How do you Know God's Will? Grace from God

There is something about grace which we forget. Grace is divine enablement to do what we should be doing. This implies obedience. One thing we often forget is that grace only powers you while you are obeying. The decision to seek God or obey him is for you to make first. The power to carry that decision is given by God.

So when seeking God's will on something, you need to get the ball rolling even if it means picking up the ball. Every step, seek God's confirmation that He is wanting you to be doing this (I guess this is where signs can come in?) How far that ball rolls could probably help you determine whether it is God's will. (This all presumes that you can clearly see that what you are doing is in obedience to Him). WOuld God show you a sign that you are walking in the right direction when you are seeking to obey him? Think about it. Why wouldnt He? He delights in our obedience. God created the world and what is all that power going to be used for if not for encouraging his people to obey Him? So His divine enablement is correlated to the level of conformity your decision has to God's priorities.

So another connection drawn. God's grace, His divine enablement, is how God shows us His will. If Grace is the superpower to do what God wants you to do, then seeking God's will is finding out what God wants you to do. When you have power to do it, grace is helping you find God's will.. think that makes sense..

No God's Grace leads to Bitterness

Bitterness has an element of frustration with yourself. It could be letting yourself into a situation which you wish you hadn't entered or it could be with your inability to deal with a current situation. In the tragic story of King David's son raping his sister, strange thing happens with Amnon who ends up hating the sister he lusted after. Why? Bitterness?

2 Samuel 13:15 Then Amnon hated her exceedingly; so that the hatred wherewith he hated her was greater than the love wherewith he had loved her. And Amnon said unto her, Arise, be gone.

In a sense, he hated himself for getting himself into that situation and hated her for letting it happen. This doesn't happen when we obey God because His assurance that we are on the right track helps us deal with the unpleasant things that obedience brings about. However, when you want to hack through life on your own, in disobedience to God, you will end up hating yourself and feeling bitter with others.

God's grace is the supernatural ability to do what God wants you to do and to be what we ought to be. Without it, we can be bitter people. Situations and people can overwhelm us. However, when God is giving us grace, it is always sufficient to deal with ALL situations.

2 Corinthians 12:9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Its the supernatural counter balance that helps you get through the trial, temptation or area of service. When you have grace from God, it is evident. You are overflowing with God's provision such that you don't lack anything.

Psalms 23:1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

When we have grace, we can't be bitter because with grace, we are contented. When we are contented, we don't become bitter. No one is able to deprive us when our supply comes from God. Whatever people do, we are stable when we drink from the God's living stream.

Don't want to be bitter? Get grace from God. How do you get grace? see this post. If anything doesn't sound right here, feel free to comment.

Grace - every Christian needs it

I spent much of my life not knowing what grace was. To me, it was a religious word which meant basically God giving us Jesus Christ when we didn't deserve it. That is true but that is just saving grace. Recently I learnt the importance of grace in a Christian's life, and this is the greatest God hack you can ever learn.

In Summary (verse references coming soon)
1. Grace can only be obtained by being humble.
2. Grace is the power to do what God wants you to do
3. Ask God for grace who gives liberally
4. Without grace, you're without God's help - and without God you can do nothing.
(a)You can't overcome sin without grace! (this may be worth a separate post but one of Christianity's greatest misunderstandings is that once you are a Christian, you can resist sin automatically)
(b) You can't follow God well without grace
Get grace from God and your life will start to show forth the Christlikeness that is expected of a Christian.