Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
As a Christian, we are routinely given well-intended instructions
to “follow God’s plan”, “seek God’s direction”, “allow God to direct our path”,
and “seek the will of the Father”. That is certainly sound and solid
instruction, and it sounds great, but when the rubber meets the road, how do we
actually do that? It seems much easier said than done. We live in a world that
is so incredibly clouded with an array of different ideas of how we should live.
Each day seems to present a new idea or new concept to being more “open minded”,
doing what makes us happy, and welcoming everything as “good” that comes across
our plate. But while the world continues to evolve daily, God’s Word remains
unchanged. God’s commands have stood the test of time and remain as solid,
bold, and definitive today as they did when they were first recorded. They are
as relevant and applicable today as they were back when the ink first touched
the paper and captured God’s will for our lives. Yet today, in the instant
information era, we have so much coming at us from all different directions at
the same time that it can get confusing and outright exhausting. Is what I am
seeing really God’s will for my life? Is what I am hearing really God directing
my life? Or is it just the noise of this world, or even worse, the devil working
in his typical distracting manner? Unfortunately, God’s not standing before us
in the physical form, spelling out the instructions on how we are to follow him
that day. So at times, the waters can appear a bit muddied. But that doesn’t
mean God isn’t at work. He may not be standing before us directing the traffic
in our lives, but he is most certainly deeply involved in every aspect of our
lives. The text above gives us a path to discerning God’s will for our lives. When
we allow our minds to be renewed through Christ…when we commit to focusing on
God’s commands, lessons, and Word each day (instead of worldly things and ways),
we are equipping ourselves with the tools to test what comes to our doorstep.
When we are intimately versed in God’s Word, we can test what comes across our
path and get a pretty solid idea as to whether or not it aligns with God’s
will. We are broken people so we will still mess up at times. But thankfully we
are not performing this daily test alone. No, the Father sends the Spirit to
guide us…to aid us in testing the things of this world and to weed out those
things that do not fit into the Lord’s plan. May we take time each day to
personally crack open the Bible and allow the Living Word to speak to our lives…allowing
God to pour out his wisdom into our lives…so that when life presents one of its
“ideas” about how we should be living, we can stand confident in where the Lord
wants us to go. To God alone be the glory!
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