Proverbs 3:5-8 – “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. 7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and depart from evil.  8 It will be health to your flesh, And strength to your bones.”  NKJV

Let me make a bold statement and hopefully not lose anyone at the outset. Most Christians major in minors.  We pray: “Lord, help me make this payment, find a new job, get a new car, etc.”  Those should be minor concerns but often are at the top of our lists.  Before you reject my statement and challenge me.  I suggest we consider how the apostle Paul viewed and approached daily life.  I find this revealed in a powerful way in his prayer for the new church at Colossae in Colossians 1:9, “…we…don’t cease to pray for you, and to desire that you might be filled with the knowledge of His Will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.”  [Emphasis mine].

I believe that the basic underlying premise for all Divine Guidance is that it is possible to know the will of God.  If it is possible to know God’s will then that knowing should be at the top of our prayer list.  Remember the prayer when Jesus responded to the disciple’s request, “Lord teach us to pray.”  Do the words, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done” resonate in your spirit.  THY WILL BE DONE!  We are not likely to do the will of God unless we know the will of God, therefore the pursuit of knowing should be a top priority.

Man was created to have communion and fellowship with God.  God created man with the ability to know God and in knowing God, man would also know the Will of GOD.  Rebellion disrupted the channels of communication in the Garden. But through the Last Adam, Jesus, those lines have been restored affording us the intimacy of fellowship with God.  If we are to know the Will of God, we must learn to walk in intimate fellowship with Him.  Matthew 6:33, “Seek first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you.”  First is God, His kingdom, and righteousness in which we find the will of God, and then those things we put at the top of our prayer lists become secondary items because they fall within the “AND SHALL BE ADDED TO YOU.”

The apostle Paul understood what transpired in a person’s life when that individual came to Know the Will of God.  In Colossians 1:10-12, he lists seven (7) expected results and I will highlight them in the passage for your consideration.

Colossians 1:10-12 – “That you might WALK WORTHY of the Lord UNTO ALL PLEASING, being FRUITFUL in every good work, and INCREASING IN THE KNOWLEDGE of God; STRENGTHENED with all might, according to His glorious power, unto all PATIENCE and LONGSUFFERING with JOYFULNESS; giving thanks unto the Father, who has made us FIT TO BE PARTAKERS of the inheritance of the saints in light…”  [Emphasis mine].

If we are to Walk Worthy of the Lord, we must know what He wants from us, right?  Jesus walked unto All Pleasing.  He was a Father Pleaser!  That should be our daily prayer, “Father, I want to be a son/daughter who pleases you.”  However, many people are self-pleasers, others are man-pleasers but until we mature and come to the place that the overwhelming drive and desire of our heart are to be GOD-Pleaser we will never fully understand the will of God in our lives. 

Let me insert, it is only by doing the will of God that our lives truly become Fruitful.  Imagine an apple tree praying, “Lord, please bring forth apples from my life.”  NO!  An apple tree would not pray to bear apples that are what it is and does.  It has to bring forth the Life that is in it, that is what it was created for.  It does not have to strain or struggle to bear apples, fruit should come naturally as a result of the life that is in the apple tree.  The same is true of our lives!

As we know the Will of God and we increase in the knowledge of God and are strengthened with all might according to His glorious power.  That is real strength!  Too often we focus on our weaknesses rather than God’s strength.  I have had people on numerous occasions ask me to pray that they would have more strength, joy, victory, etc.  That is not necessarily bad or wrong.  I would suggest that as we seek to know the Will of God for our lives, we should remember that one of Paul’s requests was to be strengthened with all might according to God’s glorious power unto all patience and longsuffering with joy.  

What does that suggest to you?  It should convey the understanding that in the Will of God and our walk we will face times where those are needed. That means it will not always be smooth sailing and instant answers.  The biblical promise is that when we KNOW we are in the Will of God we can withstand any hardship and do so with a quiet confidence and joy!  It is when we do not know for certain that confusion comes through the front door and patience heads out the back door.  Patience (hupomone) means to remain standing when everyone else has collapsed.  It is when you know that you know that you know you can give THANKS IN ALL THINGS!

I cannot simply end here for there is another thought or two that I feel needs to be inserted so I will pause and pray that God grant you knowledge of His will in all things and at all times in your journey.  

God bless you richly is my prayer!