Mediations on Colossians: The knowedge of His will

Colossians 1:9-10
And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.

“To be filled with the knowledge of His will.”
If I had a penny for every time I have heard someone express exasperation over their desire to know God’s will for them in a particular situation and that they find themselves unable to hear His clear direction, I would have many pennies. (For the record, I count myself among the “someones” mentioned above.) To those of us who struggle with this question and the seeming silence we find on the other side of our prayers and pleadings to the Lord in the daily situations we encounter, this place in Colossians should bring us much relief.

How do we attain the knowledge of His will? He tells us here that it requires SPIRITUAL wisdom and understanding. He also tells us clearly His will for us in a broad, yet specific, sense: (1) That we walk in a manner worthy of Him, (2) that we bear fruit in every good work and (3) that we increase in the knowledge of Him.

I truly believe that often the reason we encounter silence as we ask the Lord, “What is Your will in this situation?” comes not from His lack of desire to lead us (He’s always faithful to His promises and one of those promises is to lead), but instead from our error of seeking His will with our minds. We rationalize, we scrutinize every option, we pour over our pro/con lists...we push aside the Spirit with our over-analytical minds and paralyze ourselves. But here is the truth, it is the Spirit that reveals direction and wisdom for the directing of our lives because He has the power to bring about the understanding of the heart of God. 1 Corinthians 2:10 says that “...God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.”

We may not be able to find in scripture the specific answer to what school to go to, what country to minister to, whether or not to marry a certain person...but what we do find are direction to what the will of God for us looks like: God wants our life to please Him (scripture tells us what attributes are pleasing to God), He wants us to grow in doing what is good and right (scripture tells us what the fruits of the Spirit are and how we are to love others), and He wants us to grow in the knowledge of Him (scripture tells us who He is and what He is and how He is). It is that simple. There are many choices in life that don’t have a clear “right” and “wrong,” and that’s not the point of our lives anyway...if you desire that your life reflects the will of God for you, than put Him always before you and allow your faith to stretch as you move forward in the choice you make--trusting His character, His hand and His power will be with you. Psalm 16:9 “I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.”

Isn’t it enough that a heart truly desires to please the Lord? God knows what we are: Psalm 103:14 “For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.” He knows the limitations we possess...is He really so cruel and distant as to say, “Know what I want of you, know the way you should walk, know the desires of My heart...Go!” without providing the means? No! Instead He puts His spirit in us as a helper and gives us His word as a lamp to show the path our feet should walk. His requirement of us is “Wash yourself in the blood of My Son and follow Me.” That is all. If He is big enough to purify us from our sins and restore our relationship with a holy God, surely He is big enough to cover us as we walk through the daily decisions we face...not because we know exactly what decision to make, but because He is faithful.

I think it is enough. I think it is enough to have a heart that sincerely says, “I want my life to reflect YOUR will for me, I want my life to please You, I want my steps to follow You, I want to hear Your voice. Do with me as You wish.” What more would the Lord require from imperfect dust? His grace is sufficient for our physical limitations and if His Spirit lives in us, we already possess the knowledge of His will for us.