So far in our current series on the will of God, we have learned that there is the general or revealed will of God, which is given to us through scripture, and the mysterious will of God.
Often, we can complicate these ideas and so I want to revisit some of the main points we have talked about from scripture.
Remember the example of Moses in Exodus 3:11-12? God only promises assurance to Moses after he has completed the assignment set out for him. God tells Moses that he will know he has followed His will when the Israelites worship God at the mountain, but this is only after he has faced Pharaoh, after he has parted the Red Sea, and after he has delivered the people from Egypt! Such a sign must have seemed like a cold comfort to Moses! If it were up to us, God would behave like a GPS for us. Only once he has spoken, we will say, “Oh, okay, I will go now!” But sometimes God will simply say “go” and will meet with us when we get there.
God is not concerned with merely giving us the coordinates to our next destination in life – rather he is concerned with our inner transformation and being conformed into the likeness of His Son. There is a wonderful freedom in this knowledge as it allows us the freedom to fail and make mistakes as God works in us, because He is not interested in your works – He is more concerned with the state of your heart.
Encouragingly though, Romans 8:36 says: “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.”
The Spirit intercedes for us in accordance with the will of God! When we are in those tight situations and our backs are against the wall, God’s Spirit is standing in the gap for us! How encouraging (is this exciting or is it just me?!). The Spirit knows what we need more so than what we know in ourselves and He is not leaving us out there to dry.
Friends, can I encourage you to lean into God if you are seeking His will for a particular issue or circumstance? Rest in the knowledge that your loving Heavenly Father has all the answers, whether he chooses to reveal them ahead of time or not, and trust that He knows what we need – more than we do!