We started looking at the principle of divine guidance yesterday, and the will of God. There are some commands regarding this principle we need to look at.

Romans 12:2

2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

It’s up to you as a believer to have your thinking changed, and thereby prove, or execute, the will of God for your life. The renewing of your mind occurs when you learn the word of God. The more your mind is renewed, and the more you learn about the character and nature of God, and about His promises to us, the more you know about what the will of God is.

To be realistic, there are certainly situations or questions you will face that will not have a specific answer in the Bible. To solve the unknown, you must fall back on the things that are known. I hate to give you a math lesson, but it’s a great illustration. If you have an unknown factor, call it X. You cannot determine what X is unless you have some known factors around it. When you place known factors around X, you can determine what X is. For example, 2X=10. By placing those known factors around the X, you can determine that X=5.

To apply this math to the will of God, think about this example. Suppose you want to know who to marry. The Word of God does not specifically tell you who to marry, but there are known factors you can place around the unknown. For example,

2 Corinthians 6:14

14 Do not be bound together with unbelievers; …

So you know it is definitely not God’s will for you to marry an unbeliever. By placing known factors around the unknown, you are better able to determine what God’s will is in specific situations.

The Bible states many specific things that are or are not God’s will for us. The more things you know, the more things you can apply to the unknown things that come up! That’s why learning the Word of God, or “having your mind renewed”, is so critical to executing the Will of God.

Another command related to the will of God is the issue of yielding. It’s about agreeing to submit to the Will of God.

Romans 12:1

1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.

The word present above is the word PARISTEMI, and it means to report for orders. The same word is used here:

Romans 6:13

13 and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.

When you understand this principle, you realize that this is not a one-time decision to submit to the will of God. Submission to the will of God is an ongoing series of decisions throughout your life as a Christian.

We have a tendency to decide what we think the will of God for our life should be. But He has already decided His will for us, and He leads us in it when we submit to it.

This submission to the will of God is not just in one moment or in one incident, but is having the will of God as the consistent rule for your life. It’s not a question of being willing to do ONE thing; it’s a question of being willing to do ANYTHING! It’s our job to consistently present ourselves to God, ready to follow orders, and submit to His will for our lives.

To be continued…