Working the Will of God

Exiting 2019, on this very last day of the decade, I am thankful for God’s goodness, his blessings, his favor, and abundance. I remember all that he has poured into me, and allowed me to share with his people. I remember the lives that he has allowed me to reach and bless in some small way. And I and thankful for all that he has in store for me to accomplish for the cause of Christ.

As I head into 2020, God says it is time work work the will of God.

The will of God is identified, amplified, explained, and known in his word. Through it God’s plan for our lives is formed and ordered.

By definition work is activity involving mental or physical effort done in order to achieve a purpose or result.

The last message my husband preached for 2019 was Pursuing God. 2020 will be a year of going after the things God has ordered and ordained for us. The focus will be on work. Setting and attaining small goals that ultimately culminate in doing the will of God.

What is your focus for 2020?

Romans 8:26-27

“26. Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

27. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”

This time of the year is perfect for reflection. Considering the successes and failures of the present year, before heading into the new year.

What is was your goal or plan for 2019? We you close to accomplishing them. Celebrate you successes, repent for your failures, and move on.

As you move on, first take the time to seek God for direction for the new year. Seek his face in prayer. Write down the vision for the new year, be as detailed as you can. Then make a plan with steps you can take towards that goal. Refer back to this writer vision throughout the year to help keep you on track.

Reflection requires prayer.

God has a purpose and a plan for everyone – without exception!!

Many times the enemy would like us to believe that we are all alone, without hope. That no one understands where you are, or what you are going through. He tries to make us think that we are the least of all. But this too is another lie that many take to heart.

We serve a God who promised to never leave or forsake us. The same God who cannot lie. This this means God is always there. Yes, there are times when our sins have separated us from him. But God is faithful, and knows how to get through to us. To let us know where we have fallen short, and allow space for repentance. So we can be reconciled to God.

Psalms 61:1-3 says, ” Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer.

From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy.“

It is so good to know that in those times when life would try to overwhelm us, we have a savior who helps with our infirmities (a physical weakness or ailment), and will make intercession (the action of intervening on behalf of another) for us. We go through so much that most of the time we do not even know exactly what is that we need.

With this understanding we are free to seek God for direction for the coming year.

God is always there working for us. Sometimes we fail to realize the depth of his love toward us. Instead, we take a lot of his goodness for granted. We fail to even recognize the hand of God at work in our lives.

But God knows what we need. His intercession for us is always according to God’s will for our lives. In Romans 8:28, we can understand why all things work for our good – because God has been intercession for us. Ordering God’s will to be done in us and through us.

The situations we go through may not be good. However, the end result of them will be for our good. Yes, sometimes loss is for our good. The lessons learned in dealing with loss will be beneficial in many other situations on the horizon. So that loss worked for my good because it prepared me for my future. I am stronger now. I would not have known it if it had not been for experiencing that loss.

So for this coming year…

– Let us learn from both our successes and failures.

– Let us seek God for direction in 2020.

– Let is write the vision down on paper, and refer back to it often.

– Let is think big, and dream big,

– Let us be accountable to remain faithful to the plan.

– Let rely on God, and not our own strength or will.

– Let is go into the new year with a renewed sense of purpose and faith in God.

Proverbs 24:16

“For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again:

but the wicked shall fall into mischief. ”

No one is perfect. We all make mistakes and poor choices which cause us to stumble and fall. The key is not to stay down.

Take a minute to get over your feelings, then get up and try again!

So you made a move that you thought God was leading you to, and it did not immediately turn out the way you wanted.

So you chose to tie your self to the wrong person or job.

So you blamed others for your poor choices.

This list can be endless.

The bottom line is this – get back up and try again! Repent for your wrong if you must. Be honest, sometimes we are just wrong. Admit it, repent, and move on. Just don’t give up!

Trust in God’s love, protection, and guidance. Learn from every failure (or what you perceive as failure), but try again.

Do not allow a fall or failure steer your feet to more poor choices. Be willing to admit your error so you can be free.

Psalms 150

“Praise ye the Lord.

Praise God in his sanctuary:

praise him in the firmament of his power.

Praise him for his mighty acts:

praise him according to his excellent greatness.

Praise him with the sound of the trumpet:

praise him with the psaltery and harp.

Praise him with the timbrel and dance:

praise him with stringed instruments and organs.

Praise him upon the loud cymbals:

praise him upon the high sounding cymbals.

Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord.

Praise ye the Lord.”

Psalms 150 opens and closes with the same command – to praise the Lord. The subsequent verses in this chapter tells where to praise him (his sanctuary, the firmament of his power), and why we should praise him (his mighty acts, and according to his greatness), and what we should use to praise him (musical instruments and our bodies). Prior to repeating the command, clarification is provided on who the command is for – every thing that has breath.

Sequence: command, where, why, with what, who, and finally the command again.

There are so many benefits of being a praiser. But the one that I believe that gets over looked the most is it takes the focus off of us and puts it back God, where it belongs.

The battleground of every struggle we face is in the mind. We do not wrestle with flesh and blood (Ephesians 6:12).

We can dress the part and speak the part. But in our mind the truth of what we feel, what we think, and where we are spiritually is ever present. We can fool people all day long on the outside, but the truth is ever with us on the inside. We cannot escape it. We can lie to ourselves, but God always knows the truth of us.

Having said that – we are back to the battleground of our struggles, our mind.

To truly be free we must willingly uncover our faults to God and allow him to work on them with us. We use the weapon of praise to do this. God told us to cast our cares on him because he cares for us. He also told us to always pray and not faint. He told us to pray without ceasing. Even songs tell us to “tell God all about it.” As we pour out all of our “stuff” on God, we need to be able to get the focus from us back on to God.

Praise causes us to think about the awesome God we serve. We can thank him for bearing the burden of the “stuff” we pour out to him.

During those times when we have so much going on in our lives, and it is to stressful to even think about them, there is praise. We turn the focus from those things, and consider God instead. We can choose to bless God, rather than dwell on the drama of our life.

Through praise we can choose to place the cares of this life at his feet, and go into praise instead.

Rather than trying to figure out how to handle stressful situations at work, in our relationships, etc. we choose instead to place them at God’s feet, through praise. Praise removes the burden from your shoulders, and gives it to God instead.

Praise brings God into our “right now” moments. The awesome thing about praise is that it can be done out loud or it can be done quietly at a desk, in a meeting, or in the middle of any situation- and know one knows but you and God.

Praise is a command that should be obeyed. Yes, there are times when you might no feeling like praising God, but don’t give in to it. The benefits we receive from praise far outweigh any sense of inconvenience we might have momentarily felt.

Because all things work together for the good of those that live him (Romans 8:28). Even the sacrifice of praise is worth it in the end.

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise he the Lord!