God's 'will'

Lately I’ve been considering what Gods ‘will’ for my life is, and how do I know that I’m fulfilling Gods will and purpose for my life, and this is the conclusion that I came to: It all comes back to the way you think; your mindset. Let me explain.

As I thought, I came to the conclusion that if I think the way God thinks (which obviously no-one can do purely), then I will make decisions that God would want me to, leading to me reaching the destiny that He has for my life.

And I know that no-one will ever have the same mind as God because we are only human and have faults. But it goes to show that the closer you get to thinking the way God does, the closer you will get to being completely in Gods will and fulfilling the destiny that He has for you.

Therefore, what you think is SO important! Because its your thoughts that shape who you are. That then begs the question ‘What is shaping your thoughts?’ or more to the point… ‘What are YOU allowing to shape your thoughts?’

There’s a quote that I’ve heard a few times by Ralph Waldo Emerson that goes like this:

Sow a thought, reap an action

Sow an action, reap a habit

Sow a habit, reap a character

Sow a character, reap a destiny

This simplified says that what you think, leads to your actions, which can then become habits, which is who you are. So it changes your character which is at the core of who you are, which then affects where you go in life.

Therefore, its simple to see that if you are having good, pure, right, happy, godly, righteous, self-controlled thoughts, then that will create you into someone with all of those traits, leading to your destiny being closer to where God wants you to be.

Whereas if your thoughts are not self-controlled, if they are un-godly or unrighteous, or any bad trait, then that will be who you become, which takes you away from God’s will, and leads you away from God.

So it all comes back to the way you think. It reminds me of the theory of the butterfly effect. That something small and minute can create a massive change. Like the small thoughts that you have leading to who you are, what you do, and where you end up in life. So its clear that how you think leads to whether you fulfill God’s will for your life. If you think and make decisions that God would, then you will end up perfectly in His will. Whereas if you don’t think and make decisions that God would, then you will end up a long way from God’s will.

How then do you begin thinking like God? Or should I say ‘Closer to the way God thinks?’ (as no-one will ever think exactly the way God does).

Romans 12:2 says ‘Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what Gods will is- His good, pleasing and perfect will.’

So this says that we will know God’s will if we don’t conform to the worlds way of thinking, and if we are transformed by the renewing of our mind. Simply this is saying that we need to think more like Jesus, and less like the world.

How then do we do this? By meditating on God’s word day and night (Psalms 1:2).

Something that I’ve noticed with people is they usually start to become like people they hang around the most. Look at any best friends and you will find many commonalities. And that because they spend a lot of time together. Therefore if you spend a lot of time with God, reading His word, and talking with Him, then the way you think will begin to be transformed into the way He thinks, hence leading to the decisions you make to be more in line with God’s will for your life.

So the more time you spend with God, the greater chance you will end up doing His purpose and will for your life and fulfill your destiny. And the less time you spend with Him, the greater chance you will end up somewhere completely different to where God wants you to be.

Ill finish this with something Paul told the Philippians (Ch 4:8-9) on what they should be thinking about. But I also encourage you to start spending more time with God, searching through His word, and speaking with Him. Then you should have confidence in the decisions you make.

‘Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.’

Choose to be holy

In Matthew 6:22-23 Jesus said ‘The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!’
Jesus’ teachings here are so true. What we take in changes who we are, whether we like it or not. Therefore we need to be VERY careful with what we allow ourselves to take in. If we watch things with swearing, or violence, or adult themes, or sexual references, let alone sex scenes or nudity, it will corrupt who we are to some degree. By allowing ourselves to watch or listen to these things it dims the light of Jesus within us.
A bit before Jesus said this he told us in Matthew 5:16 to shine our lights before all men like a city on a hill, and how can we do that if the light within us is dark?
You cannot shine your light to the world if there is no light in you. And the things you see and hear and do determines whether that light within you is light or dark.
It’s like what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:33 when he says ‘Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character”’ If the people we hang around can corrupt our good character, then the same can happen with the other things we surround ourselves with. If we allow ourselves to watch movies or TV shows with wrong things in it, no matter how bad it is, it corrupts our character. If we allow ourselves to listen to music with wrong lyrics or bad language then it will corrupt who we are. Whatever we do and whatever surrounds us will change who we are, and Satan uses them to change us for the worse. He will use the things around you to corrupt who you are.
You don’t think that Satan is some static being that doesn’t do anything and hopes we all stuff up do you?? Of course he isn’t!!! He’s out there trying to put stumbling blocks all around us… And what do you think he uses?? The things that you surround yourselves with! It’s up to us whether we fall on his stumbling blocks, or avoid them. Therefore we need to be very mindful of what it is that we surround ourselves with.
Romans 12:2a says ‘Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind’ and James 1:27 says ‘Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world’.
Both of these verses warn us to not conform to, or be polluted by the world. And its so easy to do. What you surround yourself with is a reflection of who you are. Now that’s not to say that we should all go and live life as monks in the hills because that’s the only way we can remain pure…. God has called us to preach His gospel to everyone. So what I am saying is that as you go out into the corrupt world to shine the light within you, don’t take any part in the corrupt ways of the world.
1 Corinthians 10:13 says ‘No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.’
We need to make a stand for what is right. We need to surround ourselves with only good things that wont corrupt who we are. We need to give Satan no opportunity to change who we are. We need to be children of light, and make sure that the light within us shines brightly. And to do this is to say no to the wrong things of this world. I know so many people who on Sunday have a really strong and sound faith, but during the week they allow the things of the world to corrupt them. As Christians we are called to be different. We are to become a product of God, and not a product of the world. In this way the light of God will shine brightly in you.
I think a question we all need to ask ourselves is ‘what are we surrounding ourselves with or doing that is corrupting us?’ CHOOSE TO BE HOLY! It doesn’t come naturally. It’s a choice we have to make.
Take an honest good look at yourself!................... Is the light within you darkness?