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

When we know the Will of God for our lives and are convinced of that will we, can give thanks in all things!  That is a powerful place spiritually and affords us such peace that people will often wonder about us and possibly seek to know our secret.

In Colossians 1:12-13, the apostle Paul speaks of “giving thanks unto the Father who has… made us FIT [capable] to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light; Who has delivered us from the power of darkness, and has translated us into the Kingdom of His dear Son.”  Paul is not saying maybe, he is saying God has already made us capable or fit, in Jesus, to be partakers of our inheritance. 

That is not a promise to be realized after we die and go to heaven It Is NOW!  In Colossians 4:12, Paul instructed, “Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ salutes you, always laboring fervently for you in prayers, that you may stand PERFECT and COMPLETE in ALL the Will of God.”  [Emphasis mine].  Paul’s prayer was for them and us to KNOW and DO the Will of God for our lives.  Clearly, it is possible to Know the Will of God else why pray such a prayer?

In Romans 12:1-2, an often-quoted passage, we read, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”   Transformed by the renewing of our minds is a powerful image and is the same word used to describe what happened to Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration.  God remolds our minds from within.

When God transforms us in our minds, we think differently than we have ever thought.  I heard an illustration that fits in illustrating this truth and reality.  Imagine a little boy looking through a knothole in a fence at a parade going by on the street. He can see only a small portion of the parade at any given time.  If he sees a clown, he is full of laughter and joy but if he sees a lion he is filled with trepidation and fear.  If there is a space between the band and the acrobats, he may think the parade is over.  It would or could be a very frustrating experience attempting to evaluate a parade only based on what he can or cannot see at any given moment. 

Then suppose his big brother invites him to the top of the fence where he can see the entire parade, not just small segments, his view would be completely different.  Sadly, too often we are viewing life through a knothole and our elder brother Jesus is inviting us to rise to the top of the fence and see what He sees.  Ephesians 2:6, “And (He) has raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” 

Someone said to me, “Keep looking up!”  I said, “No, I need to keep looking down because I am sitting with Jesus in heavenly places and am not under the circumstances but looking down on them from God’s perspective.”   Isaiah 55:8-9, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the Lord.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

Sometimes people see a promise in Scripture and claim it only to find that those they love, and respect do not respond positively.  Then, over time, they lose heart and begin to complain, “Ever since I began to claim God’s Promise, things have gotten worse.”  Well, Praise the Lord!  I had a preacher tell me once, “The man who is angry is nearer to God than the man who is indifferent.”  Romans 12:2 gives a practical outline for mind renewal.  Do not let the world squeeze you into its mold and embrace the changing of your mind by the Spirit of God.  Romans 12:1, tells us exactly how to do that.  We do so by deliberately giving our bodies as a living sacrifice to God, we open the door for God’s transformation to sweep through our entire beings.

We can fear the Will of God or embrace it and in embracing it we will find that it requires a Complete Overhaul or Transformation of us from the inside out. 

God bless you as you embark on the rest of your life’s journey beginning with this beautiful day in Jesus!