Understanding His will 2

The past week has been pretty busy for me. It already feels like my vacation ended three months ago. But that is life isn’t it. In the real sense of it, we can never take long enough vacations from our realities. Life is always right there waiting for us, regardless of how many weeks of vacation we decide to take. I am grateful to God the assignment that He has given me on the mountain of business, for it is in the busyness of my days that I am working out my life’s purpose. The past week has also been a very exciting week for me. Not only did I finish my second book, but my first book ‘Uniquely Woman’ made its debut on Amazon(http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Uniquely+Woman+by+Audrey+Joe-Ezigbo&rh=n%3A283155%2Ck%3AUniquely+Woman+by+Audrey+Joe-Ezigbo) in this same week. Truthfully, I’d be doing cartwheels out of excitement if I were a bit younger (err… not to mention several pounds lighter, cough cough). I have however chosen to content myself with constant songs of praise and lots of spontaneous dancing in gratitude to God for He alone deserves the glory. Thank you to each and every one of you, for indeed you are a big part of the success story of Uniquely Woman. I’m counting on you to help me make some noise about this book okay. Big hugs as you do.  

So, last week I shared with you some questions that were thrown at me concerning the will of God. I asked for responses and promised to share them on this forum. A couple of responses have really struck me very deeply and I will share these with you over the next couple of days and then eventually round up with my own thinking as I had said I would. The questions were: What is the difference between your will and God's will? How can you trust God when it seems you're the one making plans for yourself? How do you know God's plans for you?’ The responses? Here goes:

‘Hmmm! Certainly very deep questions. My will is working and planning according to World's standards. His will is subjecting my life and plans to Bible standards and ensuring that I am constantly speaking to God and having Him speak back to me to confirm or otherwise. And I know all this can only happen if I have a close relationship with Him and I'm therefore in constant communion with Him.’  - IY

‘Hmmm, some very meaty questions there and questions that I guess all of us have asked at one time or another. And as human beings, I guess will continue to ask until the day we are reunited with Christ and see and know perfectly. As a natural go-getter/organizer type person, I struggle with the idea of not sorting things out for myself and waiting on God is often the hardest thing for me to do. However, I've discovered that waiting on Him is absolutely the right thing to do. Not waiting fatalistically, but actively- reminding myself of the times He's come through for me in the past. Remembering His Word and going back to it as often as I need to. But also, taking at least a step towards what I want to do. I think we need to let go of the picture in our head, that God is an ogre Who's just waiting for us to fail. He's not like that at all. If we're going the wrong way, He will tell us (in my experience anyway). As for knowing His will, my advice is, if it doesn't line up with His Word, then it can't be His will. His Word, His Names and His Will are all congruent. Practice listening all the time and you'll get better at discerning His voice, from the myriad we hear every day.                                                      –  FJ     http://www.b2bbeautiful.blogspot.com

‘I have been thinking of your post since I read it yesterday. I actually wanted to reply right away but God halted me and told me to wait so that He would help me send a 'much better' reply. I am simple woman and I usually like things broken down for me like I am a 2 year old and this is how I walk with God - with childlike faith cos adult sense and wisdom is just a blocker. 

SO HOW DO I KNOW GOD'S WILL? By first knowing what blocks it for me: MY OWN DESIRE and to be honest this is how you will also know the difference between your will and God's. Your will is what YOU want based on your own wisdom and understanding the situation. God's will is what HE wants for you which is always BETTER even if we don't see it that way at the time. Now, remember the garden on Eden? What made Eve eat the apple? Her desire to KNOW. When trying to get God's will for us, we have to ask for grace not to put OUR OWN desires over and above HIS, cos sometimes they won't match. We have to say, like Jesus, as he cried to God to take his cup away, ‘Lord, YOUR WILL be done, not mine!' Yes, usually very hard but always worth it in the end and when we have done this, and we meant it, then we can be sure that God will guide us into His will for us on that matter.

BUT HOW DO YOU KNOW YOU ARE WALKING IN GOD's WILL FOR SURE?

True, sometimes even after you have handed it all to God, 'self' still creeps in and tries to 'help'. The spirit of God immediately tells me I am 'trying' to help God. For any person in Christ, this voice is always speaking. Just that sometimes, we don't listen. You need to listen and when it speaks, you stop what you were thinking or about to do. Secondly, check the Word, what you are about to do? Does it go against anything God says you are or should not do? If it does, then it is not in God's will for you. God would never ask you to compromise your integrity; He will never ask you to 'fib or colour the story'. He will not ask  you to bribe or 'facilitate' to have His will done. God does not need your help to have His way in your life. He just needs your obedience and 1500% TRUST. 

This morning as I was praying and doing my devotional, God showed me why He wanted me to wait. Right there in my reading for today. This is what I read: 'Come in poverty of spirit to be led by the Spirit. 'Be not conformed to this world but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable and perfect will of God'. You see, God is saying to us that His Spirit will teach a person with a TRANSFORMED AND RENEWED MIND AND LIFE that WANTS only to know God's perfect will. We first of all have to BE FULLY REBORN IN CHRIST AND DAILY RENEWING OUR MINDS VIA HIS WORD and then we have TO WANT TO KNOW God's perfect will for our lives ALL THE TIME. Not just in crisis or when facing a particularly stormy time or difficult situation. ALL THE TIME! The Spirit of God in us will teach is just like I said above but His voice will be muted if our minds are not renewed enough to hear or understand what He is saying. You and I know that the un-renewed mind of man and its wisdom is incapable of understanding God or His wisdom and where there is sin the light of God cannot shine into the heart to guide......  I just hope this helps you talk to this young lady.....And I pray God will open her heart and mind to receive all you share with her in Jesus name. Amen. Bless you Sis! 

P. S. One final tip, as a child of God, truly wanting to please Him, when we begin to do things in our wisdom, we get a check in our spirits and our peace begins to seep out of us.......I know this to be true personally.....either two things happen. You listen to the check and stop it. Days later something happens and you are like 'Lord, Thank You.....Thank You for not letting me do that, now I get it. OR You don't listen, and days later, you suffer the consequences and see how God was trying to save you from your current kwata''' (problem) and then you apologize and ask for mercy to get out of it......and God being Love....He always does                         - Salt    http://thesaltchronicles.blogspot.co.uk

Food for thought? No doubt! Tomorrow, we share another response that particularly moved me. I pray though that as you meditate on what you have read so far, the Lord Himself will minister something to your heart and help you in your walk, so that you will find yourself squarely in the center of His will always.

Be blessed…. for you surely are!