So, if we are going to do the things which speak to God’s heart, that means that we need to know what those things are, right? But how do we do that? Where do we even begin? I mean, we’re not even sure what God’s will is most of the time, much less the things that speak to His heart.
I think that there are a couple of problems here.
The more obvious one is what I have come to think of as the Secret Sacred Scroll of God’s Will for My Life – that list that I have to get right, without ever having much clarity about what the right answers are.
But there is a more subtle problem that we need to look at first. It is our frequent failure recognize the connection between “God’s will” and “doing those things that speak to His heart.” “His will” seems like the list of things that have to get done. “The things that speak to His heart” seem more like luxuries – the things that are nice when we can get to them.
Israel made this mistake. A lot. Consider God’s message to the people of Jerusalem and Judah, whom He calls “rulers of Sodom” and “people of Gomorrah” in Isaiah 1:10-15.
Hear the word of the Lord,
You rulers of Sodom;
Give ear to the instruction of our God,
You people of Gomorrah.
“What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?”
Says the Lord.
“I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams
And the fat of fed cattle;
And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats.
When you come to appear before Me,
Who requires of you this trampling of my courts?
Bring your worthless offerings no longer,
Incense is an abomination to Me.
New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies–
I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly.
I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts,
They have become a burden to Me;I am weary of bearing them.
So when you spread out your hands in prayer,
I will hide My eyes from you;
Yes, even though you multiply prayers,
I will not listen.
Your hands are covered with blood.
As with many Christians, Israel’s list turned around religious activity – sacrifices, festivals, high holy days, and prayer – lots of prayer. They figured that as long as they got these essentials done, everything was good.
Clearly, God saw things differently. Not only was the list insufficient, the things that were on it were actually repulsive to Him because of the deeper issue of their character. They needed to learn to do good, seek justice, and reprove the ruthless (vv. 16-17).
This void in their character was manifested in the treatment of widows and orphans in Israel. With no one to protect them, they were being ravaged by the aforementioned ruthless individuals. This criminal activity by some, and the tolerance of it by others, was exceedingly offensive to God, and rendered all of their religious observances, not only meaningless, but repugnant. As a result, God will not hear their prayers.
Now, it may seem like I am stretching things a bit to link this situation with that of Christians who assume God’s will is list-driven. I mean, surely the guy who has a regular quiet time, witnesses at work, teaches a Sunday School class, gives over 10 percent, and is active in an accountability group can’t be compared to these Israelites who are crushing widows and orphans for profit, can he? Well, that depends. How does he treat his wife? If he doesn’t “grant her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life,” his prayers are dripping off the ceiling (1 Peter 3:7). Doesn’t sound like his situation is much different than the Israelites. And in both places, a careful reading of the Scriptures reveal that the issue is not just the actions, but the character behind the actions.
Back in Isaiah, God speaks to the core issue in 29:13-14:
Then the Lord said,
“Because this people draw near with their words
And honor Me with their lip service,
But they remove their hearts far from Me,
And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote,
Therefore, behold, I will once again deal marvelously with this people, wondrously marvelous;
And the wisdom of their wise men will perish,
And the discernment of their discerning men will be concealed.
The problem was their heart. Contrary to their professions and their carefully learned religious habits, they were disconnected from God at the heart level. As a result, God was going to act in ways that they could never begin to understand. Even the “wise” among them would be puzzled by the things He was about to do, which was to send them into captivity for 70 years.
And that did not cure them of the problem, because it is still present when Jesus shows up. The Pharisees come to Him, criticizing His disciples for breaking religious tradition (Matthew 15:1-11). In His response, Jesus quotes this passage as an indictment of the Pharisees. After 700 years, they still don’t get it.
The thing that this list orientation misses is that God’s will for us has always been to represent Him. That was why He created us in His image (Genesis 1:26-28). When you look at us, you were supposed to see Him. We were created to manifest His character, His heart. This is the idea behind the commands to “be holy, for I am holy” (Leviticus 11:44f, 19:2; 20:7; 1 Peter 1:15). Because He is holy, and we were created to represent Him, we should be holy. And while holiness will reveal itself in our deeds, it is a character issue – an issue of the heart.
The problem is, when we made the decision in the Garden to not represent Him, but to pursue life on our own terms, something changed, and we lost that character. We no longer know His heart. As He says in Isaiah, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways” (Isaiah 55:8 NAS95).
Fortunately, the situation is not hopeless. Having forgiven those who believe that Jesus is the Christ, God begins the process of restoring us in our ability to represent Him. He has even “granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness”, so that we may become “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:3-4). He didn’t give us a list, He gave us everything we need to have God’s character. If we live into that reality, we will be neither useless, nor unfruitful (vv. 5-8 ff).
God’s heart cannot be separated from God’s will. They are one and the same.
Which brings us back to the Secret Sacred Scroll of God’s Will for My Life. We will look at it next week.
When you think of “doing God’s will” what comes to mind?
When you think of “doing God’s will” what comes to mind? I think of doing, as compared to being. My sense is that I need to think it terms of being God’s representative before I act. A very subtle but real difference. I need to give this some thought and observe what it looks like in practice as I consciously slow down and let being have an effect on my doing.