What Is God’s Will for Me in This New Year?

What Is God’s Will for Me in This New Year? .

MESSAGE SUMMARY:

In 2023, have you accomplished God’s will for your life? The will of God to us humans is both “active” and “passive” at the same time. God’s will to us is “passive” because God is going to accomplish His will on earth – God’s Sovereignty is universal. However, God’s will to us can be very “active”. We can know God’s will for us, but knowing His will requires our willingness and participation. The will of God is a choice for us. In John 7:17, the Apostille John quotes Jesus regarding God’s will: “If anyone's will is to do God's will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority.". Therefore, we can choose whether we will do God’s will. Too many of us make and execute our own plans from our own will and then we ask God to bless our actions.

What is God’s will for your life in 2023? God has several things that “He wills” for our lives, but we must cooperate: 1) to have a growing personal relationship with Him; 2) to be a disciple of Jesus the Christ; 3) to be an ambassador and vessel of God’s love; 4) to have minds that are constantly renewed so that we are transformed – we renew our minds by the Word of God, “we are what we think”; 5) not to be controlled by anything other than the Spirit of God; and 6) to become Sanctified – becoming God-centered in our lives.

Why do “specific things in our lives” constitute God’s will for us? To answer this question regarding the specifics of God’s will in our lives, we: 1) should ask if we even should know the answer to this question regarding our knowing the specifics of God’s will in our lives – based on Romans 13, the answer is “yes” 2) we can discern God’s will for us through praying, meditating, and fasting on the Word of God; 3) the Lord will speak His will through dreams, visions, and words of knowledge and wisdom; 4) God speaks His will to us by putting “desires” in our hearts; and 5) God makes His will known to us by our personal reflection.

Questions we should ask and reflect upon in discerning God’s will for our lives include: 1) what have been my prevailing feelings in the past and what are these feelings now -- have my feelings been mostly of sadness or of joy; 2) what have been the blessings of God in my life – can I express praise and appreciation for these blessings; 3) have things happened for which I need to accept responsibility and why did they happen; 4) is there a possibility that I am living in denial of certain realities; 5) is there ill will or resentments that remain unaddressed or unforgiven; 6) in the company of others, am I a pleasant person; 7) what is God trying to say into my life today; 8) what can I do or say in my life that will make others feel more loved and appreciated; 9) am I mindful of the socially awkward, poor, and suffering – how do I respond to current events through a Biblical world view; 10) how am I spending my time and money – do I see them as God’s time and money that have been loaned to me; 11) how is my prayer life; 12) am I growing and maturing as a follower of Jesus; and 13) am I prepared to meet Jesus face-to-face today?

In the words of the Psalmist in Psalms 143:10: “Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground!”.     

 

TODAY’S PRAYER: Keeping the Sabbath, Lord, will require a lot of changes in the way I am living life. Teach me, Lord, how to take the next step with this in a way that fits my unique personality and situation. Help me to trust you with all that will remain unfinished and to enjoy my humble place in your very large world. In Jesus’ name, amen. Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 129). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: Today, I affirm that because of what God has done for me in His Son, Jesus, I AM RIGHTEOUS IN GOD’S EYES. God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21).

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV):  Matthew 7:21; Matthew 6:7-15; John 7:17; 1 Timothy 2:3-4; Matthew 28:19; John 13:31; 1 Corinthians 13:1-13; Romans 12:2; Ephesians 5:17; 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8; Matthew 2:13-15; 1 Corinthians 12:7-8; Psalms 37:4; Psalms 139:23-24; Psalms 143:10-11.

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