Daily Devotional for Thursday May 4, 2017

Our Will or God's Will?

(John 3:16, 17)

***DAILY PERSONAL PRAYER FOR YOU: Dear Lord, help me to be a blessing to someone I meet today. Help me to not be so self-absorbed that I miss the opportunity to be a good witness for you. Today, I yield myself to you. Use me for your glory! In the name of Jesus...AMEN!!!

Our will or God's will? One of the biggest questions people always ask is, how do I know what the will of God is for my life? This is much more complicated, because in addition to God's will, He has given us free will to make decisions and choose what we want to do. Much of the difficulty in determining what God's will is for us is trying to separate our own desires and wants, and try to hear what God may want for our life.

Let me say here, this is probably one of the most difficult issues you will ever deal with in your walk with the Lord, and I just want to give you some basics that have helped me over the years, although I still wonder from time to time, is this me? . . . or is this God?

The only chance you have of ever knowing what God's will is for your life is to be totally surrendered to Him. You have got to be at a place in your life where you say, "Lord, whatever you want me to do, wherever you want me to be, I am yours". Let me assure you right here, it is no accident that you live where you live, work where you work, play where you play . . . and it is only rarely that God is going to want you to move to the other side of the world, or quit your job to go work in an AIDS hospital, or do things totally foreign to you.

The biggest hurdle to overcome in knowing God's will for our life is the fear of the unknown. How will my life be different if I really let God have His way? Trust me, He loves you, cares about you, and only wants the best for you.

The other basics to knowing God's will is to be totally "plugged in". By that I mean, praying every day, in the Word, fellowshipping, serving God. It is only that intimate daily contact that allows us to really hear what He is saying. God talks to us in a variety of ways, through His word, in passages of scripture that pricks our hearts, in prayer as we hear that "still small voice" guiding us.

I love you and care about you so much. A big way is through the circumstances in our life. God knows how to open doors and shut doors. Many of our problems occur when we force our way through a door He has shut. I will be praying for you today, that you will get serious about finding and living in God's perfect will. It is the only way we truly know the peace, happiness, and joy this life offers.

In His will, we can do all things because it is not us, it is Him. Out of His will, nothing works, nothing makes sense. Pray today that God will reveal His will for your life, and then pray for the strength to surrender the will to do what you want, to His will to do what He wants.

In His love and service,

Your friend and brother in Christ,

Bill Keller