UNDERSTANDING THE LORD'S WILL

To understand the Lord's will is to recognize God's perspective about any matter and how to walk in it. His Word speaks about His will throughout the Bible. And God's will for our lives has meaningful purpose and reason. It is through the Scriptures that we locate ordinances and principles that discern God's will.

Reference: Ephesians 5:17 New Living Translation (NLT) "Don't act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do."

To act thoughtlessly is to walk in foolishness. It also means senselessness. Foolishness contradicts God's will and desire for our lives. For instance, 1 Peter 2:15 (NIV) reads, "For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people." Therefore we must never be unwise, but understand the will of God in any situation. Many a time, when we notice the conjunction "but", it means that the Scripture is about to reveal what we must do to replace what we must not do. In other words, on the contrary! So instead of acting foolishly, we must choose to understand God's will and God's Word contains the clear will of God. Those who study God's Word will always become well-informed with God's will or perspective pertaining any area of their life.

The Bible says in 2 Timothy 3:16 (NLT) that, "All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right." Everything stated in this verse helps us to act wisely, which means that it empowers us to understand the will of God for us. The Word of God is written for our wisdom and as an instruction to teach us what is right. Although Biblical authors penned down God's will, through their own perspectives and mindset, the real source of all their information is the Holy Spirit. Hence, the Word is God's breath, inspired by His Spirit.

The Word of God is profitable for teaching and instructing us to know God's will better. It is also profitable for correcting foolishness, so that we don't act thoughtlessly. Though similar to teaching, understanding it is more focused on practical application. From our referenced Scripture, which says, "Don't act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do", we can easily notice that acting thoughtlessly simply suggests that the Lord's will is absence in our understanding. When we pay attention to His will, we become wise enough to know what is true, what is wrong, how to correct what is wrong, and how to apply His will correctly.

Understanding what the will of God is, focuses more on divine revelation and its practical application. No wonder, apostle Paul prayed that the eyes of our understanding should be enlightened, that we may know what is the hope of His calling... which also stands for "His will" (see Ephesians 1:18 NKJV). This understanding has to do with the heart in relation to our spiritual perception, which grants us insight into heavenly realities and empowers us to act wisely as Christians. Shalom!

Scripture Reading - Jeremiah 29:11; 1 Thessalonians 5:18; 2 Timothy 2:3-4; Hebrews 13:20-21.

Guided Prayer: Heavenly Father, I thank you for my soundness of understanding in the matters of your will. The revelation of your purpose enables me to be temperate, upright, modest, moderate, wise, and prudent in all things. By walking in your perfect will, I sustain purity of mind, spirit and speech, which always prompts me to give thanks to you for everything, in Jesus' Name, Amen!