God's Will...not my will...

I have spent many years trying to figure out how to live in God's will. What does it look like? How do you know you are doing it right? What is your hard evidence that you ARE living in God's will?

I have always wanted someone to write "The Practical Guide for Living in God's Will," and charge me ten dollars and have a Bible study to help me figure it out. If I could just get the blueprints and the rules on how to do it I would live in God's will forever. I mean who doesn't want to live in God's will forever. That's what I have been striving for all these years because everyone I know tells me that it will make life better, and He knows that my life needs to be better.

So no one has really written a practical guide as of yet, at least not one I can understand and implement. There have been many Bible studies that have touched on the subject, but what I felt like I really needed was a road map. One that showed me just how to do it because I really had no clue. I liked to pretend that I did. I tried to talk the talk but it was obvious to me that I wasn't walking the walk. I kept telling myself however that if someone would just show me how, in a way that I could comprehend I would do it. It is what I REALLY wanted after all so why wouldn't I do it.

What I have come to realize today is that living in God's will is not really what I wanted. I wanted to live in my will and consult God when it was convenient and have Him bless me with all the things that I wanted, and endorse all the decisions that I made as the right ones. A sort of grandma/Santa Claus of sorts.

I have recently been experiencing living in God's will. I am here to tell you that it is not always easy or fun, but it is the best my life has ever been. Giving up my will is at the very least a daily struggle for me. Some days it is an hourly or minute by minute struggle. I am starting to recognize when I fall out of God's will and into my own. It is hard to get back into His will when I take the reins and have gotten into mine. This is not because He makes it hard, but because I make it hard for me. All I really need to do is pause for a moment.

One thing I am trying to remember is to pause. Pause when I come into new situations throughout my day. Pause before I speak. Definitely pause before I take action. When I pause I need to take an action that will help me stay in God's will. This action for me is prayer. I have come to realize that the act of prayer is not one sided. I must talk with God and and tell him what's going on with me and ask for his help, direction, and will. I also need to listen. I must try to get quiet even if only for a moment and listen. He will place the next right thing in front of me, I only need to seek it.

Today I am getting back into God's will for my life. I am taking time to reflect on my daily reading, praying, talking, and listening to other alcoholics. I have a solution today I just need to use it to solve my spiritual problem.