As believers, we become very conscious of our desire to please the Lord in all things and to do what He wants us to do.

And so it has become commonly taught that in order for us to succeed in life and live the kind of lives we should, we should find out what God's will and plan are for us. Then when we have found that plan, we should try and align ourselves with it.

That sounds very spiritual. But it is not entirely correct as I will show you shortly.

His Will in His Word

How do you know what God's will is for your life? It is quite simple. He wrote it down in His Word, the Bible.

I have shared before about standing orders. In the military, these are orders that are given and that every soldier must obey. They don't have to be given a specific command to do it. It is a standing order and everybody must obey.

The Bible is God's standing order. If you want to know the will of God, read His Word. That is what he has told us we should or shouldn't do.

You might say, "I just wonder what God's will is for my life."

"When is the last time you read the Bible?"

"Well I have a pretty busy life, so I want you to come and prophesy over me and tell me what God's will is. I don't feel like spending hours reading the Bible. It is boring."

Oh dear, you have made the first step in the wrong direction, because God's will is revealed in His Word. And the only way you can get out of God's will is to disobey His Word.

You Must Do It

His Word is the foundation on which we build the things that we desire.

God has given us a foundation. But we want Him to do more than that. We want Him to put up the buildings, plaster the walls, glaze the windows and paint them nicely for us. We want Him to put central heating in and make it the kind of home that we want.

No, He has given you the foundation. The building of the home is in your hands.

You might say, "How do I do that?"

You have resources. You have latent powers and swords that you can use. But you see God doesn't command you to do something specific. His commands are in His Word.

Perhaps you say to me,

"Has God told me that I must follow this career? What is God's will for me in life? Should I study and become qualified in this? Or am I meant to be a preacher? What am I meant to be?"

God does not command. He allows. I want to clarify this again and say that God does not command you what to do. He allows you to do what you desire. All you need to do is ask His permission. Say to Him,

"Lord this is what I would like to do. Is it okay with you? It doesn't violate anything that is in your Word. Lord are you happy for me to follow this plan?"

Unless it is something that is sinful and goes against the Word of God, God will always say,

"Yes, do it. I will bless you and help you.

Then you can go ahead and do it. You don't have to sit and wait to find out what God's plan is for your life, because He doesn't have a secret plan for your life.

That is in your hands. God has given man freedom of will. You are free to take the first step. So stop waiting for God because He is waiting for you.

You might say, "I am just waiting for God to open the doors and make things happen in my life. And when He does I will do it."

Perhaps you say, "God didn't give me the ability to speak in tongues. So one day when He gives it to me I will use it."

That is the kind of approach that we take as Christians. But you know what? God will never impose Himself on you in any way. He has given you all that you need to build an abundant life in this world.

If you need His help He will be there to help you. But He is not going to do it. You will have to do it.

The Problem With Fear

Do you know what stops us? Fear. We are afraid to step out in case we mess up. We are afraid to step out in case someone opposes us, in case someone puts us down, or in case we fail. So we sit in our little safe ground and say,

"I don't think it is the will of God. I'm waiting for the Lord to reveal His will."

You're a coward! He has given you what you need. It's like me standing and hiding my sword behind my back when I'm facing the enemy. Then I say,

"Lord, please will you hit him?"

The Lord says, "What is that behind your back?"

"It is a sword."

"And what are swords for?"

"To attack enemies."

"So what are you doing with that sword behind your back?"

"Lord, I'm waiting for you to do it for me."

He's not going to do it because He has given it to you. The Scripture says in Matthew 16:19,

Whatever you will bind on earth will be bound in heaven: and whatever you will loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

Stop hiding behind God's will. Stop hiding behind the fact that God hasn't done anything yet. He's waiting for you.

You have the freedom to choose what your life will look like. You have the freedom to choose what you will accomplish. And you have the freedom to choose what you will become.

Your future depends on you. Because you see if it depended on God, then there would be no failures in people who have a calling would there?

How many people do you know who had such potential? They had such a powerful call from God on their life and they never fulfilled it.

I know people very close to me, even relatives, who died without fulfilling a clear call of God in their life.

Well, who failed? Was it God? No, God was waiting for them to take that call and everything that He had given them and do something with it. So stop waiting for God to initiate things.

You might say, "You know it glorifies the Lord because I am not going to step out in my own strength and pride and claim credit for what I am doing. I want to give God the glory."

It sounds so spiritual, but it is self-righteous garbage. You are a coward and you don't have the guts to step out and do what you know you should do. You hide behind this false humility. But it is not humility. It is stupidity.

God works through you. He doesn't work apart from you. What God is going to do in this world in your life, He is going to do through you and through others that He sends along to help you.

Take the Step

This means you have to take the first step. You have to start by opening your mouth and speaking out about things that you desire to do. Speak about what you plan and what you want. Speak the kind of life that you want.

Then after you have spoken it, start taking action to make sure that it comes to pass.

You might say, "I am not going to do it in the flesh, brother. I am going to do it by the Spirit."

You are so spiritual that butter wouldn't melt in your mouth. Who are you kidding? God is waiting for you. He is ready to do all that He can do, but He is waiting for you to take the first step.

In His foreknowledge, God saw and knew what you would do. He knew what circumstances you would be in, the desires you would have and the choices you would make. And He is ready now to help you to do it.

An abundant life is not built by being passive and trusting God to do it all. And it is not built purely on self-effort and leaving God out of it. It is built by a partnership between you and God working together, with each one doing their part until it all comes together.

God will give you whatever you need to fulfill your desires and carry out your plans. Once you speak and act, God will move.

The Scripture says that the early disciples went out and preached the gospel. And it says that the Lord worked with them, confirming the Word with signs following.

If they didn't step out, nothing would have happened. The Scripture says that God will bless the work of our hands. He will bless what we do.

There was one thing that Satan accused God of where Job was concerned. In Job 1:10 it says,

Have you not made a hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his assets have increased in the land.

What had God blessed? The work of his hands. Well if your hands aren't working, what does God have to bless?

We pray, "Lord bless me. Bless me while I sit on my backside and do nothing and you do all the work Lord."

Well then He is not Lord anymore is he? He is a servant obeying your commands.

<-Chapter 9   Chapter 11->   Show Condensed Version

Post A Review For This Book