Abide – Knowing and Following the Will of God

June 2, 2022
Abide – Knowing and Following the Will of God
Elder Letter by Gene Mermilliod

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do no lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” [Proverbs 3:5-6]

The practice of abiding in Christ is to know and follow His will for our lives. Sometimes it may feel as if the will of God is hidden like a buried treasure chest with relatively few clues as to where to find it. But is this reality? Does God have a plan for our lives? If so, does God intend to reveal His plan to us in an intuitive way, or does He delight in playing some sort of perverse game of “hide-and-seek” filled with frustration and doubt? Let’s consider this passage from Proverbs for a moment.

Put your trust in the Lord – The Lord is God. And as God, He is our creator. As our creator, He has created us with purpose. He not only has a purpose for our lives, but He is perfectly capable and desirous to reveal to us what that purpose is.

Do not lean on your own understanding – our understanding is limited at best and corrupted by sin at worse. God created us and has uniquely gifted each of us with personality, talents, abilities, and at least one spiritual gift as a believer. Does it not make sense that God has a specific direction in life He desires for you to pursue? And as His creation there is nothing more satisfying than discovering God’s purpose for your life.

Acknowledge Him in all your ways –we acknowledge Him by recognizing that He is God and we are not. We also acknowledge Him by seeking to understand why we were created and how He desires to use us for the advancement of His kingdom purposes.

Recognize He has given you the promise of His guidance –it appears that when we are willing to put our trust in Him, and not lean on our own limited understanding, we not only acknowledge God in His creation, but He promises to direct the path we are to follow.

The pursuit of knowing and following God’s will is evidence of our salvation. Living for self-centered purposes comes naturally and is the result of having a depraved nature. But Jesus changes everything. There should be a desire and willingness in the heart of every believer to want to pursue, know, and follow the will of God.

50 years ago, I was a high school senior trying to figure out what I would do with my life. I had no clue, no passion, and certainly no direction. At that time, all I knew to do was to pursue my relationship with Christ – to abide in Him. Looking back, I can plainly see how the Lord led me step-by-step to where He has positioned me today. But at the time, it wasn’t always so clear.

The will of God is something to be discerned and lived out every day of our lives. It is not something to be grasped as a package once for all. Our call is not to follow a particular plan, or to go to a place or to take up a work, but rather to follow the Lord Jesus Christ. – Paul Little

Are you following Christ to the best of your understanding? Are you resting in Him? Are you willing to go where He says go? Are you willing to do what He says do? Is the pursuit of Christ your ultimate goal? Meditate on this. Pray and ask the Lord to reveal Himself to you as you walk in obedience to Him. [John 14:21] Put your trust in Him. Do not lean on your own understanding. Acknowledge God in all you do. And be assured that the Lord will guide you.

---