I have often said and heard it said, "I'll do whatever God wants me to do." While that sounds spiritual, in a sense it really isn't. How can saying, "I'll do God's will" be anything but spiritual? Have I gone too far this time in my pursuit of purpose and excellence? To find out and decide for yourself, you will have to read on.
A COP OUT
Sometimes saying you will do whatever God wants is a cop out. It enables you to avoid doing something by determining that you will do anything. It also makes you passive, waiting for God to reveal what that something may be. While you wait, you cannot be accountable to do something because the burden is on God to provide proof, beyond a reasonable doubt, that this or that is what He wants you to do.
There is a time when God trains you to do His will and, during that time, it is permissible and advisable to wait on Him. Yet at some point, and I'm really not sure where that some point is, you must begin to release what God has put in you. You will always be a servant of God, but at some point you must transition to also being a friend. While you are a friend, you are still a servant, but when you are a servant, you cannot be a friend.
Am I confusing you? Then let's consider something that Jesus said:
While Jesus did command the disciples, He called them friends because they understood why they were doing what He commanded them to do. In some sense, you could say that they had the mind of Christ, for they knew what Jesus wanted them to do and why. That made them more than slaves; that made them friends. God wants the same kind of relationship with you.
If you are to have the mind of Christ, when do you receive it? The disciples were with Jesus for three years and they transitioned into friends of God. So how long have you been with Jesus? Are you His friend?
This is an important point because you can ask a servant, "What have you been commanded to do?" You can ask a friend, "What's in your heart to do?" When you are God's friend, you are no longer waiting to be commanded. You trust the work that God has done in you so completely that you begin to trust the very desires of your heart, knowing that God put them there. And they are joyful desires, things that will bring you and others great peace and laughter. Why wouldn't God want you to do those things?
Friends of God don't have to be afraid of Him any longer, or of the things that He has put in them to do. They can see that they are in a partnership, based in the grace of God, but one that gives God great pleasure. If the Spirit lives in you to give you the mind of Christ, why are you surprised that you have it? How long do you think the process will take? Ten years? Twenty? The disciples had the mind of Christ, in the power of the Spirit, in three years. If you have known Jesus for three years or more, it's time you did something with that relationship. It's time for you to become God's friend.
So what can you do this week with your role in life -- the friend of God? Whatever it is, I know it will bring you joy and extend God's kingdom into some sphere of human existence. Enjoy it, trust God, and stop putting onto God what He has put into you. Have a great week!
Feel free to write your comments to this entry on the site where it is posted.
*****************************************************
SPECIAL NOTICE: Don't miss the second broadcast of my new radio show, Your PurposeQuest: The Power of a Focused Life this coming Wednesday, May 28, at 9 AM Eastern time on the Voice America network. You don't need any special equipment or software. Just go to their website and click on their flagship station and I will be on for a live broadcast. The show will air at 2 PM in the UK, 3 PM in Zimbabwe and South Africa, 4 PM in Kenya and 9 PM in Singapore. Then it will be broadcast again 12 hours later, and after that it can be listened to or downloaded from the archive section. The show will air every Wednesday at the same time.
You can download and listen to last week's show by going to station's archives.
Feel free to email me your questions for the show, or you can call me when the show is live at 1.866.472.5787. Here is a description of the first show:
Episode Two: Making A Major Midlife Job Change
ANOTHER REMINDER: I write weekly for a site called A Better Zimbabwe. I urge you to check it out and read some of the good things I've learned from The Pacific Institute Feel free to leave your comments as well.
A COP OUT
Sometimes saying you will do whatever God wants is a cop out. It enables you to avoid doing something by determining that you will do anything. It also makes you passive, waiting for God to reveal what that something may be. While you wait, you cannot be accountable to do something because the burden is on God to provide proof, beyond a reasonable doubt, that this or that is what He wants you to do.
There is a time when God trains you to do His will and, during that time, it is permissible and advisable to wait on Him. Yet at some point, and I'm really not sure where that some point is, you must begin to release what God has put in you. You will always be a servant of God, but at some point you must transition to also being a friend. While you are a friend, you are still a servant, but when you are a servant, you cannot be a friend.
Am I confusing you? Then let's consider something that Jesus said:
"You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name" (John 15:14-16).NO LONGER JUST SERVANTS
While Jesus did command the disciples, He called them friends because they understood why they were doing what He commanded them to do. In some sense, you could say that they had the mind of Christ, for they knew what Jesus wanted them to do and why. That made them more than slaves; that made them friends. God wants the same kind of relationship with you.
If you are to have the mind of Christ, when do you receive it? The disciples were with Jesus for three years and they transitioned into friends of God. So how long have you been with Jesus? Are you His friend?
This is an important point because you can ask a servant, "What have you been commanded to do?" You can ask a friend, "What's in your heart to do?" When you are God's friend, you are no longer waiting to be commanded. You trust the work that God has done in you so completely that you begin to trust the very desires of your heart, knowing that God put them there. And they are joyful desires, things that will bring you and others great peace and laughter. Why wouldn't God want you to do those things?
Friends of God don't have to be afraid of Him any longer, or of the things that He has put in them to do. They can see that they are in a partnership, based in the grace of God, but one that gives God great pleasure. If the Spirit lives in you to give you the mind of Christ, why are you surprised that you have it? How long do you think the process will take? Ten years? Twenty? The disciples had the mind of Christ, in the power of the Spirit, in three years. If you have known Jesus for three years or more, it's time you did something with that relationship. It's time for you to become God's friend.
So what can you do this week with your role in life -- the friend of God? Whatever it is, I know it will bring you joy and extend God's kingdom into some sphere of human existence. Enjoy it, trust God, and stop putting onto God what He has put into you. Have a great week!
Feel free to write your comments to this entry on the site where it is posted.
*****************************************************
SPECIAL NOTICE: Don't miss the second broadcast of my new radio show, Your PurposeQuest: The Power of a Focused Life this coming Wednesday, May 28, at 9 AM Eastern time on the Voice America network. You don't need any special equipment or software. Just go to their website and click on their flagship station and I will be on for a live broadcast. The show will air at 2 PM in the UK, 3 PM in Zimbabwe and South Africa, 4 PM in Kenya and 9 PM in Singapore. Then it will be broadcast again 12 hours later, and after that it can be listened to or downloaded from the archive section. The show will air every Wednesday at the same time.
You can download and listen to last week's show by going to station's archives.
Feel free to email me your questions for the show, or you can call me when the show is live at 1.866.472.5787. Here is a description of the first show:
Episode Two: Making A Major Midlife Job Change
Feel stuck where you’re working now? Don't know how to make a change? Not sure what you want to do and where you would be best suited to work? If you answer “yes” to any of those questions, then join John Stanko and his guest Sheila Hunt as they discuss how Sheila answered these questions for herself. Then find out what she did about it! You’ll hear how Sheila made a transition from the field of education to corporate America. Join John and Sheila as they talk about faith and courage to do what you love.REMINDER: This is just a reminder to my readers in the UK that all my books are now available to order online through Everlasting Books and Music. Just go their site, put my name in the search box and all my titles will appear. Then you can shop till you drop.
ANOTHER REMINDER: I write weekly for a site called A Better Zimbabwe. I urge you to check it out and read some of the good things I've learned from The Pacific Institute Feel free to leave your comments as well.
Yes! This kind of thing prompted me to invent the saying "Anything is nothing if it isn't SOMETHING!"
Posted by: thembe | May 26, 2008 at 10:20 AM
Excellent - thank you.
Posted by: Dave | May 26, 2008 at 11:10 AM
This is what has made such a difference in my life: I heard decades of sermons urging us to be "open" to taking action. But just as though it were a legal disclaimer, the preachers would invariably add, "NOT that you should do something foolish like [genuine action: quit your job, give more than you budgeted, in any way inconvenience your family or rock the boat]." You, John, say, "God said it so let's believe Him — now." And you did it, and you're cheering the rest of us on. Thanks for the permission to DO something!
Posted by: scott | May 26, 2008 at 12:04 PM
Ahhhhh!! Light bulb just went on over my head! The level of the relationship... we spend all this time learning about spiritual authority and keeping ourselves in order, not undermining our leadership and leaders... but we never get trained on graduating to that more intimate level. It's kind of like when a child grows up, the parent can and ought to respect that child on a different level of relationship. We leave the "Do as I say and do what I do" relationship to "You're your own person now, go and face the world and be who you are regardless of me as your parent." I now understand that scripture you referenced. Jesus was saying, "We're onto a deeper intimcay in our relationship." It totally makes sense now why in that day "you won't need to ask me for anything." The reason is we ought to know exactly what to do. No need to pray about it. Just do it!
Thank you my friend. I appreciate all you do for His Kingdom.
In Him, Paul
Posted by: Paul Mancini | May 26, 2008 at 07:59 PM