1 Corinthians 10:23

Do All to the Glory of God

“All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up.

Through our continuous relationship and fellowship with God, through prayer and the study of God’s word, we soon realize that it’s not everything that’s meant for us. 
Everything good comes from God but it doesn’t mean that it is what is required to fulfill God’s will for our lives. 

James 1:17

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

Using myself as an example there are so many things I want to learn. So many skills I want to acquire and so many jobs I want to do. But then I realized that in pursuit of one opportunity I don’t have time to focus on that which I already have and end up running down on deadlines. While trying to acquire one skill set I abandon another. But my strong skill points are that I’m hard working and present my work accurately. I’m also a good team player and have good research skills(Trying to sell myself here 😁)

More important than getting everything and anything that we ever wanted is fulfilling the will of God because it is in doing this that we  get the satisfaction that we deserve and desire. We search for this satisfaction in other things but  we should be looking to the one who is the author of our plans in the first place. 
Proverbs says that many are the plans in a man’s heart but it the will of the Lord that prevails. Doesn’t this describe how frustrated we feel when we can’t get things done? When all our dreams and aspirations don’t come through as we want. It can be frustrating. But perhaps it wasn’t God’s will in the first place. 
But rather than fretting over what is God’s will or not the simple thing is to know that God is always working things out. So whether we fight or not what He desires for us will come to pass as long as we study the word and obey His instructions. He is working in us to do His will. 

 Psalms 143:10

Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground!

Sometimes we just have to let go of those things that we feel are legitimately ours. Abraham had to send away Ishmael. Ishmael was his legitimate son but he was not what God had planned for Abraham. If Sarah had not complained Ishmael may perhaps have still lived in the house but it doesn’t change the fact that he was not necessary to God’s plan. It was something that happened and later on birth liabilities. But God is always faithful and He kept his promise to raise a nation for Himself. Nothing could have changed that. So we have to make a conscious effort to do away with some things although having them might not seem wrong. 
What we focus on, if we examine ourselves closely, are things that would either boost our egos or add money to our pockets. We have to often count as a loss (take no consideration to) what we have to follow after God’s plan and purpose for our lives.

It’s actually never easy. It can even be a bit confusing. But studying the word of God will always let you know what to do and when. When to relax and when to be working. When to celebrate and when to be humble. God can even use our mistakes to birth miracles. 
God is amazing because there is nothing we do that goes unrewarded. But of what benefit is it if it has nothing to do with God’s will. 

Proverbs 14:23

In all toil there is profit,but mere talk tends only to poverty.

But I do think it’s better to be doing something good than to be doing something wicked. Everything we do has a reward so if we do evil we’ll definitely reap from that also. There are only two sides to be concerned about when it comes to fulfilling God’s will: judgment for the wicked and blessing for the righteous.

“GOD made everything with a place and purpose; even the wicked are included—but for judgment.”

Proverbs 16:4 MSG

My point in summary is that we should focus on doing God’s will because that is where satisfaction in life comes from and that’s when we get to enjoy the benefits of what we’ve reaped.

I was praying when all this came to me so definitely I’m not an exception. I have to work on my focus as well. Everything we need has been provided, it’s in knowing why they are there that we’ll effectively and efficiently use them. But God is there to help. 

‘If the purpose of a thing is not known then abuse is inevitable.’

SHALOM!