I Samuel 10:7
“It shall be when these signs come to you, do for yourself what the occasion requires, for God is with you.”
Much of God’s will in our lives comes from within. The Lord isn’t interested in making robots who do what they are programmed to do. The faith and commandments aren’t merely imposed on us. He changes us from the inside to where we want to do His will.
How does He do this? Ezekiel 36:26 says, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” He gives us a new heart. We no longer want to do evil. Philippians 2:13 explains this further, “For God is the One working in you both to will and to work according to His good pleasure”. Our will is changed. We are His children, He gives us a heart that has His values. We want to do the things that please Him. Not just because of who He is, but because that’s the thing we want to do.
Onlookers don’t always understand. I Peter 4:4 says, “In all this, they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same excesses of dissipation, and they malign you”. We are different. We no longer want to do the things that grieve the Lord.
Jesus was our example. Yes, He was God, but He laid aside all of His divine privileges and walked through this world dependent on God. He would respond to the circumstances He found Himself in. If he encountered someone sick, he healed them. If He met someone who had questions, He answered them. Saul was told to do the same thing, “do for yourself what the occasion requires”.
We can’t really say what God’s will is, unless it’s spelled out in scripture. Much of life is left up to us to decide. We know that we are to love God and love people. We are to decide how that’s done. We do get hunches about His will. We simply pray about them and do what we think is right.
This freedom is amazing. When one thinks of a godly person, freedom isn’t what comes to mind. We usually associate that person all twisted up in rules. But God gives us some sort of autonomy. We aren’t haunted with guilt. 2 Corinthians 3:17 says, “Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”
Lord, thank You that You give us a new heart and empower us to do Your will. Help us to walk with You accordingly.