What do you want?
Do you want what God wants?
Do you say, like Jesus: Yet not as I will, but as You will. (Matthew 26:39)
I certainly don’t, at least all the time. But I want to. Or, sometimes, I want to want to…
I am relieved that God is working in me to will (to desire, to want) to do His bidding, and that He is working in me to actually do what He asks.
God is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. (Philippians 2:13)
When I fail
When I fail, there are at least three reasons:
- Sometimes I don’t know what He wants me to do;
- Sometimes I don’t want to do what He wants me to do;
- Sometimes my knowledge and motives are (mostly) right, but I make some sort of mistake.
Desire
God is working in me to desire to do His bidding.
It is God who is working, but I have responsibility too. I need to know His word, which equips me with knowledge of Him and His will. The more I know the Bible, the more I desire to please Him.
This is conviction in my mind.
Action
God is also working in me to actually do what He wants me to do. This is conviction in my actions.
I have responsibility here as well. God is working in me. I have to humbly accept His direction and not launch out on my own.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. (Proverbs 3:5)
Sometimes when I believe I know His will, and want to do His will, I still mess up. There are more underlying reasons than I know about, but one reason is that I boldly go forward without stopping to pray, leaning on myself rather than on God.
What I need to do:
#1. Be intentional about regular Bible study, equipping me to know God more and more.
#2. Purposefully determine that I will want what God wants. Regularly ask God to strengthen my desire.
#3. When I feel God’s direction, humbly say “yes” to God. But also pause and ask for the understanding or specific directions I need to fulfill His purpose.
#4. Thank Him for working in me.
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Thank You, God, for working in me to want to please You and to actually do Your will. I am so grateful that I am Your child, and that You are making me into the image of Your Son.
