You will make known to me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; in Your right hand there are pleasures forever. Psalm 16:11.
Therefore, keep up your courage, men, for I believe God that it will turn out exactly as I have been told. Acts 27:25.
I, even I, will be with your mouth and his mouth, and I will teach you what you are to do. Exodus 4:15.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God says:
It is one thing to believe that I can do things that seem impossible, it is another to trust that I will do them for you. True faith is trust that I will do for you what My Word says. Before Abraham could believe and do My Will for his life he had to be fully persuaded that what I promised I would perform. And what I promised to him looked impossible from what he saw in himself and Sarah, but when he fixed his attention on My promise and put his trust in My Word, it came to pass.
Today we continue the instructions on how to know My Will for your life with Life Lesson No. 7: “Have faith in God’s Word.” Like Paul in the storm and shipwreck you must be able to proclaim with confident assurance, “Therefore, keep up your courage, for I believe God that it will turn out exactly as I have been told.” Acts 27:25. Paul knew Me. He knew My ways. He knew the Way who had appeared to him on his way and changed the direction of his life entirely.
I tell you that the Israelites I redeemed out of Egypt with mighty works never did My Will for their lives, they never entered My rest, because though they had seen My works they did not know My ways. Psalm 95:9-11. They had experienced My great power and seen Me fight for them against Egypt, but they never trusted in My care to continue.
My servant David wanted to know My ways more than My works. He knew the works would follow if he knew My ways of doing things. He sang to Me, “Make me know Your ways, O LORD; teach me Your paths.” Psalm 25:4. And My prophet Isaiah wrote the same, “And many peoples will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; that He may teach us concerning His ways that we may walk in His paths.’ For the law will go forth from Zion and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.” Isaiah 2:3, Micah 4:2.
And what was David’s conclusion about My ways from his inquiry? “All the paths of the LORD are lovingkindness and truth.” Psalm 25:10. Chesed ve emet. The Israelite people said I had brought them to the land I promised so they would perish. Listen to what they said about Me, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! Why is the LORD bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword?” Numbers 14:2-3. They did not know Me. But they should have known Me from My works. I made known My ways to Moses, My acts to the sons of Israel revealing Myself as the LORD, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness and truth. Exodus 34:6; Psalm 103:7-8. I will not always strive with you, nor will I keep My anger forever. I have not dealt with you according to your sins, nor rewarded you according to your iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is My lovingkindness toward those who know Me. As far as the east is from the west, so far have I removed your transgressions from you. Just as a father has compassion on his children, so I have compassion on those who honor Me. For I Myself know your frame; I am mindful that your body is but dust. Psalm 103:9-14. I am not harsh or hard. In seeing Jesus, you see Me, meek and humble of heart, ready to restore and refresh you if you will just come to Me and learn from Me. My yoke is easy and My burden light. Matthew 11:28-30. I took care of all that divided us in Christ Jesus. He took your sins and diseases and made you holy, blameless and beyond reproach before Me. My plans for you are for your wholeness and welfare (shalom) and not evil, to give you a future and a hope. But the Israelites in the desert, despite all My redemptive work on their behalf for which they did not work but merely received, failed to understand that I was on their side and would never bring them anywhere to harm them. So they drew back and refused to do My Will as I had made it known to them by My Word, which I tried to deliver directly to them, but when they refused to listen and ran in fear, saying for Moses to talk to Me and then relay it to them, I delivered it directly to Moses to disclose to them. But they did not have faith in My love and My goodness. You see this that every time they ran into an adverse circumstance or a moment of lack, they questioned Me and accused Me of evil intent.
Do you do that? You may not think you do, but if you are questioning My love for you by trials that come in this life, and Jesus told you that until He comes back the second time to clean out the evil and the curse, you will have trials, then you do not know Me. You are not fully persuaded that I will deliver you out of them all. Psalm 34:19 (“Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.”); 2 Timothy 3:10-11 (“Now you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance, persecutions, and sufferings, such as happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium and at Lystra; what persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord rescued me!”).
And what does this have to do with knowing My Will for your life? Everything; because if you do not trust that I am for you to do good for you and not evil, to bring you into a wide and spacious place of blessing, you will not seek Me or go forward with My Will. When facing one of the worst and most impossible looking attacks during his reign as king of Judah, Jehoshaphat and the people turned for a Word from Me in faith that I would save them. And once they got that Word they ran with it in thankful and confident trust of deliverance. They did not accuse Me of evil intent in that three armies had banded to destroy them; they just confidently sought My goodness. And when the Word came, Jehoshaphat told the people: “Listen to me, O Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, put your trust in the LORD your God and you will be established. Put your trust in His prophets and succeed.” 2 Chronicles 20:20. And so it happened. And you have a book full of My Words as My Spirit has inspired My prophets. And now I speak to you through My Son. Who is the Way and My Way of showing you My Ways. So you have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from Me. 2 Peter 1:19-21. You can put your trust in My Word that it will turn out just as I have said for you if you do not draw back. Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done My will you may receive what was promised. Hebrews 10:35-38.
I will make known to you the path of life; in My presence is fullness of joy; in My right hand there are pleasures forever. Psalm 16:11. Beautiful indeed is your inheritance. Psalm 16:6. Have faith that I will make My Will known to you. It will come through knowing My ways, and the only way you will learn those is in My Word. Things are clear when you walk in the Light but if you walk in the dark it is hard to see. My Word brings you out of darkness into My marvelous Light so that you can see clearly. In My Light you see Light. And if your eye is filled with Light so will your body be. My Word is a light to your path and a lamp to your feet. Keep your eyes on My Word if you are in a dark place and I will bring you into the Light.
From My Word you know much about My Will for your life. You know that I have a good plan for your life that was prepared in advance and written in My book before you were born. Ephesians 2:10; Psalm 139:16. You know that I desire you to prosper and be in good health, 3 John 1:2, and that I want you to have an abundant, joyful life. John 10:10, John 15:11. That I want you to live a long, satisfying life filled with good days. Psalm 34:8-14; Psalm 91:16. And that from the beginning I blessed you to live a long fruitful life, still thriving and bearing fruit in old age. Genesis 1:28; John 15:5-8; Psalm 92:12-14. And in Jesus, I forgave all your sins, healed all your ills, pulled you out of the pit, surrounded you with love and compassion, filled your days with good things, so your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. Psalm 103:1-5. My Will for your life is that which is good, pleasing and perfect, Romans 12:2, and I want My Will for you to prosper in your hand. Isaiah 53:10; Deuteronomy 16:15; Psalm 128:2. And you know that all My magnificent promises are “yes” to you in Christ Jesus, 2 Corinthians 1:20, that I have blessed you with every spiritual blessing in Heaven, Ephesians 1:3, and that I have provided you with all you need for life and godliness. 2 Peter 1:3. I am for you, so who can be against you?
So how do you live the fruitful life I planned for you? Today I will give you where to start to know My Will: go to My Word and follow the instructions in Psalm 1: How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers.” Psalm 1:1-3. There is a reason this psalm heads all the rest of the psalms. Start here and do what Psalm 1 (and it is the same as Joshua 1:8) directs to have the result of a fruitful life of prosperity. My Word is forever.
I love you. Have faith in My Word. Be mindful of Me in all your ways and I will direct your path. Trust that and proceed. Keep your eyes on My Word and direction follows. Pray, read, speak, hear and obey, that is the most successful way. Know that I have taken care of everything in your life and I plan to do so forever.