Got it?....Now get at it!
Most of us during our journey through this obstacle course we call life, will at least once in our lives approach our own crossroads where we will ask the tougher and weightier questions known to man. Many questions have been asked at that four way stop sign. Why do bad things happen to good people? What is the meaning of life? Why am I here? And the big one - What is the will of God for my life?
We muddle our way through the years, desperately searching for meaning and purpose for our existence. People spend countless hours cracking their Bibles open, attending small group gatherings and sitting in the pews on Sunday morning sifting through it all to discover the will of God. The truth is, many will read the scriptures, but few will allow the scriptures to read them. Maybe one reason why is, we are afraid what we might find if we do. Might we be afraid of finding out who we really are, what we're really looking for, and ultimately what we really need? Could we be nervous about what the scriptures would reveal to us if we allowed them to open us up and read us like a book?
All of us are in the same boat traveling against the current, born with a need to be validated, valued and affirmed. It is this reality that causes us to cry out from within, "Who am I, why am I, and what is God's will for my life?" We stumble and limp through the seasons of our lives looking for answers to satisfy our questions and affirm our purpose for breathing.
At the start of the Prophet Isaiah's ministry, God clued him in on something very important. Basically He told Isaiah that the majority of the people he would be sent to would not get it. In other words, the proverbial light bulb within them would not go on. He said, "Go and tell this people, keep on listening but do not perceive, keep on looking, but do not understand." Isaiah 6:9 NASB.
In the New Testament Jesus put it succinctly, pulling no punches when He said, "Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand." Matt 11:15 NLT. Do you have ears to hear what the purposes and will of God is for your daily life or are you lost in the fog of the past and the haze of the future, trying to figure this puzzle out for yourself.
If your life was a fireplace, and the God of the universe wanted to stoke the embers within you and start a fire, the last thing that you should want to do is extinguish it and put it out. The Apostle Paul put it this way, "Do not quench the Spirit." 1 Thessalonians 5:19. So the question is, what is this fire that we are told not to quench, the fire that most of us put out without even knowing it? It is the fire that provides genuine meaning and purpose, where we uncover the perfect and pleasing will of God for our lives. "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for THIS is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. Pretty simple huh?
As Albert Einstein once said, "When the answer is simple, God is speaking." Our refusal to listen to this scripture and do what it says, is like tossing a bucket of cold water on the fire that God wishes to make within us. And when we grab our buckets, we are missing out on meaning and purpose, but most importantly we are letting God's will for our lives slip right through our fingers. Those who are vulnerable enough to listen, and who have the guts to become what they hear, will find themselves smack dab in the middle of the will of God. And when that happens, the nearness of His presence is a forgone conclusion. "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks, Got it?....Now get at it!
