How to approve the will of God
Paul writes in Romans 12:1-2:
'Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 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.'
Have you ever been found in a confusing situation where you did not know what the will of God was for your life? Have you ever found yourself in situations where various people would be trying to tell you the will of God for your life and in the process a sea of confusion marred in your thinking?
How do we become able to approve what God wants in the face of multiple voices?It is necessary to read and study Romans 12:1-2, because it also explains why so many can't even distinguish the will of God from the will of men and of Satan.
Our ability to approve the will of God in a world filled with confusions and individual truths, reside in the following three steps:
1. Giving the body to God as a LIVING, holy and pleasing sacrifice. It is interesting to note that Paul makes mentions of the physical body (flesh and blood). He also includes the word 'LIVING' as a reminder that we should give our physical bodies to God while we are alive right now. God wants our bodies today as we live. The term 'Holy' refers to a dedication or consecration of our bodies to God and to let Him do what pleases Him with it.
2. The second step consists in 'refusing to conform to the patterns of this world'. You see my friend, the world has a way of doing of things, it has a way of approving and clapping for everything that is unscriptural. Many unbelievers struggle to approve which voice belongs to God simply because they conform to the world 's way of doing things to the extent where it becomes difficult to distinguish them from the world. There are believers that are very hard to distinguish from unbelievers...
3. The third step into acquiring the ability to approve the will of God resides in the willingness to renew our mind. Note that Paul does not tell us to throw away our minds (I say this because certain Christian have become so spiritual to the point of refusing to think...). Instead of throwing the mind, the Bible tells us that we should renew it. We renew the mind by thinking like God thinks.
****** Let us get practical with a few examples:
1. STEP number one: THE BODY.
God uses our physical bodies to accomplish His will on Earth. there is now way we can do His will while refusing to offer our living bodies to Him. If for example God tells me to relocate to Texas, by travelling to Texas with my physical body, I am letting God use my flesh and blood to Texas. If God tells me to submit my physical body in order to pursue a career in law as a Judge, and I refuse to obey but instead decide to follow a career in banking, I would have not given my physical body to do God's will. In such case, I would erode myself from the ability to approve the will of God. And I would set myself up for confusion.
People get confused and live with too many 'maybes' because they have not given their bodies to God. Their physical bodies still belong to themselves. As a result, the will of God could even pass them right in front of their eyes and they would not even act on it. Those people still belong to themselves...
2. CONFORMITY with the world:
'I think by now, we all know how the world is fighting to transform the Church. It now takes courage to refuse conformity. Conformity will tell you that 'unscriptural' things are normal. When a believer supports 'world conformity' or when a believer conforms with his body and mind to the standards set by unbelievers, it then becomes very difficult for that believer to even approve the will of God in the sea of confusion. Actually, a believer who conforms to the world is a coward. It becomes logical that in his/her cowardliness they decide to stand for unapproved standards. Their cowardliness blurs them from picking God's approved will as a choice.
3.THINK LIKE GOD...
This could be very daunting at times...The renewal of our mind start with the willingness to think like God thinks. In life we will often face the challenge where the natural mind will debate against God's thinking. God's thinking is very related to His ways of doing things. You see, it is not just about doing God's will but it is also about doing God's will in His methods.
Let me illustrate this: 'let us suppose that young teenage Joe has been called by God to become a President in his country. The obvious reasoning would be that Joe should study Politics at University, right? But in a surprise twist, God tells him to study medical sciences. In such example, it would be so easy for young Joe to let his natural mind debate with God's thinking. In this example, God has already chosen a method that will guide Joe in the presidency in the future through a medical career. if Joe decides to study politics, then he would indirectly be telling God: 'my thinking is better than yours!' (that would be a real disaster). But if Joe renews his mind (Joe does not need to throw his mind because he will need it to make good decision during his career...) then he will be able to approve the will of God in his life.
We can approve the will of God without confusion by giving our living bodies to God, by refusing to conform to the world and by thinking like God thinks.
No more confusion!