Not My Will, But God's:

Romans 12:2 "Do not conform to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is.  His good pleasing and perfect will."

This verse has meant so much to me over the years. I guess you could say that it has been my life verse, because this is honestly one of the verses that I base my life upon.  That is why I titled this blog be transformed! 

So the other day I was thinking about this verse and about the very last sentence.  I went to a retreat this past week at church, and the last speaker was a heart surgeon from southern california.  He started off his sermon saying that you never know when God is going to take your life.  I began to think about God's will and how we are always told "not my will but God's be done".  And that is easy to hear but it is often hard to comprehend.  What is God's will?  How do I know what God wants?  What am I supposed to do in this situation?  And it was hard for me to understand and choose God's plan in situations when I didn't understand which choice was God's plan.  And as I was thinking and driving the song Give Me Faith came on the radio.  

"I need You to soften my heart; to break me apart; I need You to open my eyes; To see that You're shaping my life

All I am, I surrender

Give me faith to trust what You say; That You're good and Your love is great; I'm broken inside, I give you my life"

As I sang along it was evident to me that God's plan for my life is perfect, but I still felt like it was hard to know where exactly God wanted me to go.  But as I was thinking about Romans 12:2 I began to think about the last two sentences and how it says, "THEN you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing, and perfect will".  To follow God's good, pleasing, and perfect will for my life I can't conform to the world.  To follow his will I have to know God's word and stay in touch with him.  It is impossible to live a life full of worldly desires, and still follow God's perfect plan for my life.   

So that is what i'll leave you to think about today.  If it's not always clear what God wants you to do, ask yourself if you are of the world or in it.  

1 John 2:15 "Do not love the world or anything in the world.  If anyone loves the world, love for the father is not in them."