Doing God’s Will

Tom Barnard

 

“Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said… ‘Here I am—it is written

about me in the scroll—I have come to do your will, O God.’”

Hebrews 10:5-7

 

“Something for Thee! Lord, let this be

Thy choice for me from day to day;

The life I live it is not mine,

Thy will, my will, have made it Thine!

Oh, let me do in Thine own way

Something for Thee!”

Elizabeth Prentiss

 

There is a subtle difference between doing God’s work and doing God’s will. They may actually be the same, and they may not be the same. God’s work is broad—it is what God could very well do on his own without our help, but he has ordained that it be done by his servants. After all, is there any task that we humans do that is too complex for God to do without help from any of us? Do you remember the opening lines of Genesis? “And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light…And God said, ‘Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water’…And it was so.” Multi-tasking is nothing new to the Sovereign God. He speaks, and wondrous things happen!

 

What did the Lord mean when he said, “Here I am…I have come to do your will, O God”? Did he mean to say, “Father, I want to submit my plans for your approval before I set out to hear John preach down at the Jordan River?” No. He clearly said what he meant in John’s gospel, chapter 6:38: “For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.” Jesus was saying for all to hear, “I have only one agenda, and it is the agenda that my Heavenly Father has created for me.”

 

Henry Drummond once observed, “That is what we are here for—to do God’s will. That is the object of your life and mine—to do God’s will…So the question means just this, ‘Are we working out our common every-day life on the great lines of God’s will?’” Or not?

 

Heavenly Father, I confess that I have sometimes been flippant when I have said, “I’m doing God’s will.” Actually, what I should have said is, “I am engaged in doing the work that God has called me to do.” Father, I don’t want to just do things that fall under the description of God’s Work. I want to know and do Your Will. Grant me your assurance when I am on target, and correct me by your Spirit when I am not. I pray this in the Name of the one who came to this world to do the will of the Father, as an example for me to follow. Amen.