by David Brenneman
The Unreasonable Will of God
Life Principle 5: God does not require us to understand His will, just obey it, even if it seems unreasonable.
Do you often find yourself wondering why God doesn’t answer your prayers or why, despite your best efforts, the circumstances of your life still don’t work out? The answer could lie in your level of obedience to God. Or waiting may be the result of God wanting you to be still, trust Him, and watch for His cue to move forward.
When we choose the path of obedience, we must be prepared for any response we’ll undoubtedly receive (both positive or negative), knowing that God has an excellent reason for His command and will help us in extraordinary ways. We must never focus on the things or the people who try to distract us from doing God’s will. The Holy Spirit enables us to obey every one of God’s commandments and always directs us in the best way possible. Therefore, whatever He requires of us—whether it be painful or joyful, profitable or costly, reasonable or peculiar—our heavenly Father will give us the ability and strength to be faithful, regardless of what others think or how our circumstances appear.
Obedience must be a priority in every believer’s life. It’s the only way you will ever become the person God wants you to be and the only way you will ever achieve the things in life He has so wonderfully prepared for you. It’s the Holy Spirit who enables you to walk obediently before the Lord in His strength and His power.
So choose to obey Him, even if you don’t understand why He asks you to do something. Have faith that His instructions are for your good (Jer. 29:11). That way, you can become the person He wants you to be, do the work He desires of you, bear the fruit He enables you to bear, and receive all the blessings He’s prepared for you.
- Bible App Devotional by Dr. Charles Stanley: Life Principles.
It is often one of the most difficult things for me to go through is when a situation or problem occurs and I can't figure it out.
And I have run across well meaning people who try to give me their take on my situations who do believe they're making sense. But that's not always the case. Some have been downright insensitive in their remarks, some have been accusatory of what they believe about me and what they see driving me.
Sometimes it's just that God’s plans haven't been revealed yet. I, not unlike Job, might never understand the why's behind what I am going through.
The worst thing any Believer can do is after praying and leaving a situation in God's hands is to take it back to resolve themselves.
Christians aren't to be the type to "pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps".
We aren't to lean on our own understanding. It's rather clear in Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight." Couple this with what we read in Jeremiah 29:11-13 "For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.".
"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28.
When we take up our own cross and follow Jesus we aren't always going to understand why much that's going to happen is happening in our lives.
My current set of circumstances, my situation as it were, came about only because I befriended a brother in Christ at a company function. Ironically it was living out one of the guiding principles, core values, of the company. I was fired for doing that. Needless to say I met that situation with much confusion. There are other variables that are confusing but this one is the true crux of the matter. Needless to say that we indeed became friends in the Lord regardless of what it did to my employment status. I listened to the Spirit when I was prompted to talk with this person and that's all I knew to do.
In the ensuing months of constantly looking for a new job I haven't been idle. God's providing in various ways. He's kept me busy helping other families while I search.
My prayer for employment always has been that I wouldn't have a shred of confusion. That when it's the right choice it will be the only choice.
So I have been living out much of this principle. I refuse to not keep up with my morning's with Jesus in my Bible reading as well as my evening studies with the Spirit.
The Spirit has been directing many of the devotionals that I do read towards encouraging myself and my Wife through this time. I write these down in my journal.
"For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus." Philippians 1:6.
What He starts, He finishes.
We may not make sense of the situation and we may get told by a few or by many of what we should do. But we know what His Word has to say.
"Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way." Psalms 139:23-24.
Forgiveness of others is crucial as well. This too can lead to confusion on our part about obeying God. When we don't forgive others we hinder the work of God in our lives.
"For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions." Matthew 6:14-15.
I, for my part, have forgiven those at my former employer. What is happening to them now is on them.
My responsibility is to trust and obey. To keep my eyes on Jesus. Whether the instructions He gives makes sense or not.
It's also a great danger in such times to give up on praying altogether. That, my Dear Reader, you should never do.
Getting mad at God will get you silence from Him as well. Because you're refusing to acknowledge His lordship in your life.
Take time today, if this season of your life is filled with such unreasonable expectations from God, to obey anything He puts there for you to be doing.
Remember we gave up our rights when we asked Him to take our place on calvary. When we asked Him to be the forgiver of our sins and the leader of our lives we signed over everything.
Keep praying. Keep standing firm in the Lord. Keep obeying no matter what things look like. He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.
All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission.
New American Standard Bible
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