Thoughts
that have come from various quotes taken from the book, "Victor - Breaking
Free From a Victim Based Society" by John H. Hovis. Click here to link directly to
the audio file.
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"God’s will can't be done if our will is in control."
As quoted from the book "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim-Based Society" by John H. Hovis Page 112.
I have a pretty good idea as to what my will is most of the time. How about you? My will is to live as beautiful, fun, prophetable, peaceful and impacting life as I can given the time I have left here on earth. Yes, understanding my will most of the time really isn't all that difficult. It's when I consider what the will of god is, particularly for my life, that has caused me a lot of confusion in the past. I don't think I'm alone with that last statement.
I've heard countless people, faced with having to make a decision in their life, ask, " I wished I knew god's will for me in this situation." Have you ever had times like this in your life or have thought the same thing?
A few years ago I came across a bible verse that made me stop questioning what god's will might be for my life. I still question as to whether I am fully living up to what this verse says. But for me, the "mystery" of god's will is no longer a mystery to me. Here's what it says in today's bible reading about the will of god.
With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ. Ephesians 1:7-10 (NIV)
Ultimately the will of god is to unify everything in heaven and everything on earth under Jesus Christ. One translation of the bible says to bring everything under the head of Christ. I take this to mean that god's goal is to put everything under the authority of Jesus. What does everything mean when it comes to you and to me? I think it means that our jobs, our family, our money, our thoughts, our actions, our identity, our ministry, even every single breath we take is to be under the authority, supervision, and at the pleasure of our savior Jesus Christ. That's a pretty big and bold statement!
I actually find this definition of god's will to be very encouraging. Why? Because god's will is part of everything that I do. That means all my successes and even all my failures are to be brought under in unified in the name of Jesus. This is encouraging to me because it means that even the things that tend to make me feel like a victim are actually part of the plan that is greater than my will will ever be able to match or exceed.
That's why I believe that if my will is in control god's will cannot be done. My will is all too often singularly focused, it's all about me! God's will is universally focused. It is to bring unity amongst the billions and billions of wills that exist in our world today. What will unify that will? It is the plan of god to bring all things under the authority of Jesus Christ.
The other thing that encourages me about this newfound answer to the mystery of god's will is the fact that even my most selfish ambitions can, and just might be, part of the will of god as, it too, is being brought under the headship of Jesus. God does not expect us to give up on our dreams and aspirations. He is looking for us to allow our dreams and aspirations to come under the authority of Jesus. Does this mean that we will always receive what we want when it comes to our dreams and aspirations? Unfortunately, no.
There will be times in all our lives where we will have to live just as Jesus did. We too might be in a position where we might have to say, "Not my will, but yours be done." Those can be difficult and challenging times for sure. But, the victor knows that god's plan, god's dreams and god's aspirations are always more complete than our plans, dreams and aspirations will ever be.
There will be a multitude of things that you will be involved in today or your will is going to play a significant role in your success or failure. I recommend that you challenge yourself with this question, "Does my will in any way interfere with the will of god?" In other words, does what you want to do in any way disrupt the plan for this time in your world to be unified with and under the authority of Jesus? This is not necessarily a simple question to answer. It is one that god will make more than abundantly clear to those situations in your life that might come into direct conflict with the unity of the party that is god's will.
**********
"God’s will can't be done if our will is in control."
As quoted from the book "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim-Based Society" by John H. Hovis Page 112.
I have a pretty good idea as to what my will is most of the time. How about you? My will is to live as beautiful, fun, prophetable, peaceful and impacting life as I can given the time I have left here on earth. Yes, understanding my will most of the time really isn't all that difficult. It's when I consider what the will of god is, particularly for my life, that has caused me a lot of confusion in the past. I don't think I'm alone with that last statement.
I've heard countless people, faced with having to make a decision in their life, ask, " I wished I knew god's will for me in this situation." Have you ever had times like this in your life or have thought the same thing?
A few years ago I came across a bible verse that made me stop questioning what god's will might be for my life. I still question as to whether I am fully living up to what this verse says. But for me, the "mystery" of god's will is no longer a mystery to me. Here's what it says in today's bible reading about the will of god.
With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ. Ephesians 1:7-10 (NIV)
Ultimately the will of god is to unify everything in heaven and everything on earth under Jesus Christ. One translation of the bible says to bring everything under the head of Christ. I take this to mean that god's goal is to put everything under the authority of Jesus. What does everything mean when it comes to you and to me? I think it means that our jobs, our family, our money, our thoughts, our actions, our identity, our ministry, even every single breath we take is to be under the authority, supervision, and at the pleasure of our savior Jesus Christ. That's a pretty big and bold statement!
I actually find this definition of god's will to be very encouraging. Why? Because god's will is part of everything that I do. That means all my successes and even all my failures are to be brought under in unified in the name of Jesus. This is encouraging to me because it means that even the things that tend to make me feel like a victim are actually part of the plan that is greater than my will will ever be able to match or exceed.
That's why I believe that if my will is in control god's will cannot be done. My will is all too often singularly focused, it's all about me! God's will is universally focused. It is to bring unity amongst the billions and billions of wills that exist in our world today. What will unify that will? It is the plan of god to bring all things under the authority of Jesus Christ.
The other thing that encourages me about this newfound answer to the mystery of god's will is the fact that even my most selfish ambitions can, and just might be, part of the will of god as, it too, is being brought under the headship of Jesus. God does not expect us to give up on our dreams and aspirations. He is looking for us to allow our dreams and aspirations to come under the authority of Jesus. Does this mean that we will always receive what we want when it comes to our dreams and aspirations? Unfortunately, no.
There will be times in all our lives where we will have to live just as Jesus did. We too might be in a position where we might have to say, "Not my will, but yours be done." Those can be difficult and challenging times for sure. But, the victor knows that god's plan, god's dreams and god's aspirations are always more complete than our plans, dreams and aspirations will ever be.
There will be a multitude of things that you will be involved in today or your will is going to play a significant role in your success or failure. I recommend that you challenge yourself with this question, "Does my will in any way interfere with the will of god?" In other words, does what you want to do in any way disrupt the plan for this time in your world to be unified with and under the authority of Jesus? This is not necessarily a simple question to answer. It is one that god will make more than abundantly clear to those situations in your life that might come into direct conflict with the unity of the party that is god's will.
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