For me, a great way to tell others about God is to share his Word. I love this community where I get to express and share, so it is natural that I share my morning Bible read with you. The great thing about God is He gave us the ability to choose to read (+ heed) it.
PSALM 40. For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.
Theme: Doing God's will sometimes means waiting patiently. While we wait, we can love God, serve others, and tell others about him.
Author: David.
https://www.biblestudytools.com/psalms/40.html
1 I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry. 2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. 3 He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the LORD and put their trust in him. 4 Blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods. 5 Many, LORD my God, are the wonders you have done, the things you planned for us. None can compare with you; were I to speak and tell of your deeds, they would be too many to declare. 6 Sacrifice and offering you did not desire— but my ears you have opened — burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require. 7 Then I said, “Here I am, I have come— it is written about me in the scroll. 8 I desire to do your will, my God; your law is within my heart.” 9 I proclaim your saving acts in the great assembly; I do not seal my lips, LORD, as you know. 10 I do not hide your righteousness in my heart; I speak of your faithfulness and your saving help. I do not conceal your love and your faithfulness from the great assembly. 11 Do not withhold your mercy from me, LORD; may your love and faithfulness always protect me. 12 For troubles without number surround me; my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see. They are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart fails within me. 13 Be pleased to save me, LORD; come quickly, LORD, to help me. 14 May all who want to take my life be put to shame and confusion; may all who desire my ruin be turned back in disgrace. 15 May those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!” be appalled at their own shame. 16 But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who long for your saving help always say, “The LORD is great!” 17 But as for me, I am poor and needy; may the Lord think of me. You are my help and my deliverer; you are my God, do not delay.
[I highlighted verse 8.]
Study Notes:
40:1-4 Waiting for God to help us is not easy, but David received four benefits from waiting. God (1) lifted him out of his despair, (2) set his feet on a rock, (3) gave him a firm place to stand, and (4) put a new song of praise in his mouth. Often blessings cannot be received unless we go through the trial of waiting.
40:6 "Sacrifice and offering you did not desire.". The religious ritual of David's day involved sacrificing animals in the tabernacle. David says these acts were meaningless unless done for the right reasons. Today we often make rituals of going to church, taking communion, or paying tithes. These activities are also empty if our reasons for doing them are selfish. God doesn't want these sacrifices and offerings without an attitude of devotion to him. The prophet Samuel told Saul, "To obey is better than sacrifice" (1 Samuel 15:22). Make sure you give God the obedience and lifelong service he desires from you.
40:7, 8 "I desire to do your will, O my God.". Jesus portrayed this attitude of obeying and serving God (John 4:34; 5:30). He came as the prophets foretold, proclaiming the Good News of God's righteousness and forgiveness of sins. In Hebrews 10:5-10, verses 6-8 are applied to Jesus.
40:9, 10 David said he would speak of God's faithfulness and salvation to those around him. When we feel the impact of God's righteousness on our lives, we cannot keep it hidden. We want to tell other people what God has done for us. If God's faithfulness has changed your life, don't be timid. It is natural to share a good bargain with others or recommend a skillful doctor, so it should also feel natural to share what God has done for us.
40:10 When we think of faithfulness, a friend or a spouse may come to mind. People who are faithful to us accept and love us, even when we are unlovable. Faithful people keep their promises, whether promises of support or promises made in our marriage vows. God's faithfulness is like human faithfulness, only perfect. His love is absolute, and his promises are irrevocable. He loves us in spite of our constant bent toward sin, and he keeps all the promises he has made to us, even when we break our promises to him.
Lord, thank you for the calm that is in this early morning time with you. Help me recall this peace if this day should contain turmoil. Thank you for my everlasting attitude, revealed to me by you, that sustains me in tough times. I can remember that this day is just a dot, when I have my everlasting attitude on. And, I can be content in the knowledge you give me through your Word, your promise, that you will not give me more than I can handle. Thank you for the ability to share Your peace with my friends here. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
To be clear, for the rest of us, could you please provide us all a clearly articulated description of what God's Will (for all of us) actually is? It is impossible to follow his will unless we know what it is.
... we await your answer.
Faith is trusting God's intent without knowing His plan. in the moment, you can't "know" God's will, outside of trusting that it is in line with the best outcome for you- if you do not believe that, you do not believe in what others here are claiming to be His will. it doesn't mean you're necessarily wrong, but the point being made is that God's will unfolds to us as we trust it. Nobody is asking for anyone to have blind faith.
if you are speaking to someone who claims to know and live by God's will, you are speaking to someone who simply believes God's will is best and feels they have been shown beyond the shadow of a doubt that they can surrender to it without completely figuring it out or losing their own free will.
how do we know if a person is being called by God or duped by men? we probably don't. we can probably only know ourselves to the extent that we're willing and able to confront and question our own motives and conditioning.
God's will is special for one more reason- it's not your will, and it's better. if you have junk in your heart, trauma in your past, that is harming your ability to see yourself clearly, to know what you actually want to do, who you want to be- focusing on God's will allows you to observe yourself without losing the horizon line and getting sick.
I hope this made sense, if it doesn't it wasn't for you now, but I have a feeling it was for someone at some point.
I like your answer, and the discussion, but it doesn't provide any specifics on what God's will actuall is. It has been my experience, that everyone uses the term "God's will" in retrospect, after the fact in describing something that has already happened. That appears more of an assignment of God's will to something that has already occured.
In stark contrast, if I wanted to apply God's will for navigation in charting my course to be in allignment with God's will... I really need a clear understanding of what that is.
Now, to be fair, it could be said that God's will is explained in the Bible and just follow the verses provided. But that can be said of the Quran and the Tora as well... in fact, any religion.
I have searched for an answer to this question for 40 years and stil don't have the answer. I have visited the Vatican and met with Cardinals, went to China and spoke with Priests, went to Malaysia and asked several highly respected Imans, multiple visits to Duke Divinity school with the same question...yet it remains unanswered.
All that to say this, it is disturbing to me that this remains a mystery. Here we are, directed to follow God's will but left in this vaccum where we still can't define what that is.
To be clear though, you don’t have to have conclusions to have convictions. I think it just requires grace and humility figure anything out.
Sounds like you’re a lot further along than your initial question suggested (to me anyway) if you’re doing all that work to find truth, you’re already aligned with God’s will. I will probably always give a loki-esque vague answer because to sound conclusive about any of this would feel psychotic on my end.
From my perspective (which undoubtedly is imperfect), GOD'S will for us is to seek to know GOD well enough to TRULY love him, freely of our own God-given free will, and to recognize and love His works (which includes his creation and his maintenance of his creation) forever (beyond time and space).
Well enough to feel fear of him too?
Absolutely. To me, Fear of GOD is the only valid fear. To fear GOD is to recognize His Almighty -ness, His sovereignty, His attributes of power and Creator of All and majesty. And Omnipotence, Omnipresence, Allknowing, TRUTH.
At the same time, it is to Revere and Love. Because it is absolutely awesome to consider that He knows everything about each one of us, including our motives, our circumstances, our limits, our thoughts and our choices infinitely (outside of time and space), and he knows our relationship with Him and others. To think about this extent of awareness of me is almost beyond comprehension. Then to add the fact that it's not just me but for all his creation. Mind boggling AWESOME.
Yes I do fear the LORD. With awe, reverence and love. And yes, I love the way he works. And, yes I'm glad he is my final judge, the one that counts. His judgment is just and TRUE. I cannot think of anyone more qualified. And Yes, I accept his offer to save me, to be my advocate when that day comes.
I shorten this in my prayers to GOD with this plea, "Let me live in TRUTH."