God's Will for You Today, Part Five Do Not Run From the Call of God!

1Thesselonians 5: 20 - do not treat prophecies with contempt.

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 (1^st 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!

The beauty of God's Word is its transcendent value. What was written so many centuries ago is still relevant today. What the context was centuries ago can be applied to varied circumstances that exist today. Such is the case when we consider God's Will for our lives when it comes to our attitude toward His word. The context which Paul is writing from probably relates prophecy to the gift of prophecy, which is a temporary gift allowing a direct word from God to His people. Many in the early days were abusive toward these gifts and proclaimed special lines of communication to God. Paul was probably seeking to reprimand and remind the church at Thessalonica that they need to be very careful when it comes to claiming what is from God and what is not. Centuries later however, the core message is still an important part of the will of God for your life today.

Too often I hear the lament that God is not speaking into the lives of Christians. They have trouble discerning the will of God. They claim that the opportunities others have do not open up for them. Let God be true and every man a liar (Romans 3:4)! More often than not we have had a word spoken into our lives and have chosen instead the path of Jonah. The prophet Jonah was given specific instructions from God to go and preach against the great city of Nineveh. The city of Nineveh was a wicked city and Jonah decided that he would not listen to the call of God:

But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the LORD. Jonah 1: 3

Can you imagine? Running away from the will of God? How many of us can relate to Jonah though? I would guess quite a few. But as we see from Jonah's story, we will never truly find peace running away from the will of God. Jonah would find the boat he was in near destruction due to a violent storm. He knew the calamity was his fault for disobeying God and his shipmates threw Jonah into the sea to calm the wrath of God. God provided for Jonah however and he spent three days in the belly of a great fish. There Jonah repented toward God and was given another chance to follow the His will. He preached the coming wrath of God to Nineveh and they repented.

Jonah must have been dumbfounded. Relying on his own strength, he never envisioned such a wicked city repenting and instead ran away from the will of God. Now that he was given a second chance he discovered that God always knows better! But this was still not enough for Jonah. He became bitter and angry at the compassion the Lord showed in sparing Nineveh. The response from the Lord is something we all still need to remember today:

But the LORD replied, "Have you any right to be angry?" Jonah 4: 4

Not only do we run away from the Lord and His sovereign will but often we question that will or be angry about what grace is shown to another. Just as Jonah must have felt the compassion showed toward Nineveh was uncalled for, we too can look at the success of another and question the Lord as to why we must seemingly struggle in comparison to others. The Lord is saying to us today; "Have you any right to be angry?" We have these feelings without all of the knowledge required. We do not know the struggles the other person may have gone through. We do not know how their walk is with God. We only know what we see, but God sees all.

The story of Jonah is a stark reminder to us all today that we are called in the kingdom to do one thing; lead people to Christ for salvation and redemption. Unfortunately, we can get selfish along the way. Jonah was so selfish that he did not even believe God when he spared the great city of Nineveh. So he sat down a distance away from the city and proceeded to watch what would happen to the city. God provided a vine to grow up over Jonah and provide some relief from the sun. He then provided a worm to eat the vine, angering Jonah even more. When God asked Jonah is he had a right to be angry about the vine, Jonah replied that he was angry enough to die! Here was the response from God, ending the Book of Jonah.

But the LORD said, "You have been concerned about this vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?" Jonah 4: 10-11

Jonah was so selfish that his own comfort (the vine) was more important to him then the fact that 120,000 people were going to hell if not for the mercy of God. This lesson is so vital for all of us today. We should be concerned for the lost not ourselves. When God has placed a calling on your life, running away will never find you peace. We are not called to question God either. We are called to obey God. Do not treat prophecies with contempt. They are meant to show you the way in your walk beloved. You cannot outrun God!

What is God speaking into your life today? Has there been a word spoken into your life that you readily dismissed? Do you think you might know better than God? Do you find yourself comparing your situations to others and questioning God as to why some might have a different lot than you? Is there a bit of Jonah inside of you today? God will always give you another chance. His will for your life today is to not treat prophecies with contempt. There is a reason and a call on every life that God touches. Listen for that call and follow the will of God!

Anthony Wade - March 6, 2008