Meditation for Monday
And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask any thing according to His will, He heareth us. 1 John 5:14
During all of the debates, the accusations, and the bitter wrangling of the recent presidential election in the United States, some Christian posted a Facebook message urging all Christians to pray for God’s will to be done in the election. It’s a good prayer; it’s actually part of what we call the Lord’s Prayer: ‘Thy will be done in earth as it is in Heaven’ (Matthew 6:10). But what does it actually mean? Some of those observing the election declare that it could not possibly be God’s will for one or another of the candidates to be elected. So, in praying for God’s will to be done, they are praying for the other candidate to be elected. Their rationale is that the undesirable candidate is so far removed from anything that God could condone that this person’s election would be contrary to His will. Is that what our text is teaching? Not according to the rest of the Bible!
Does God ever allow undesirable people to be elevated to power? Of course He does! We are clearly told that the powers that be are ordained of God and that we should be subject to those powers (Romans 13:1). In fact, the Scriptures acknowledge that some of those rulers will be less than desirable, and yet still be placed in their seats by God Himself: ‘To the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever He will, and setteth up over it the basest of men’ (Daniel 4:17). The basest of men? And it’s God’s will? If that is so, you and I cannot take upon ourselves to determine the will of God concerning the people and events around us. The best we can do in this regard is to ask for God to help us to accept His sovereign will. But when it comes to God’s will for ourselves, we can know what that will is, and pray for God to enable us to obtain it.
The Lord Jesus gave us good instruction on this point when He said ‘If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you’ (John 15:7). There are two conditions here: abiding in Him, and His words abiding in us. Abiding in Him means that we live every aspect of our lives according to His purposes and direction. This is called ‘following Jesus’ and it refers to taking every path and making every decision according to what the Lord Jesus wants us to do. And how do we know that? By allowing His words to abide in us. By making no decision or taking no action that is contrary to the Word of God. By taking what the Word of God presents as the pattern for our lives in every aspect. Wow! That’s quite the commitment, isn’t it? It won’t happen overnight, and the good news is that God doesn’t expect it to. But it is His desire that we grow at a steady pace into an acceptance of His will for us.
What is God’s will for you? Have you asked Him to show you? And when He has shown you, have you obeyed? – Jim MacIntosh