Finding God’s Will

Finding God’s Will

Our God communicates. He created everything by His Word – Genesis 1, 2. God revealed to the first man His plan and purpose for creating everything – Genesis 1:28 – 30. When man disobeyed, God revealed His plan to His beloved Noah who obeys God sincerely that he will destroy the earth and will keep a remnant – Genesis 6:13 - 22. God did not want to hide His plan to destroy the sinful people from His friend Abraham – Genesis 18: 17 – 19. Even the slavery in Egypt was foretold to Abraham well in advance – Genesis 15: 13 – 16. When Jacob was fleeing for his life, God spoke to him about His plan for Israel in whom all the families of the earth will be blessed. Joseph declared that God revealed His plan for the nation to the King by dream – Genesis 41: 16, 25, 28. God told His plans for the redemption of Israel to Moses – Exodus 3: 7 – 12. The list goes on and on. God is concerned to reveal His will to His people.

As God’s children, we are anxious to know His will in many areas. Generally it covers areas like Studies, Nature and Place of Vocation, Marriage, Partnership etc. Thank God, we all have known God’s will to come for His ministry. We also have found our organization in which God wants us to work. In this situation, for the young and vibrant missionaries, what are the areas in which you have to know God’s will further for your lives? These can include Choosing the life partner, Discovering your specific talents for the ministry, Avenues to improve yourself to excel in ministry etc. Here we are looking in to the aspect of Choosing the life partner.

Choosing the life partner

1. When is the time to choose the life partner?
Bro. Zac Poonan says in his book, “Sex, Love and marriage – A Christian Approach” that 20 – 25 for women and 25 – 30 for men can be the right age for getting g married. Walter Trobisch, the author of “I married you” says that after deciding the partner, we need at least 6 months gap before marriage because during that time you can get to know the partner well.

2. Whom to get married to?
1. A Child of God: The immediate verse that pops up in our mind is II Corinthians 6: 14, “Be not unequally yoked with unbelievers”. Paul is speaking in general about the relationships within the Church. It also is applicable to marriage partnership. Yes, you have to choose another believer only for marriage. If not, most of your time will only be spent in winning the one soul within the house that winning others outside. Many parents may be willing to give their son or daughter in marriage to missionaries. The hidden reason can be that missionaries may not have bad habits and in general not quarrelling etc. But, the poor missionary will become ineffective after marriage. None can guarantee that one can surely win the spouse for Christ – 1 Corinthians 7: 16. Some one said in a lighter vein, “If you get married to a non believer, devil will be your father in law! “
2. One who is matured in Christ: ‘Salvation experience’ should not become the only qualification for marriage. There are many who “get saved” and baptized just for marriage. This is one secret of our Church Growth! We have to get clear information about the salvation and spiritual growth of the partner. There are 4 important aspects for spiritual growth. Four Steps to Spiritually GROW:
1. Go to God in Prayer – Mark 1: 35
2. Read God’s Word – 2 Timothy 2: 15
3. Obey in Fellowship – Hebrews 10: 25
4. Witness for God’s love – Acts 1: 8
The person must be zealous for God in all aspects of life.
3. One who is committed for full time ministry: One can be a zealous believer in Christ. Yet, he / she may not have specific calling for full time ministry – Hebrews 5: 4, 5. . If the missionary agrees for such a partner, the pull from day one will be to go to secular work. A person without full time call will not be able to get adjusted to new culture, food, dress, etc, She or he may always be looking at opportunities to go back to own state. The concentration will be on that than venturing new fields. The person may not be willing to undergo the hardships of the mission work. When we consider marriage proposal, we have to make sure that the person has a definite full time call for the Lord’s ministry.

Practical ways to know God’s Will:
1. Obey: Obedience to God in all the areas of your life where the revealed will of God is known is a pre requisite to know God’s will further. By Holy living only, we can know “the good and acceptable and perfect will of God “– Romans 12: 1, 2.
2. Listen: Be regular in listening to the voice of God. Jesus said that His sheep hear His voice. But, the sheep has to get used to the voice of the shepherd – John 10: 3,4,27.
3. Fast and Pray: Take specific time to wait at the Lord’s feet to pray to know His will. Fasting prayer also helps us to concentrate and pray at the feet of God – Acts 13: 2 – 4.
4. Analyze: Paul says, we are having the mind of Christ. With that sanctified mind, weigh the pros and cons of the proposal. You can write down the points for clarity. Ask the Lord to guide you from the analysis.
5. The Holy Bible: Ask God to confirm His will through His written Word, which is the final authority. Be a regular student of the Bible. He will speak to you during your Meditations on the Word of God – Joshua 1: 8.
6. Angels, Visions and Dreams: These have their role in revealing God’s will as we see in both Old and New Testaments. But, the Word of God, the Bible, must support these. God does not contradict Himself.
7. Elders: Opinion and Counsel of the elders are helpful. Relatives and friends can bring the proposals and recommend the candidates. But, the final decision must be your own, depending on the guidance of God.

A to G Theory: Some one jovially said that finding a partner has the following alphabets:
A – Age; B – Beauty; C – Caste; D – Dowry; E – Education; F – Family background; G – God’s Will
We can look at the validity of these points:
A – Age – It is agreed generally that the husband has to be elder to the wife by one or two years. There are exceptions for this.
B – Beauty – Nothing wrong in expecting a beautiful person as your spouse. But, have proper value for physical beauty which is only skin deep – Proverbs 31: 30.
C – Caste – This is a curse of our land, which we have acquired from our Hindu friends. As God’s children, we have to take a stand against this. As God’s children, we have to set an example in breaking these barriers.
D – Dowry – Bible records only of giving dowry to the bride’s family, which was prevalent in that part of the world. In our context, Dowry becomes an adamant demand on the bride’s family before and after marriage that ends in so many dowry deaths. Giving or receiving dowry is a social offence. As God’s children, we have to fight this social evil. We must be bold to tell our parents our stand.
E – Education – This helps for compatibility. A person with a Doctorate getting married to a metric fail candidate can cause problems. Of course, for the Lord’s ministry, degrees are not the only criteria –
1 Cor 1: 26, 27. But, we must also remember that the writer of this verse was a learned person.
F – Family background – God can take persons from any background and use for His glory. We have to get over vain social prestige.
G – God’s Will – This is last in the list, but this is the primary thing that matters. This can over rule all the other 5 – ABCDEF - mentioned above.

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service. And be not fashioned according to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” – Romans 12:1, 2

FMPB Young Missionaries Meet, 9 January 2007 pjebarajuesi@hotmail.com