Have you ever talked and talked with people about spiritual things, only to find that you get nowhere? At the end of the conversation, however long it might have been, you question, “Why can’t I get through to them? What seems to be the blockage?” You have probably left that situation, as I often have, feeling that you had failed to clearly articulate the truths of the Kingdom of God. It is true that sometimes we need to communicate better. Sometimes we need to listen better to where the person is coming from, sometimes we need to be more sympathetic and less condescending, sometimes we should have prayed more, or been more sensitive to the Spirit of the Lord. There is much that we could have done differently, and hopefully we will learn and do better the next time we try to share God’s ways with others. However there is also the responsibility of the other person. Do they really want to know the truth? Do they choose to do God’s will? Jesus speaks in John 7:17, “If anyone chooses to do God’s will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. (NIV)” At times there must be a choice to do the will of God before we actually know the will of God. This means that at times there needs to be a mental decision to follow the will of God, to trust God, even before we fully know what that specific will of God is. Then God can be free to show His will to us.
I am not giving license for us to criticize others by saying, “They would understand it, if they wanted to obey it.” Rather the challenge is, “are there areas of truth that I do not understand because I don’t fully choose to obey Him?” Perhaps our unwillingness to submit completely to doing the will of the God keeps us from fully knowing the will and ways of God.
Lord Jesus, work so that we and others are more willing to obey You, so that we might know more of You.
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