GOD’S REVELATION IS HIS INVITATION
Surely the Sovereign LORD does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.
AMOS 3:7
Christians spend much time talking about seeking God’s will, as though it were hidden and difficult to find. God doesn’t hide His will, so it isn’t difficult to discover. We don’t have to plead with God to reveal His will to us. He’s more eager to reveal His will than we’re willing to receive it. We sometimes ask God to do things He’s already done.
The people in Amos’s day became disoriented to God and His desires. God had revealed His will; the problem was that they hadn’t recognized it or obeyed it. Amos declared that God does nothing in the affairs of humanity without seeking one of His servants to whom He will reveal His activity. Tragically, there are times when no one’s walking closely enough with Him to be receptive to His word (see Isa. 59:16; 63:5; Ezek. 22:30-31).
Jesus walked so intimately with His Father that He was always aware of what the Father was doing around Him (see John 5:19-20). Jesus said if our eyes are pure, they’ll see God and recognize His activity (see Matt. 6:22). If we aren’t seeing God’s activity, the problem isn’t a lack of revelation. The problem is that our sin prevents us from noticing it.
When God’s working in someone’s life, He may reveal His activity to you. That revelation is His invitation for you to join Him in His redemptive work. Be alert to God’s activity around you. He will reveal His activity to His servants. If your spiritual eyes are pure, you’ll be overwhelmed by all you see God doing around you.
The world operates by vision. God’s people live by revelation. The world seeks grand, noble purposes and goals to achieve. People dream up the greatest and most satisfying things in which they can invest their lives. Institutions establish goals and objectives and then organize themselves to achieve them. God’s people function in a radically different way. Christians arrange their lives based on the revelation of God, regardless of whether it makes sense to them.
God doesn’t ask for our opinions about what’s best for our future, our family, our church, or our country. He already knows. God wants to get the attention of His people and reveal to us what is on His heart and what is His will, for God’s ways are not our ways (see Isa. 55:8-9).
When people don’t base their lives on God’s revelation, they “cast off restraint” (Prov. 29:18). That is, they do what’s right in their own eyes. They set their goals, arrange their agendas, and then pray for God’s blessings. Some Christians are living far outside the will of God, yet they have the audacity to pray and ask God to bless their efforts.
The only way you can know God’s will is for Him to reveal it to you. You’ll never discover it on your own. When you hear from the Father, you have an immediate agenda for your life: obedience. As the writer of Proverbs observed, “Blessed is the one who heeds wisdom’s instruction” (29:18).
When have you worried about knowing God’s will? What were you actually doing to discern His will? What was the result?
What sin is clouding your spiritual vision?
In what areas are you currently living according to your own agenda—even asking God to bless your efforts—instead of seeking to join Him?
What was the most meaningful statement or Scripture you read today?
Reword the statement or Scripture into a prayer of response to God.
What does God want you to do in response to today’s study? [Henry T. Blackaby, Richard Blackaby (2014). Seven Realities for Experiencing God – Member Book. LifeWay Press. Retrieved from https://read.lifeway.com]