Musings on the Will of God

     For the past couple of months my quiet time readings have been in the books of First and Second Samuel.  While there are all kinds of great applications to be gleaned from those books, one that has stood out to me in particular has been the unique relationship of David to God with regards to his decision making and actions.  Throughout both books, I was struck by the number of times that in the face of whatever challenge might present itself David would boldly ask God, "What should I do?"  God in every case responded with an answer, and then David follows up with an equally bold question of, "How should I do it?" in many of those cases.  That dynamic has really struck me; we tend to make things a lot more complicated for ourselves when it comes to the will of God for our lives.
     We have a tendency to think of God's will for our lives as some kind of mysterious object, cleverly hidden by God somewhere in our lives, only to be discovered by us after much hand-wringing, many mistakes, and a generally ridiculous level of stress at times.  I don't see any of that in David's life.  I don't see any of that in the life of Christ.  What I see in their lives (and others throughout the Bible), is sincere devotion and love for their Lord, and hearts humble to ask what He wants them to do with it.
     The temptation in our lives, I believe, is to miss the forest for the trees so to speak.  It is easy to become so singularly focused on what specific objective the Lord might have in mind for us that we miss out on all the other purposes He can and does accomplish along the way, each of which was no less divinely appointed.  As I look back on my own life the past few years, I cannot say that the Lord specifically told me exactly where I would be right now, nor how I would get there.  I can however see many small steps that He led me to take along the way, and now I can look up, look back, and get a small glimpse of just how sovereign my Lord really is.  
     He did not confuse me along the way, He did not trick me.  He did not lead me with mysterious inexplicable feelings that I just couldn't shake.  Above all, He did not hide from me.  He did reveal His character to me through His Word and prayer, so that I could see how He wanted me to live in the midst of my circumstances.  He did provide me wise counsel through fellow believers.  He did direct the events of my life in ways I could not control, making it clear that His was the hand on it.  While there is certainly an element of mystery to those things as I realize I cannot "explain" them in one sense of the word, it is the kind of mystery that inspires worship, not fear of the unknown.
     I will not say I have it figured out when it comes to discerning God's will for my life.  I will say I have figured out it's not something He wants me to worry about.  I am to love Him, to learn from His Word, to listen to the promptings of His Holy Spirit.  I have the freedom to ask Him what He wants me to do, and thanks to His Son, there is a relationship there in which He hears and answers.  That is not to say there are not some questions of life that seem a little bigger than others, ones in which I would perhaps like the Lord to "speak up".  What is comforting (but I tend to forget) is that He doesn't want me to miss Him, He doesn't want me to just blow it while He shakes His head over my inability to find the mysterious will He has so cleverly hidden.  What is comforting is that He is in total control, seeing how a particular event in my particular life fits into the grand scheme of eternity.  I will get exactly where He wants me to go; there is no mystery to that.