To will or not to will

I have a buddy who has a blog similar to mine that I like to keep up with (although he's probably a bit more of a deeper thinker than me). The other day he had a post about how there seems to be a lot of pressure on Christian college and seminary campuses for men to find a mate and find one soon. He had several responses and many of the comments brought up the subject of the will of God.

How would you define God's will? Is it what you do for Him or does it even involve you at all? Many approach God's will with sort of a crystal ball mentality: Look deep enough and He'll show you everything that you will need to know about the future. Those who see God's will in this way believe that God will simply show them who they are to marry, what job they are to have, and where they will be 10 years from now. In other words, God has become some mystical fortune teller whose job it is to tell me exactly what I want to know.

Now I know that most of us are curious about the future and where we will be and what we will be doing, but does that really have much to do with God's will or is that more in line with our own will? You see, God never promises to reveal every detail of our lives to us, but He does ask us to do His will. What's the difference?

God's will is all about, well, God. It really has little to do with you or me. God's will always points to Him and to His holiness. Whatever it is that brings glory and honor to God is in line with His will. We have a part to play in this, sure, but even if we choose not to serve God we still don't thwart His will.

God tells us in I Thessalonians 3:4 that His will for our lives is our sanctification, i.e. our personal holiness, and that He desires that we remain sexually pure. God's will is accomplished in our lives when we live to honor and glorify Him with lives that are holy and set apart for Him. John 7:17 goes on to say "If anyone wills to do His will", which further demonstrates that we can either choose by our own free will to live for Christ or we can choose not to. Either way, God's will is perfect even when our will is selfish.

So back to trying to figure out the future. No, God is not obligated to reveal to you all of the precious details that you seek, but He does give us a promise: If you seek after Him with every fiber of your being and pursue His holiness, then you will be smack dab in the middle of His will. And if you are in the middle of His will, then your life choices will reflect that will and they will fall in line with what honors and pleases Him.

Do you want to know who you are going to marry? Pursue God with all of your heart and He will lead you to a wife that will bring honor to Him. Do you want to know where you are to go to college or what job you will have? Seek after the Lord with passion and the decision that you make will glorify your Father in heaven.

If you will to seek God's will, then you will be in His will.