God's Will

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete." (John 15: 1-2; 4-5; 11).

I often wonder what God's will is for my life. On one specific occasion, He led me through a process that allowed me to hear Him. I sat on my couch, and with pen, paper, and God's Word in hand, I desperately sought the Holy Spirit. I was not going to move from that spot until I had clear answers from God! Yes, that is bold, and maybe even crazy, but I was determined to hear from Him, and I needed to hear from Him. We are friends, after all, and I knew He would tell me something… He is faithful. When we seek Him we WILL find Him when we seek Him with all of our heart.

Our God is merciful and loving, and on this day He indeed showed me His will for my situation. I prayed for a clear mind, and for the Holy Spirit to speak to me through God's Word. I even asked that this time would not be interrupted, and that He would answer swiftly!

I wanted to share this with you, and hope that you will always seek God's will for your life in every situation. Maybe this process will help you one day, as you seek the will of Christ for something specific. This was the first time I had ever been so resolute in seeking God's will, and it probably will not have been the last.

I am sharing the notes I wrote as thoughts would come to my mind, and as the Holy Spirit would tell me where to look in the Bible. I constantly talked with God, and also had to be quiet to listen to Him, and focus on His voice.

This is written as a conversation between the Holy Spirit and me...

Lord, please tell me what ministries You want for me to be involved in at church. I am feeling tired and unmotivated. My heart is numb. What happened to the passion I once had in these areas of serving You?

Look in My Word at John 15.
Apart from Me you can do nothing.
Write down the activities you are involved in. Think about them.

Are you doing anything apart from Me? Are you serving on your own strength, and not mine?

Are you bearing fruit in these ministries for Me?

What is the fruit God wants for me to be bearing? Where in Your Word do I go to find this answer, Lord?

Look in the Book of Galatians. See chapter 5, verses 22 and 23. Now list the fruit or attributes that should always be evident in your life. You possess all of these qualities because the Holy Spirit lives in you and abides with you…

In my ministries and in my life, these qualities should be evident, because I am God's child: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Where am I not bearing this fruit?

Turn back to John 15:11. I have told you this so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.

So, for my joy to be complete, I must "remain" in Jesus, "abide" in Him. What does this mean?

The original Greek word for "remain" or "abide" in this verse means: to stay in a given place or state; to continue; to dwell; to endure; to be present; to wait for; to stand.

I must dwell in You, wait for You, continue in You. Forgive me, Lord, for not sitting at Your feet daily, just to worship You. I have not made You a priority, even though I thought I was by being doing things in Your Name. I have been going on my own strength, which eventually fails. You are the most important relationship in my life. Amazing how I thought I was being obedient by serving You in this way, yet I was ignoring Your invitation to sit each day and worship and listen to Your guidance. I lost the focus of Your face along the way.

Go to Galatians, and begin reading.

Galatians 1:10 says, "Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ."

Lord, what have You called me to do? Not what I called myself to do, but what have You called me to do? Remind me what spiritual gifts Your Spirit has given me, and please help me to remember what makes my heart passionate while serving in Your kingdom.

Continue to write as I bring them to your mind...

The Lord is loving and merciful, and took me through this process. It was difficult but so relieving once it was "over". He showed me what ministries He had called me into, and also those which I needed to step down from. I learned that I must check my heart motive before saying "yes" to anything in life, including serving in God's kingdom.

         For His Glory
         Alison