the Third Week after Easter
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Daily Devotionals
Voice of the Lord
May your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth as in heaven (Matthew 6:10).
A well-known talmudic story concerns a disagreement over a minor ceremonial issue about a certain stove. In order to prove his view right, Rabbi Eliezer asks God to do several extraordinary miracles. Each one comes to pass. Still, the other rabbis decide to choose the majority opinion over his view.
This incident reveals the method used by the rabbis to "discover God's mind" on important issues. It also raises the question of how Messianic Jews ought to approach the subject of discerning God's will in a matter.
First, it must be remembered that God wants us to know his will even more than we want to know it ourselves. He will go out of his way to reveal his will if we're open to hearing it. Second, God never leads us to do anything that is contrary to his Word. For example, he would never ask us to commit adultery. Finally, God reveals his will in many ways. He will sometimes speak specifically through his Word, giving us an inner prompting to guide us. He might even speak in a still small voice (1 Kings 19:12-13). He also uses the counsel and wisdom of others to confirm his will for us.
Most important for the believer is to know that discerning God's will depends on first having a personal relationship with him.
...seek God's will for me in the confidence that as I ask him for wisdom, he will generously grant it to me (see James 1:5).
MW
The Voice of the Lord, Copyright © 1998 by the Lewis and Harriet Lederer Foundation, Inc. Published by Messianic Jewish Publishers, Distributed by Messianic Jewish Resources, www.messianicjewish.net. All rights reserved. Used by permission. No part of this article may be reproduced in print or on the web, or transmitted in any form, without the written permission of the publisher.
