In
order to do God's will we must first know his will. In
order to have real satisfaction, rest, and contentment in
the Christian life and there is no true rest outside the
Christian life—we must have the full assurance that we
are doing the will of God. The soul that loves God can not
be satisfied with anything less than this. As long as
there is a doubt, there can not be perfect contentment. We
must have a perfect knowledge of God's will concerning us,
or else we shall not fully know we are doing his will.
Many are saying, "I would
gladly do God's will if I only knew what is his
will." Such ones have not reached that nearness to
God that they should. There should always be a clear and
definite understanding between God and his children.
"My sheep," Jesus says, "hear my
voice"; and we know that God hears the voice of his
children. We can talk to God and God to us; consequently,
there can be understanding between us. You can live close
enough to God to know his will—not merely to suppose his
will or take it for granted, but to know it because he
told you. A man's employees may suppose they are doing
what he wants them to do, but this does not give them full
assurance. It is only when they have been in his presence
and heard him express his will that they know they are
doing it. You can know God's will. You need not spend one
day without knowing you are in his order.
The Scripture says, "Wherefore
be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the
Lord is." Eph. 5:17. In the verses preceding this
one, we are told to walk circumspectly and to redeem the
time. We need to know God's will that we may use every
opportunity to the greatest advantage. To pass along day
after day without a definite knowledge of being in the
will of God or without taking much thought about it or
earnestly seeking to know it, is living on entirely too
low a spiritual plane. God wants you to come up
higher—high enough and close enough to know his will.
Has not God purchased you? You are his servant, his
bond-slave. You are to do everything you do for him. He
who has men in his employ expects them to do his will.
They do not go out a single day ignorant of his will. They
do not always wait to be told what to do, but they make
inquiry. With many there may not be enough earnest seeking
after God to know his will.
In order to know God's will there
must be a perfect consecration to God. The soul must lay
down her own will and present herself before God as much
as to say, "I give up my way and will forever to be
shine and shine alone; to love thee and serve thee; to do
thy whole will now and forever." There must be
humility before God; a deep inner consciousness of your
nothingness and your inability to accomplish anything in
life of yourself. "The meek he will guide in
judgment." We must be meek and humble before the Lord
and confess that we are dependent on him and that life
will be an utter failure unless he wills and guides and
plans and works in us and with us and for us.
There must be great love to God and
an earnest desire to know his will. Without strong desire
to know God's will you can never learn it. It is those who
desire that obtain answers to their prayers; and that
desire must be really great. You must seek to know. Where
there is great desire, there will be earnest seeking but
there will not be earnest seeking without fervent desire.
The desire must be so intense that you feel as if you must
know. You must feel that you can not get along in life
without knowing God's will. You can not be of any service
to him without having knowledge of his will. You must also
have faith. When you ask God to teach you his will, you
must believe he will do it, and he will do it. When he
begins to unfold his will, you must move in his order
without doubting or questioning. He will guide you and
direct your every step, and you can know that you are
doing the very thing God wants you to do. Bless his name!
Such a life is heaven here.
