If you’re anything like me, you know the tension that exists inwardly in attempting to discover and obey the will of God. Often hearing the phrase “God’s will” is weighty and lofty. It can quickly become overwhelming and intimidating. In the same breadth, it is clearly critical to discover if we are going to live a life of obedience to God (see Eph. 5:17, Rom. 12:2, Jn. 7:17, Heb. 10:36, 13:20-21). So, how do we discover the will of God without being weighed down by overwhelming intimidation?
“Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” - Matt. 6:10
Recently I have been on a passionate and lovesick pursuit to discover the will of God. This pursuit began with a simple, but powerful, discovery that God opened my eyes to. While studying the above passage, I meditated intentionally on the phrase “your will be done.” I discovered that the Greek word “will” could be translated to “desire.” Meaning, we could pray, “your kingdom come, your desire be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Then the Lord immediately asked me, “Where do desires lie?” I responded, “In the heart.” God said, “exactly, you are on a pursuit to discover the desires that lie within my heart.”
He then asked me, “How do you discover desires that lie within a person's heart?” I took a minute to think, and then it hit me, “Intimate friendship!” He responded with excitement, “YES, my dear friend, intimacy is the key to discovering the desires within my heart!” This simple conversation with God birthed new levels of faith within me, believing with confidence that I could know the will of God and the desires that lie within his heart.
As weeks passed and I passionately began to pursue the depths of God’s heart in a new way, the Lord prompted me to begin meditating on the life of Jesus and his pursuit of discovering his Father’s will as well. I began to realize the rhythms of Jesus’ life in a new way, seeing how he carved out his early morning and late evening to be in intimate communion with his Father before executing his ministry for his Father (see Mk. 1:35, Lk. 6:12). This brought up many questions, “why did Jesus do this? Was he not God? Did he not know all things?”
As I continued meditating on this, I began to wonder, what was communion with the Father like for Jesus? Did he hear an audible voice or receive his specific assignments for every moment of the day? Or, was his time with the Father like our time with the Father is? Did he meditate on the scriptures, did he sit in silence and listen for the “still small voice”, and like we are exhorted to, did he simply stay radically committed and consistent with seeking his Father faithfully day by day? As a result of a steadfast pursuit of discovering his Father’s will, did he grow in intimate knowledge of the desires in his Father’s heart and learn to faithfully obey what his Father wanted? I believe so (see Lk. 2:52, Heb. 5:8).
Jesus was the normal expression of what Christianity was meant to look like. He is perfect theology and the model we are meant to evaluate our life by (see 1 Jn. 2:5-6). Though we will not attain to the perfection or Godhead of Christ, his intimate walk with the Father is the invitation each of us is invited into as well. I believe Jesus’ discovery of the desires that lay within the Father’s heart was supernaturally normal. Meaning, Jesus sought and discovered the will of the Father the same way we are invited to.
“Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does, the Son also does.” - John 5:19
I believe Jesus walked by faith, not with an earbud that was bluetoothed to the audible voice of God. Like any intimate relationship, Jesus had discovered his lover's heart and knew what brought the Father pleasure and what he would desire within any given situation. He knew that his Father was good and a giver of life. Therefore, he knew his Father's heart was grieved wherever destruction, death, and theft were present. As a result, he walked as a conduit of his Father’s heart, releasing healing, life, and redemption (Jn. 10:10).
Discovering the desires within the Father’s heart is possible, and more so, is your destiny. Intimacy is the doorway into discovery and will produce in you revelation of what the Father wants and is worthy of. As a result of this discovery, you will be both aware and empowered to be the conduit of the Father’s heart, releasing life, healing, and redemption in every situation you encounter (see Jn. 14:12-14). Like Jesus we too can declare, I am a son of the most high God. I can do nothing by myself, but have begun to discover the desire of my Father’s heart, and thus do only what I see him doing, because whatever the Father does, I do also.
