Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost: Epistle, Ephesians 5:6-21                 

Ephesians 5:6-21

Perhaps the most asked questions received in ministry revolve around people seeking God’s will for their lives. Our text speaks, no it screams at least in part, answers. Yes, multiple answers and this from a passage only sixteen verses in length. More answers abound in all the pages of Scripture. Read verses 10 and 17 and you will find exhortation regarding our part in finding God’s will and these are written in ways that show it isn’t a mystery. I counted at least 9 issues pertaining to God’s will for all His people in this short passage, and there might be a few I missed.

A couple things. One is that the problem of our finding God’s will for our lives is in our pursuit. “God has a wonderful plan for your life,” is a refrain from a decades-old evangelical pamphlet handed out to millions over the years. For all the good it has done, it has at least caused agonies untold as people search out a God who is wringing His hands to make sure each and every individual Christian finds His way for them. NOT! Is there a plan for your life in the mind of God? Certainly. But perhaps it’s not quite as personally honed as we would envision. What do I mean?

The Scriptures are replete with instructions that are the will of God for all believers. And that is what I attempt to steer people toward when this type of inquiry comes my direction. In other words, perhaps God’s will “for our lives” wouldn’t be near the mystery we perceive it to be if we would be both mindful and intent on following the Lord’s will that is already clearly stated in the Bible. Always remembering that we are not obeying to gain the Lord’s life and favor, but because we already have it. Not only do we have so much of His will clearly stated for us in His Word, but we also have the power to actually do it. Just some things to chew on this week.