Want to Know God’s Will
Paul’s Final Advice
I say I want to know God’s will for me, my life, and
the way I am to go. Paul instructs the people to listen to God’s instructions
in 1 Thessalonians 5:12-22, NLT:
Dear brothers and sisters, honor those who are your leaders
in the Lord’s work. They work hard among you and give you spiritual guidance. Show
them great respect and wholehearted love because of their work. And live
peacefully with each other.
Brothers and sisters, we urge you to warn those who are
lazy. Encourage those who are timid. Take tender care of those who are weak. Be
patient with everyone. See that no one pays back evil for
evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people. Always
be joyful. Never stop praying. Be
thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to
Christ Jesus.
Do
not stifle the Holy Spirit. Do not scoff at prophecies, but
test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good. Stay
away from every kind of evil.
God’s Will for Me
This passage
helps me to understand God’s instructions, which goes against my natural
inclinations. I have a self-centered nature, it started with Adam and Eve. When
I make a conscious decision to do what God says, I will begin to see people in
a new perspective.
- · Encourage each other and build each other up.
- · Warn those who are lazy
- · Encourage those who are timid
- · Be patient with everyone
- · Always be joyful
- · Never stop praying
- · Be thankful in all circumstances
Think about
my openness to change – Look at my positive and negative traits. (keep us
balanced by looking at both – positive & negative traits).
The 7 stages of change that people go
through are:
- 1. (I am Not yet acknowledging that there is a problem behavior that needs to be changed)
- 2. (I begin Acknowledging that there is a problem but not yet ready or sure if wanting to make a change)
- 3. (I am Getting ready to change)
- 4. (I grasp my Changing behavior)
- 5. (I use Gods Way and Truth in Maintaining the behavior change) and
- 6. (I may temporarily Return to older behaviors, abandoning the new changes)
- 7. Start at Step 1 again!
·
How
reluctantly the mind consents to reality.
·
But
when I admit that I am powerless,
·
I
invite God to bring me back into His truth,
·
rather
than living in the fantasy land of rationalization and excuses.
Mirror
But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.
For if you listen to the
word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You
see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like.
(James
1:22-25, NLT).
(Chronological
Study Bible)
“Finding” God’s Will for me
Some people talk about “finding” God’s Will for me—as if He could ever have lost it. It may be that we feel separated. Our separation from God can feel real, but it is never permanent. Remember, He seeks the lost. When we can’t find God, we need to ask ourselves, “Who moved?” I’ll give you a hint. It wasn’t God!
For I am
convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love. Death can’t, and
life can’t. The angels won’t, and all the powers of hell itself cannot keep
God’s love away.… Nothing will ever be able to separate us from the love of God
demonstrated by our Lord Jesus Christ when he died for us. (Romans 8:38–39, TLB).
When We Fail to Change
When
we keep doing things that we don’t want to do and when we fail to do the things
we’ve decided we need to do, we begin to see that we do not, in fact,
have the power to change that we thought we had. Life is coming into
focus more clearly than ever before. Without God, I am a slave to sin,
and powerless to change on my own.
Start admitting that our lives have become unmanageable.
When
I got to this part of my recovery I shared David’s feelings that he expressed
in Psalm 40:12 (TLB):
“Problems far too big for me to solve are piled higher than my head. Meanwhile
my sins, too many to count, have all caught up with me and I am ashamed to look
up.”
Does
that sound familiar? Only when my pain is greater than my fear will
I be ready to honestly take the first step, admitting that I am powerless, and
my life is unmanageable.
The
only reason we consider that there’s something wrong, or that we want to talk
to somebody, or that we want to take this step is because we finally can admit
that some area—or all areas—of our lives have become unmanageable!
It
is with this admission that we finally realize we are out of control and are
powerless to do anything on our own.
Wrap-up
The
power to change only comes from God’s grace. We do not deserve it, nor do we
earn it – it is His gift to us – because He loves each one of us greatly – you
– you & you. I
thank Him daily for loving me, and
giving me the ability to connect with you!
·
Are
you ready to truly begin your journey of recovery?
·
Are
you ready to stop denying the pain?
·
Are
you ready to stop playing God?
·
Are
you ready to start admitting your powerlessness?
·
To
stop worrying, isolating, and escaping?
·
To
start admitting that life has become unmanageable?
·
If
you are, share it with God right now.
·
I
encourage you to start working and living with God, in earnest.
·
If
we admit we are powerless,
Admit
· we
need a power greater than ourselves to restore us.
·
That
power is our Lord and Savior—Jesus Christ!
·
He
is with you right now – waiting for you to open the door!!!!
Rita Shipman, MCC
480-861-4487
Rita is a Christian Counselor who is seeking to grow in understanding and knowledge of God's word, "to be reasonably happy in this life, and supremely happy with Him in the next". (Serenity Prayer).
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