God Promises You Will Know His Will

Romans 12:1-2 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer 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.
 
MUCH has been written on God’s will. What is it? How do we know it? Do we have choices within God’s will? And many Christians have personally inquired, “What is God’s will for my life?” These are good, necessary questions we must have on our minds if we say, “Jesus is my Lord.” After all, we want to live as the Lord leads us.
   In Romans 1-11, the apostle Paul wrote of sin’s affects on our lives and of Jesus’ transforming power to redeem us. A good summary of those chapters is Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.  
   Then in Romans 12, Paul essentially address the question, “Now that I am redeemed in Jesus Christ what do I do?” God promises you will know what to do when your mind is transformed into the mind of Christ.
   This transformation happens when you offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God. A living sacrifice is a life different than your natural life. The sacrificial life purposefully pursues God. A focus on others is your focus. Obedience, confession and passion mark your spiritual act of worship. Such a life is centered on knowing and responding appropriately to God’s character, his commands, and his promises. You discard long-held desires and beliefs that place your self above Jesus and others. Inappropriate actions and words become your past. You no longer conform to the world’s system. But the Spirit transforms you through a mind made new in Jesus Christ. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! (2 Corinthians 5:17)
   Paul then gave practical examples of the transformed mind knowing God’s will. Read through Romans 12:3-20, and the Holy Spirit will point you to a mind renewed in God’s will. He teaches you to be humble. Use your spiritual gifts such as teaching, serving, generosity, mercy, sincere love, devotion and honor. You should be passionate to seek God’s knowledge. Hope and patience must mark your life even in affliction. Be faithful in prayer and share with the needy. You are to bless those who persecute you. And be especially kind to those who are unkind to you.
    This life is one that worships the One who has redeemed you. Release the old, focus on the new. Know God’s will is to transform you into a more complete relationship with him.