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So, we are exploring how we pursue God’s pleasure. We’ve discovered that this pursuit is not a leisurely endeavor, as though it were over and above the pursuit of His will, but that the two are one and the same. The pursuit of God’s heart, of His pleasure, is the pursuit of His will.

But this discovery has not made our pursuit any easier. We are still left with the question how we can know His will – the things that speak to His heart.

Which brings us to what I have come to think of as the Secret Sacred Scroll of God’s Will for My Life. This is the list of all the decisions that we are supposed to “get right.” If we can get them right, then we will be in the center of God’s will and all will be well. The problem is, we don’t even know which decisions are on the list, much less, what the right answers are. We’re pretty sure that the big decisions, like who we are supposed to marry, what job we are supposed to take, and what house we should buy are on the list, but after that, it starts to get a little fuzzy. I mean, it wasn’t until our third child was on the way that it occurred to me that the decision to have a baby – to produce a soul that would spend eternity somewhere – might be something I should consult with God about. What other decisions should be on the list? And if I don’t even get to see the list, how in the world can I begin to hope to get the answers right?

Most of the time, I think we just bow our heads, recite some version of “God, guide me,” and then take our best guess, hoping we are somewhere in the vicinity.

I have come to realize that the reason we can’t find the answers we are looking for is because we are mistaken about the nature of God’s will.  We are looking for all of the things we are supposed to “do.” The Secret Sacred Scroll lists all of these “do’s,” and it’s up to us to get the right answer in the blank. So, we search the Scriptures, looking for clues to tell us what is on the list, and what answer goes in each blank.

But what if that’s not the form that God’s will takes? What if it’s is not expressed in terms of “getting the decision right”? If we don’t know what to look for, we could look right at it and never see it.

Well, what should we be looking for?

Let’s set aside our pre-conceived notions and look at Paul’s discussion of God’s will centered around Romans 12:2.

To set this passage in context, Paul has spent the first 11 chapters of Romans laying out God’s reconciliation of us to Himself, through justification, and the benefits of this new standing. With that foundation established he now turns to how we live.

In 12:1, he echoes Jesus call to “deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me,” with the exhortation to present our bodies as a living sacrifice. He goes on, in verse 2, to say that we should not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of our mind. Why? So that we may “prove what the will of God is.”  By the way, note how this will of God is described – good, acceptable, perfect. God’s will covers much more than just some basic minimums; it is the total package.

With verse 3, he begins to explain how we prove this will of God:

• 12:3-8 – Serve the body out of a proper self-image. While this deals with the things we do, it is rooted in who we are. The foundation of proving God’s will lies in living out of the gifts, abilities and strengths – the identity – God has given us.
• 12:9-13 – Of the 13 phrases in these verses, only 9 have verbs, all of which are participles (verbs that function as nouns). The effect is to identify those traits that should characterize us – loving sincerely, abhorring evil, clinging to good, devoted to one another, giving preference to one another, not lagging in diligence, enthusiastic in spirit, serving the Lord, rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.
• 12:14-21 – When we encounter evil, either in our lives, or the lives of others, we should not be overcome by it, but overcome it with good.
• 13:1-7 – Submission should characterize us in in our dealings with authority.
• 13:8-10 – Love should characterize us in our dealings with believers.
• 13:11-14 – All that we do should reflect an anticipation of Christ’s return.
• 14:1-15:13 – But what about all those “do’s” and “don’ts”? The kingdom of God is not about them. It’s about manifesting God’s character (14:17). Accept one another in these areas so that we may glorify God in our unity and manifest Christ’s character (15:5-7) .

While these chapters may not describe God’s will in the terms we expect, let me suggest that they cover pretty much every situation we might encounter. Because God’s will is not primarily about doing the right thing, but about the character we manifest. We are to manifest His character. As we manifest His character, the decisions will take care of themselves.

Rather than attempt further explanation, let me illustrate with a situation I am facing.

Forty-five days ago, I had my lower right wisdom tooth removed. It was supposed to be relatively simple, knocking me out of action for a couple of days. Instead, I ended up with a bone infection in my jaw, which required the surgeon to go back in twice more – once to get out all the puss and infection, and once to scrape and grind out the dead bone. This has been followed by 30 days of antibiotics.

It seems to have been healing pretty well, although I have felt a little soreness, which I attributed to my teeth getting re-settled after the trauma of three surgeries.

But today, at my follow-up visit, the x-rays revealed that I still have infection on the outer side of my jawbone. The only solution is surgical – the aggressive removal of the dead and infected bone.

There are two concerns with this procedure. The first is that it may not take care of the infection. If not, they will probably have to put a picc line in my chest for six weeks of IV antibiotics.

The second concern is that two nerves run through the area of the jawbone where they will be scraping and grinding. There is a real danger of nerve damage that could result in loss of sensation in the lip and/or distortion of the facial muscles.

This was not the news I was expecting. I feel like I have pretty much taken everything in stride for the last 45 days, but the thought of having to go back and redo the last three weeks left me with a lot of noise in my brain and a sense of overwhelming weariness.

I’m pretty sure that there is nothing on the Secret Sacred Scroll about me getting osteomyelitis, so my first instinct is not to ponder God’s will. Instead, I start to send out a prayer request with the things I want – my will. It’s pretty short. I want the infection to go away, and I want to be able to smile when this is done.

But then I sensed that I should reconsider my situation in light of this other view of God’s will.  I was surprised by how quickly the noise in my head subsided, and the sense of weariness diminished.

As I reviewed the major points of Romans 12-15, verses 11-12 of chapter 12 stood out. Particularly the part about persevering in tribulation. Compared to many, the things I have suffered have been relatively minor. And while I feel like I have taken things in stride to this point, my efforts seem pointless. I may have done a fair job of remaining diligent and enthusiastic, of rejoicing in hope, and of serving the Lord. But now, none of that seems to matter. This surgery will take me back to where I was three weeks ago. I’ve got to do it all again. But now, I’m weary and tired.

In the midst of this, my commitment is tested. Will I have the strength of character to abhor what is evil, and cling to what is good? To be devoted to my wife, giving preference to her? To focus on the needs of those journeying with me? Can I overcome evil with good, or will I be overcome?

In spite of the difficulties, I must persevere. That is the critical thing. That is God’s heart, His will for me. Not whether I get well or not, but whether I represent Him.

Yes, I would still like for the infection to go away, and to be able to smile for years to come. I don’t think there is anything wrong with asking God for that. But I don’t know how things will turn out, and frankly, I don’t even know how important that is. I do know that in all of this, God wants me to persevere.

So, if He brings me to mind, I wouldn’t mind if you ask Him to heal my jaw. But what I really want is to pursue His pleasure. To do His will. To be found faithful. So pray Romans 12:11-12 for me.

What are the areas where you are uncertain about God’s will? What if you look at the situation in light of who you should be rather than what you should do? How does that change your perspective?

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