Do I Really Understand?

Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Eph. 5:17

Do I understand what the will of the Lord is? Can I be wise without understanding what the will of the Lord is?

Wisdom gives us the ability to predict what will happen before it happens. Wise people know exactly what consequences come from human behaviors. Wise people are seldom caught by surprise.

If a disciple of Jesus does not understand clearly what God wants, they will be constantly surprised by what is happening around them. Understanding what God wants and what God does not want is critical to wise living and discipleship.

One of the best ways to understand what the will of the Lord is comes from reading the Gospels and watching closely the behavior of Jesus. Jesus said of Himself “Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father.” John 14:9 In other words, watching Jesus reveals what the will of the Lord is. Jesus is what God wants from human beings. Cooperating with Jesus is wisdom.

As you read the Gospels, make a list of what Jesus does and you will see from that list exactly what God is doing and wants to do in and through us.

For example, In the Gospels we see Jesus constantly forgiving sinners. We see Jesus refusing to treat people differently because of their social standing or power. We see Jesus serving others even when they do not serve Him. Jesus is what God wants. Is that what we want?

If you say you want to do the will of God, you are saying you want to live like Jesus. Do you really understand what living like Jesus means? It means you will have to lose your will and completely cooperate with God’s will instead. As frightening as that might sound, it is the wise thing to do. Even if doing so means dying, you will live and bless many in the process.

I would counsel every Christian to go back and read over and over again the four Gospels until you can honestly say “I see the will of God and I understand it.”

Then I would challenge every disciple to say “I want exactly what Jesus wants. I want the will of God.”

Bud McCord
Abide International