God desires us to test all our plans on the scale of his Word, seek Divine blessings, support and power for success, give thanks for His glory looking unto Jesus in every situation.
“Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the lord rises upon you” (Isaiah 60:1). Joshua was chosen by God to lead Israel into the Promised Land and he had been witness to all the troubles that Moses had faced in the same position in the past forty years or so. It was natural for him have a feeling of dread since the same had overwhelmed Solomon on being appointed king causing him to pray to God “I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number” (1 Kings 3:7-8). God’s command and assurance to Joshua was clear, do not be afraid, do not be discouraged, “I will never leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and courageous” (Joshua 1:5-6). When we accept the Lord as our Savior, the same promise is given to us and He agrees to lead us and guide us from victory to victory.
“God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds, who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Hebrews 1:1-3). God has spoken to us and revealed ‘His express image’ through His son, purged our sins and given us the authority to be called “the children of God” with rights to be in His presence. As child of God and the genealogy having been changed from a disobedient person hiding from His presence to “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9). So how do we diligently perform all these lofty duties assigned to us during our sojourn on the earth?
Open the door- The only thing required of us is to open the door for the Lord stands outside, knocking and waiting for our response. Open the door to the heart to welcome Him, believe in Him and surrender to Him to obtain His blessings. He wants to dine with us and make us partakers of the Divine knowledge available through Him and thus get to have an intimate relationship with Him. King David asked for any descendants of King Saul to show mercy to him and the lame Mephibosheth, son of Jonathan, was brought to him to be blessed with the restoration of what he had lost, all the property of Saul and to daily dine at the king’s table as a part of his family. Dining with the Lord includes restoration and daily blessings of fellowship with Him to know Him. The Lord provides an exceptional incentive “To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne” (Revelation 3:21). This relationship then provides us various blessings and keys to overcome for ‘He has already overcome the world’.
- The Holy Spirit blessings– The Almighty God and His Son have bestowed upon us unimaginable blessings to transform us into His image in a progressive manner through the leading of the Holy Spirit. Our Lord clarified some of the blessings of the Holy Spirit as a Comforter, to convict you of sin. The Greek word used is ‘parakletos’, a word formed by two words; ‘para’ meaning from close/ beside and ‘kaleo’ make a call. Thus the Holy Spirit is like an advocate who makes a call for the right judgement from close enough to the situation- like from the forward trenches in a battle. He dwells in us and guides us in all situations to lead us to make the right decisions. The second aspect of His function is from the Greek word ‘elegcho/elencho/elegxo’ and it means ‘to convince with solid, compelling evidence especially to expose wrong/sin. The Holy Spirit functions from close quarters- inside us, to help us differentiate between right and wrong in light of irrefutable evidence and make correct decisions.
The Comforter blesses us with special gifts to perform the basic task of understanding and Knowing God through His Divine Word. These gifts are knowledge, wisdom, discernment of spirits, faith, healing, miracles, tongues, interpretation of tongues and prophesy. Through these gifts He helps us to walk in the way given by our Lord and thus glorify the Father. The convicting for sin is not to condemn but to reveal the abomination and lead us away from the same. Our exposure to the glory of God makes us recognize not only our real state and also our helplessness in getting out of this pit, thus making us dependant on God for His help. Joshua became confident after having successfully crossed the flooded river Jordan but “The Commander of Heavenly Host”- Lord Jesus revealed Himself to Joshua thus making him realize his weaknesses. Joshua surrendered to the authority of the Lord by taking off his sandals and worshipping the Lord. The Holy Spirit leads us to this wonderful state of total dependence on God.
- The Divine commandments- Our Lord provided us the commands for a successful and blessed life in this world and the same are to love your God—- and to love your neighbor as yourself. Both of these commands relate to our heart which comprises of our mind (knowledge), emotions and feelings and our will. Our spirit has its three components as fellowship, conscience and intuition but the conscience directly impacts the heart also. When we welcome the Lord in to our hearts, His Spirit blesses us with Divine knowledge and fills our conscience and mind to change our feelings and emotions and through this our will to bring these in alignment with God’s will and emotions. This gradual change then causes us to love our neighbor but even the enemies as the Lord commanded (Matthew 5:44).
- Glorify God– Lord Jesus promises to provide all that we ask in faith with two pre conditions- that it glorifies God the Father in the Son (John 14:13) and that your joy may be full (John 16:24). The key, therefore, is to glorify God in everything that we seek to do and to enjoy doing that.
How do I discern His will for me? – The indwelling God is there to help us in making the right choices in our lives for all that we do. Our prayer will be answered by the Almighty God when the above three conditions are fulfilled. Thus all our actions must stand scrutiny under the lens of the two commandments, the Holy Spirit and should bring glory to God the Father through the Son who answers our prayers. Whether it is taking up a job, setting up new business, getting married or anything else, it must meet the above conditions to ensure fulfillment of God’s will for us. If it does not, He may still allow that but it may not be His express will but a forced consent to allow His child to have his way.
The advantages– Once we have developed the habit of ‘dining at His table’ everyday and all the time then we get to know Him and His will and walking that path becomes easy. This regular fellowship then provides a special anointing by God to help us overcome the obstacles in fulfillment of that will.
- Divine protection- The table is then “prepared before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil” (Psalm 23:5). The enemies are then told by Him that this is My child who is under My protection and care. Job was under the same care and Satan knew this.
- Empowerment-Once the convergence of wills occurs, like the lame Mephibosheth, the hand of the King comes on our heads and we operate in His power. The Lord then sends us as special people with special powers- “to trample over snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you” (Luke 10:19). The snake of the Garden has been defeated by the Lord and we then operate with this authority over him and his forces. Our Lord is ‘seated at the right hand of God the Father with power over everything in heaven and on earth’ and we are His ambassadors on earth. We have the backing of the ‘Throne of Grace’ behind us and the enemy knows this.
- Holy guidance-As already seen, the Holy Spirit helps us take right decisions to save us from committing any violation of the Royal commands, lest we be embarrassed before the our Lord and King. Thus on one side He guides us while on the other the same Holy Spirit intercedes for us with groaning when we do not know what we ought to pray for (Romans 8:26). He who reveals to us the will of God then prays for us to God to help us fulfill that will.
- Forgiveness– Our Lord narrated the parable of the Prodigal son to the tax collectors and sinners to show them the forgiving attitude of God, who as a Father waits eagerly for His children to return to Him in repentance. The Lord not only helps us make the right choices but due to some reason when we disobey, He is ever willing to forgive us and restore the lost status to us. God’s forgiveness provides us a clean slate to start afresh and removes the feeling of guilt from our hearts, thus helping us escape the accusations of Satan. Any right that we concede to the devil due to our sins is restored back through the washing of the blood of Jesus. Forgiveness of sins is the greatest blessing and King David, gazes into the future prophesying “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven; whose sin is covered” (Psalm 32:1). He is well aware of the affect of sin on the individual and explains the same as ‘the bones getting old through groaning all the daylong’. When we are in obedience to God, He leads us into our battles and provides victory.
- Provider God– The Lord rewards our obedience by ensuring the necessary provisioning for fulfillment of His will through us. As Jehovah Jireh, He ensures that a ‘ram is there caught in a thicket by its horns’ to be the sacrificial offering (Genesis 22:13). The condition of answer to prayers having been fulfilled in the obedience, God answers our prayers to lead us to glorifying His name. God does not require much from us in response to such blessings but a cheerful heart ready to obey Him.
What does God desire for revealing His will for me? God’s simple demand has always been to be the only God to whom we look up, whom we desire to emulate, worship and please. That is His will for me and everyone to test all our plans on the scale He has set up for us and then to “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6). God promises to meet our requirements or help in fulfillment of our plans that rise up to His expectations.
God desires from us- complete surrender to Him; test our plans on the scale He has provided; walk in His power than our own; seek His glorification in all that we do; not look at the situation/ symptoms; in faith give thanks to Him and wait for fulfillment of all that He has put into our hearts. Prophet Habakkuk is clear in this “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign Lord is my strength; He makes my feet like the feet of a deer, He enables me to tread on the heights” (Habakkuk 3:17-19). Joshua did and the defenses of Jericho crumbled, Job did and was rewarded with double of everything, Gideon did and became victorious, David did and Goliath collapsed in front of him with a stone shot from a sling, Jehoshaphat did and the forces of three nations coming to attack him fought with each other and died to give him wealth that took three days to collect and so many more.
That is what God’s will is for me and I will attempt to meet this requirement in every plan, every day and all the days of my life, so help me Lord God in this “For yours is the kingdom and yours is the glory forever and ever”. Amen and amen!!
