God’s Will

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I had a thought this morning about God’s will, here it is:  Knowing God’s will is more about education than revelation.  Reading from Ps. 143:10, David requests of God, “Teach me to do your will…”  This jumped out at me because I often ask God to show me his will.  But David asks God to teach him.  Moses asked the same thing in Exodus when he asked God to “teach me your ways”.

Here are some distinctions between teach me and show me:

• To be taught something takes effort.  It takes work to know God’s will.  It takes prayer, study, research, conversation, and attempts to know God’s will.  It’d be easier if God just showed me his will like a slideshow; let me just sit and watch the pictures.  To learn anything takes work.  But, my lazy side just wants God to show me.
• We are taught things that already exist. That is, teaching-learning is the discovery of truth that already exists.  When I teach my boys math, I’m not showing them anything new, I’m just helping them discover an already existing truth.  I often treat knowing God’s will as receiving new revelation when, in fact, God has already made his will known to us. For example, Paul writes in 2 Thess. that it’s God’s will for us to live sanctified lives.  Boom! There it is.  God’s will.  Rather than seeking “fresh” revelation of God’s will, I need to discover his already stated will. Now, this doesn’t mean it’s wrong to ask God’s will when faced with a decision; however, Jesus instructs us to seek God’s kingdom first, which is to seek out God’s existing design and desire.
• We learn by doing.  I’m an on-the-job learner.  I like theory, but I learn best by doing the work.  True learning comes by application not by only information. I think this is why David asks God to teach him to do His will. How often do Christians wait around in their prayer closet for revelation of God’s will.  I believe you can best learn God’s will through action.  In other words, sometimes we got to take a chance, take a risk, and not wait around.  Will you make mistakes? Yes, but so what.  Doing God’s will doesn’t mean you’ll be mistake-free!  Maybe God wants to teach you his will through the mistakes!

Knowing God’s will is more about education than revelation, it’s more about teach me than show me.  Often, when those in Scripture prayed “show me” they were asking God to show them his glory.  God’s glory cannot be taught, it must be experienced.  God’s glory is revelatory.  To know God’s will let’s be learners (disciples) and trust in the instruction of the Holy Spirit to counsel us in God’s ways.

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