Tag Archives: God’s Will

Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day Acts 18

1 Comment

Paul lived and worked with them, for they were tentmakers just as he was. Acts 18:3 (NLT)

I love the fact that Paul did what he had to do in order to fulfill the task God gave him. Not willing to be completely dependent on others, he worked diligently at the menial task of tent making so he could provide for himself. Coming from my Dutch Protestant heritage, I learned a lot about the worth of working hard and doing a job well no matter what the task. Being faithful with a small, menial task is generally rewarded with the opportunity to be given more responsibility with greater reward.

I’ve worked a lot of different jobs in my life. I’ve been paid to do a lot of different things:

  • Delivering newspapers
  • Babysitter
  • Lawnmower
  • Envelope stuffer
  • 35 mm film inspector/duster/splicer
  • Outbound telemarketer
  • Counter of nuts/bolts/screws for inventory
  • Corn pollinator
  • Package sorter
  • Bus boy
  • Book store clerk
  • Library clerk
  • Cook
  • Janitor
  • Driver
  • 35 mm film inspector/duster/splicer
  • Voice talent on radio commercials
  • PA Announcer for sporting events
  • Speaker
  • Writer
  • Napkin folder
  • Table setter
  • Cameraman
  • Photographer
  • Actor
  • Director
  • Administrator
  • Pastor
  • Counselor

I’m sure there’s more.

I sometimes get a kick out of people who sit in relative paralysis and endlessly wonder “what does God want me to do?” The longer I live the more I’m convinced that we are a lot like a jet ski. You can’t steer the dumb thing unless it’s moving forward.

Do something. Do anything. Just GO! God will direct you if you’re moving, working, and doing. He can’t direct us if we’re sitting dead in the water.

Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day 1 Thessalonians 5

1 Comment

Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. 1Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NLT)

There is something about things that come in threes. When something bad happens, you’ll often hear people say that “they come in threes.” If you notice, gags in movies and sitcoms will almost always happen three times. In writing it’s called the “Rule of Three” which states that things that come in three are funnier, more satisfying or more effective.

But it’s not just writing. The Rule of Three may refer to:

There is something about things that come in threes. Even Schoolhouse Rock recognized it as a “magic number.” I like to think that our triune God liked to express His triune nature in all that He created. Artists are like that.

And so, we come upon a simple rule of three in today’s chapter. A simple rule of three commands which encompass God’s will. I hear people constantly wondering about God’s will for them. I even find myself asking “God, what do you want from me?”

We should remember, whenever we catch that question rumbling in our soul or escaping from our lips that God gave us a rule of three in answer:

  • Always be joyful.
  • Never stop praying.
  • Be thankful in all circumstances…

 …for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day Zechariah 8

1 Comment
Uploaded with permission of artist, Magda Szab...
Image via Wikipedia

“And now here’s what I want you to do: Tell the truth, the whole truth, when you speak. Do the right thing by one another, both personally and in your courts. Don’t cook up plans to take unfair advantage of others. Don’t do or say what isn’t so. I hate all that stuff. Keep your lives simple and honest.” Zechariah 8:16-17 (MSG)

It’s human nature to feel perplexed at what God wants us to do:

  • “Where does God want me to go to school?”
  • “What job does God have for me?”
  • “Who does God want me to marry?”
  • “When does God want me to go on that mission?”

I’ve discovered along the journey that I am prone to want God to direct my situational choices (Who?, What?, Where?, When?).  Yet today’s chapter reminds me that time and time again His Message says “this is what I want” followed by qualitative commands. I must conclude that God is ultimately more concerned with the fruit of our lives than our circumstances. He is most interested in directing our time, energy and mindshare to the cultivation of our hearts, minds and souls towards the qualities of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. If we are focused on these things, then the situational and circumstantial questions will fade in importance and fold themselves naturally and organically into God’s will.

Enhanced by Zemanta