There I'll Be

by Sharnessa Shelton

The other day my Mom and I were chatting on the phone, and I was telling her about some things God has been teaching me lately (Mom's love to hear this stuff!), and about something that I had read that was amazing that God totally spoke to me through! She suggested, and I was already thinking the same thing, that I do a devotional on it, which was cool because I really feel that it's something specifically for you guys out there!

Basically it was about being in God's will for your life. I think that it's so easy for us to make "being in God's will" such a complicated thing. We wonder how to be in it, we question how we'll know if we're in it, we sometimes expect a "writing on the wall" experience from God to tell us where to go and what to do, etc. (He does speak through amazing circumstances at times, but not usually.) But once again, Jesus' way is so much more beautifully simple than ours. What it comes down to is just walking with Him every day and learning to hear and know His voice! It's put so brilliantly in my "Experiencing God" devotional book, by Richard Blackaby and Henry Blackaby. So, a lot of this is going to be chunks from one that I recently read…

"If you are walking daily with the Lord, you will not have to find God's will - you will already be in it. If you are walking with Him in obedience day by day, you will always be in the will of God. The Holy Spirit's role is to guide you step by step to do God's will. Walking closely with God each day guarantees that you will be exactly where He wants you to be. You would have to reject all of the Holy Spirit's activity in your life in order to get out of the will of God…Too often, we would prefer a road map of our future rather than a relationship with the Way. It often seems easier to follow a plan than to cultivate a relationship. We can become more concerned with our future than we are with walking intimately with God today…Jesus will never give you a substitute for Himself. He is the only way to the Father. That's why it is critical that you clearly know when God is speaking to you…If you want to know God's will, take time to cultivate your relationship with Jesus and learn to identify His voice. He is more than willing to show you the way."

Doesn't that just so simplify it?! Well, I hope it does, anyway! When my Mom and I were talking about all of this, getting really excited, she reminded me of a favorite verse of hers, which I've heard her say many times. It was Psalm 27:4&5, "The one thing I want from God, the thing I seek most of all, is the privilege of meditating in His Temple, living in His presence every day of my life, delighting in His incomparable perfection's and glory. There I'll be when troubles come..." (TLB) And the part she emphasized on was the last bit. It doesn't say, "There I'll go when troubles come," it says "There I'll BE..." You'll already BE there, with Him, in His presence, because you're allowing Him to be your continual life-source!!

And this doesn't only have to do with "troubles" and problems, but to do with, as we're talking about today, His will and what He's calling you to do today, where you're at right now, and how He wants to use you at this moment. If you want to be walking in God's plan for your life, and want all that He's got in store for you, no matter WHAT age you are - because He's got plans for you if you're 5 or 75 - then start by simply walking daily with Him, "living in His presence every day of my [your] life"! (Emphasis added!) Don't worry about the bigger picture of His will for your life - God loves to take us step by step. Rather put your focus on HIM. It is all about relationship - ABIDE in Him. John 15:5 says, "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing." Abiding is just a fancy word for "living." So LIVE in Him each and every day! THAT is how His plans for you will begin to come out! Because just as a raft on a river can be directed by the current, so it is when we lay down our will and jump into God's current! Live in Him, guys!!! For THAT is where you will find true life - being right in the center of His awesome plan for you!!! RUN WITH HIM!!