Other voices are added into the mix. Parents insist we do what they want: turn off our screens or tidy our rooms. We don’t want to do that and we resent their involvement in our lives. We try not to listen; we argue our case; we get angry. Why? Nothing is as important to us as what we want, and we don’t want what they want! If possible we resist their intrusion. We may realise as we mature that what our parents wanted made good sense – a break from screens was better for us, tidying our rooms enhanced our environment. At that point our desires change and align with theirs. We want what they want now. There’s no more resentment or resistance – we’re always happy to do what we want.
But what does God want? How often does that cross our minds? James wrote to believers and reminded them of their responsibility when they heard God’s Word. He said “be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath” (1:19). He is instructing us to respond better than a child often does to earthly parents. He wants us to listen carefully, not argue our case, and not get angry with God.
Jesus said that all who desire to come after Him must “deny” themselves (Mark 8:34). What He meant was that the voice with most authority in our lives should not be “I want” but “God wants”.
But what does God want? A scriptural answer includes the following:
Our Salvation. “God our Saviour . . . desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:3-4). Here God’s heart towards humanity is revealed. He wants everyone to be saved. The sincerity of this desire is confirmed by the price paid to provide salvation for everyone. “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all” (vv.5-6). God gave His Son to suffer the punishment for sin upon the cross. He did this because He wants our salvation.
If you are not saved you are disobeying God’s will. God “now commands all men everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30). You must hear His voice and submit to His instructions. Salvation is obtained by “repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21).
Our Surrender. The apostle Paul writes of some people who “first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God” (2 Corinthians 8:5). Some Christians were experiencing deep poverty and needed financial aid. Other Christians responded with great generosity, providing funds at immense personal sacrifice. The reason they did so was because they had given themselves to the Lord. This surrender is described as the “will of God”.
Do you know Christ as your Saviour? Remember that He is also your Lord! Voluntarily present yourself to Him so that He may use you in His service. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:1-2). Whatever you may want for your life, what God wants should have the priority. Hear His voice and yield yourself to Him.
Our Sanctification. “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honour, not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God . . .” (1 Thessalonians 4:3-5). Paul is giving advice as to how Christians “ought to walk and to please God” (v.1). He reminds us that God “did not call us to uncleanness but in holiness” (v.7).
God’s will for you is that you live a pure, holy, sanctified life. One of the strongest urges in young people is sexual desire. Within each of us, at certain times, there is the cry “I want . . .” But what does God want? Contrary to what some have thought, God is not against sex. He is the creator of it. However, just as we wrap up something exceedingly precious and fragile to preserve it from destruction, so God wants the precious and fragile gift of sex to be carefully handled and preserved. He wants it to be enjoyed only within the secure environment of the marriage relationship of a husband and wife. What does God want? Your moral purity and self-control. No amount of apparent devotion to God or occupation in His work excuses sexual sin.
Our Satisfaction. “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). Here is a triplet of exhortations – each one forming a part of “the will of God . . . for you”. We are to “rejoice always”. How? Only by believing that, no matter the circumstances into which He brings us, God is in ultimate control and working out His purpose for our good and His glory. We are to “pray without ceasing” assured that He hears and answers our prayers. We are to “give thanks”, recognising that “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning” (James 1.17).
Are you a constant complainer? Do you stamp your foot when things don’t go your way, “I want . . .”? Are you never happy? This is not God’s will for you. Hell is a place where self-centred desire is the constant companion of every soul; those desires are never satisfied. Remember God is your Father! He will not cause you a needless tear or hold back from you something that is for your good. What He is doing you may not know now, but you will know someday (cp. John 13:7). As you mature you will learn that every command of God has a cause and every problem has a purpose. Rest in Him, rely on Him, return to Him, and rejoice in Him. This is God’s will.
Our Service. “David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell asleep . . .” (Acts 13:36). Life is short and death is sure. David had only a short time on planet earth in which to serve God. There is a “time to be born, and a time to die” (Ecclesiastes 3:2).
Why is it that God has not taken you to heaven already? Why has he left you here? So that you might serve! You are here to serve. He has made you who you are and placed you where you are that you might “serve [your] generation by the will of God”. You can do nothing about past generations – they have already gone into eternity. You can do little for future generations. Your responsibility is your time in history and your sphere of influence. Here and now serve others for the glory of God. Do not waste life in self-indulgence. Do not waste effort in wishing that you were someone else and somewhere else. You are called to follow the Lord who came “not to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).
Our Son-Likeness. “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren” (Romans 8:29). What is God’s ultimate purpose for you? God’s greatest pleasure will be your perfect and complete conformity “to the image of His Son”. God finds great delight in His Son and one day you will be perfectly “like Him” (1 John 3:2).
How are you progressing towards this goal? One of the greatest hindrances to maturity is saying “Well, that’s just me!” You know, when you lose your temper, “Well, that’s just me, I have a short temper!” Or, when you gossip about someone, “Well, that’s just me, I call a spade a spade”. This inner voice must be denied. God’s Word must be obeyed.
Is the fruit of the Spirit being produced in your life? Is Christ being formed in you by the Spirit’s power? Are you more loving than you once were? Are you more joyful? Have you greater peace of spirit? What about patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (cp. Galatians 5:22-23)?
Paul commenced his Christian life with the words, “Lord, what do you want me to do?” (Acts 9:6). Nearing the end of his life he wrote, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable . . . that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). His message is clear. What God wants for me is revealed in God’s Word to me. If we are saved and surrendered, sanctified and satisfied, active in service and growing in likeness to God’s Son, we will fulfil God’s will in our lives.
