wise. Ask those who are older than you and have more wisdom. Discuss it with your parents and pastor. Ask your close friends who know you well.

Take the position of a learner. Don’t arrogantly assume that you see everything clearly. Ask them:

• What Biblical principles apply to my situation?

• Is there anything I’m not seeing clearly?

• What would you do if you were in my shoes?

• Do you have any concerns with my decision?

The consequences of acting without counsel are serious. Plans fail because of a lack of counsel. Relationships, jobs, and church plants have all disintegrated because of a lack of counsel.

Plans succeed in the soil of many advisers. Find God’s will for your life by asking for the counsel of others.

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+photo by brtsergio