Day 2 – The cost of knowing God’s will

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your proper worship as rational beings. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Romans 12:1-2 (TNIV)

From what we read yesterday, we know that we can’t get our heads around God. So does this mean that our spiritual life doesn’t involve our heads? Can we ever know and think about God’s will, or is this impossible?

Paul goes on to tell us that it is not just possible to know God’s will, but urgent and necessary, and that our minds are essential to our relationship with God.

However, it is not easy to know God’s will. Look carefully at the steps involved:

• Realise God’s mercy is what makes everything possible for us – not our earnestness
• Offer our bodies (our whole selves) as living sacrifices – we need to give up our control, and commit ourselves completely to God. This is the true meaning of worship.
• Offer ourselves holy and pleasing to God – this is only possible by receiving forgiveness through Jesus and committing to follow him
• Stop conforming to what the world does – our “patterns” or habits should come from God
• Be transformed – change. Change is difficult, but it is the price of what is to come.
• Be transformed by the renewing of your mind – we are not changed by adopting new religious habits and behaviours. God is not telling us just to go to church more, or to be nicer to people, or even just to pray more. If we are to be transformed, it is by the ongoing renewal of our minds. That is where God needs to work on us, he needs to do it constantly, and we need him to renew our minds before we know what God wants for us.
• THEN you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – not only know God’s will, but “test and approve” it – in your mind it will stand up to scrutiny and feel right.

It is only when our minds are transformed, following our self sacrifice in response to God’s mercy, that we can know God’s will. The bonus is that when have done this, we also realise that his will is good, pleasing and perfect – our transformed minds will know God’s love for us and we will be pleased to do what God wants us to do.

To consider and pray throughout today

• Have I offered myself completely to God, or am I only offering a portion of what I have?
• Have I been made holy and pleasing to God today – have I asked forgiveness for my sins?
• Have I forgiven other people when they have hurt me today?
• How would I feel if God asked me to leave my job and work differently for less money?
• What does God want me to do differently today?