THE BIG PICTURE

"Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, "Rabbi, eat." But he said to them, "I have food to eat that you do not know about." So the disciples said to one another, "Has anyone brought him something to eat?" Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work." -- John 4:31-34

"What is the will of God for my life" is a common question but it is not a good one. I have had many discussions around that question, but it is a flawed question and can only lead to a flawed answer. It is flawed because the focus is on the wrong place. It is about

me
and my life
and my future.

That is a legitimate concern, of course, but the real question to concern ourselves with first of all is, "What is God's will?" Not His will for me, but His will --- period! There the focus is on God,

His interests,
His will,
His agenda, His purpose

on the bigger scale than how it affects just me. His personal will for my life may only be found in the context of His general will of which we are privileged to be a part. When someone joins a new company, in order for their own personal job description to make sense, they must first ask the bigger questions: What is this company doing? What are its objectives? How does it measure success? It is only in that context that a personal job description has proper meaning.

To know the personal will of God, we must first understand the general will of God for all people. We need to know that through His people God is continually at work on earth and we have the privilege of a particular personal role to play, but it is in the context of a bigger picture. Our personal lives must align completely with what God is doing in the world at large. It will include an upward look to the Lordship of Christ in seeking and saving the lost, and an outward look to the people being brought into our lives in whose heart God is at work and giving me the privilege of participating in.

The context in which Jesus said to His disciples, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work," (John 4:31-31) was when His disciples had busied themselves with a legitimate human function in going into Samaria to buy food. But, they cast only a cursory glance at a woman from Samaria going the other way to draw water and completely missed the harvest of a seeking thirsty soul. Jesus later rebuked them for missing the harvest He had sent them to reap. Why? Because they were preoccupied with the "my life," "my needs," "my agenda," instead of asking the question, "On my way into Samaria does God have something in mind that is bigger than just me and my food?" Never disconnect God's will IN you and FOR you from God's will THROUGH you to enrich other people. Sensitivity and obedience in the general purposes of God will ensure the outworking of His personal guidance in every other area.

-- Charles Price