God's Will for You Today, Part Seven Don't Let Sin Separate You From Him!
1Thesselonians 5: 22 - Avoid every kind of evil.
We often lament our seeming inability to discern the will of God for our lives. We can find ourselves facing life changing decisions and seeking the will of God only to hear nothing. Too often, we have decided and then seek "confirmation" as opposed to seeking the will of God before making decisions. The bible is filled with direction on the will of God but nowhere does it seem clearer then in Paul's closing remarks to the Church at Thessalonica (1st Epistle). As the Apostle Paul is signing off his letter, he provides seven instructions which he refers to as, "God's will for you in Christ Jesus." Seven of course is God's number of perfection and each of these imperatives are given their own separate verse, even though they are contained within only two sentences. No matter what circumstance you may face in your life, you can match it up with these seven imperatives to discover the will of God for you in Christ Jesus!
We have seen the first six imperatives in this series of devotionals. To recap, they were:
1) Be happy always (Verse 16)
2) Develop a God consciousness (17)
3) Praise Him (18)
4) Be in tune with the Holy Spirit (19)
5) Do not run from the call of God (20)
6) Do as the Bereans test everything by the light of the Word of God (21)
What do all of these have in common besides being the will of God for your lives? They are all related to developing an intimate relationship with God. Ultimately, THAT is His will for your life! Being joyful always requires you to have your relationship with God be of greater import than anything else in your life; so that your circumstances do not dictate your joy. Developing a God consciousness of prayer means delving deeper into a relational approach to prayer, as opposed to a ritualistic approach. Praising God in all circumstances brings the presence of God directly into your life! Being in tune with the Holy Spirit means you will be walking directly with God on a daily basis. Not running from the call of God means that you will be fostering your obedience to Him. And testing everything by His Word will mature you as a Christian and cement your relationship as being grounded in Christ, not the wiles of man. These are all the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. The seventh and last imperative deals with the one thing that can separate you from God, sin.
The other six become virtually impossible if sin pervades your life. You cannot be close to God if sin consistently separates you from Him. The prophet Isaiah reminds us:
