Don’t Miss Out

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looking for God's will

A common concern for many Christians is finding God’s will. They read books. They listen to Bible teachers. They go on retreats. They fast. They pray, “God, I want to know your will. Show me your will.”

Many years ago, I learned an important principle in knowing and doing God’s will. Actually, the principle was the first point in a brand new Bible Study at the time from LifeWay called Experiencing God (affiliate link). The principle is to find out where God is working and join Him in what He’s doing.

In today’s Bible reading from Matthew 21, we see several instances where people missed out on what God was doing. There were lots of people in Jerusalem when Jesus came riding in on a donkey. Although they shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” (Matthew 21:9 CSB) many (most?) of them had no clue Who Jesus was; they were just celebrating the beginning of the Passover and welcoming everyone who had made the pilgrimage.

Jesus entered the Temple and overturned tables, driving out everyone who was making a mockery of God’s sacrificial system. The chief priests and scribes saw Him healing people. Instead of rejoicing like the little children, they were jealous that Jesus was attracting so much attention.

The leaders asked where Jesus got His authority to do what He was doing. He turned the tables on them and asked where John the Baptizer got his authority; they refused to answer, knowing that their hearts had been exposed.

Jesus tells a story of two sons whose father asked them to work in a vineyard. One said no, but did anyway; the other said he would, but didn’t.

Jesus tells another story of a vineyard. The owner sent out his people to collect the fruit that had been harvested. Instead of giving them the harvest, the workers beat the men who went to collect the fruit. This happened several times until the owner sent his own son to collect the harvested fruit. This time, the workers killed the owner’s son so they could keep the fruit and the vineyard.

So many people missed out in so many ways because they were unaware of God at work in the world around them. Many expected God’s blessings on what they were doing apart from His will. Many didn’t care about God’s will or His blessings.

Too often, we get caught up trying to discover God’s will,
when God is already at work, inviting us to join Him.

Application

It’s easy to miss God’s will when you’re spending so much time and effort looking for it. Instead of investing so much looking for God’s will, try looking for God. When you find Him, join Him in what He’s already doing. You’ll find God’s will there.

Do you want to find God’s will? Wherever you find God working, you’ll find God. And wherever you find God, don’t miss being a part of the greatest adventure you could ever dream of.

Where you find God, you’ll find God’s will.

This devotional was originally published May 3, 2019.