The Perfect Will of God
by Pam Clark
“I will enter His gates with thanksgiving in my heart; I will enter His courts with praise. I will say this is the day that the Lord has made; I will rejoice for He has made me glad.” Many of you can sing those song lyrics. The first line comes from Psalm 100:4. It is our Scriptural instruction on how to enter into the Presence of God.
I remember when I got a revelation that spiritual life is like a spiral. You were either going up or you were going down. There really was not a stopping place. Without Jesus, there are forces against us that are quite difficult, if not impossible to withstand. Sometimes in the challenging times of life, it is difficult to tell if we are going up or down!
But the key to spiritual success in life is the Word of God--knowing what it says, and knowing what it means. Sometimes life can get confusing. If we don’t have a roadmap, we can get lost! Even side trails can take us into another direction. How do we know which road is right?
God looks at the heart. God does not see as a natural man sees. God knows if our spirits are well, the rest of us will be ok. God cares for those He made. (Read Psalm 145)
I like the way the Living Bible says Proverbs 3:21-23: “Have two goals: wisdom--that is, knowing and doing right--and common sense. Don't let them slip away, for they fill you with living energy and bring you honor and respect. They keep you safe from defeat and disaster and from stumbling off the trail.”
Wisdom and common sense are a very necessary part of life, but we need even more than that. We need to hear the Voice of God. Jesus declares in John 10:27-30: "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand. I and My Father are one."
What do we do when it seems we can’t hear the Voice of God? We follow wisdom and common sense! But eternal security rests in knowing God in such a way that we do hear His Voice and know it. We often must seek Him to find Him. It’s personal relationship! He set it up that way.
God has always had a plan and a purpose for man--and that is to reflect His image in the earth. Man missed that and so God sent His Son Jesus, as the perfect representation of God with a message and we still need to get the message! God loves us, all of us, and the life that God has for us is one of love and peace, kindness and goodness. But are we hearing His Voice?
There are many false representations of God and some that are just not quite accurate. Sometimes we can believe something is right and sense that we are slipping right down that spiral of life instead of going up. But what does God say to our inner man? Does it line up with His Word? “Heaven and earth shall pass away: but My words shall not pass away.” Mark 13:31.
We can take that two ways--first, God is not going away and second, He is not changing His words to suit individual men. God is fixed and eternal and has made a Plan that will best suit His purpose for all men. He is no respecter of persons; He does not play favorites! When Jesus poured out His lifeblood on the Cross; He did it for every person who would ever live, if they would accept His ministry.
God has sent a message that He cares about us. Isaiah 61:1-4 (LB): “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to bring good news to the suffering and afflicted. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted, to announce liberty to captives, and to open the eyes of the blind. He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of God's favor to them has come, and the day of His wrath to their enemies. To all who mourn in Israel He will give: beauty for ashes; joy instead of mourning; praise instead of heaviness. For God has planted them like strong and graceful oaks for his own glory. And they shall rebuild the ancient ruins, repairing cities long ago destroyed, reviving them though they have lain there many generations.”
Here we see the nature (character and personality) and will and message of God. We are co-laborers with Him! The day of His vengeance, on His enemies and ours, is at hand! To die without Christ is eternal loss. But in the meantime, we are to win and witness to as many as we can the goodness and blessing and love of God.
God’s good purpose is to glorify Himself in you and through you. We must abide in Him and in His ways and in His Presence. Our spiritual lives thrive in Him. We enter His gates with thanksgiving in our hearts, and we enter His courts (His Presence) with praise. When we receive from Him, our lives are forever changed by His good.
Don’t let the enemy defeat you with another path. Walk into the blessing and victory of God. He loves you! Don’t hear another voice. When you pray for the perfect will of God, you can't go wrong!