How to Test & Approve God’s will

Romans 12:2 – “…be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

One of the areas where we often tend to make a wrong move is at ‘knowing God’s will’. Our life needs to be according to His ways. Proverbs 3:5,6 talks about how God could direct our paths when we lean on Him. But the problem is when we don’t know whether or not it is His will. Paul talks about a transformation to renew our minds which would help us test and approve God’s will. Interestingly he points out the characteristics of God’s will as Good, Pleasing & Perfect. Satan works around this area. It is easy for him to divert us at the point of choosing God’s ways so that our entire destination changes. This process is slow that we do not recognize we have drifted away.

When we read the life history of Abraham, choosing a life partner for his son was one of the greatest challenges. Like any other God fearing parent, he wanted it to happen according to God’s perfect plan. In Genesis 24 Abraham sought the help of his eldest servant, Eliezer, to go to his father’s country and find a suitable partner for his son. Prayerfully, Eliezer and his team set out a journey trusting God completely. Please note that God’s will is pivotal in this circumstance because it’s his master’s earnest desire and as a faithful servant Eliezer need to discern God’s will in spotting the right one. When he reached the city of Nahor, it was evening time when the daughters would come to the well to draw water. Eliezer prayed to God. His prayer is of great importance as he proposed to God what he would like the girl to be. He wanted to choose the girl who is willing to water him and his servants and willingly water the camels too.

As Eliezer was praying, Rebecca was there at the well. Verse 16 describes her beauty and how anybody would like her at first sight. As she drew water from the well, Eliezer ran to her and asked for some water. She immediately lowered her jar and gave him water to drink. Moreover she said “I will draw water for the camels too until they have done drinking”. This is the first part of knowing God’s will! “You would encounter exactly what you wanted”. But beware satan could mimic your expectations and bring the fake one before you actually see what’s destined for you. That’s why Paul uses the term “test & approve” God’s will. This is where the wisdom of God is displayed through Eliezer. Instead of jumping into conclusions, he nodded his head for Rebecca’s offer as she ran down to fetch more water.

Verse 21 is the key – “Without saying a word, the man watched her closely to learn whether or not the Lord had made his journey successful.” Eliezer waited patiently to see if Rebecca was able to fulfill the promises she made. It is clear that she had to go down to the well to fetch water and taking into account how much water each camel would drink, it would’ve been a tiring job for Rebecca to water all ten camels. Eliezer watched carefully to “test and approve” if it was God’s will. As he expected, the next verse says “When the camels finished drinking…” which means Rebecca tirelessly completed what she promised.

We all have heard stories and I personally have witnessed young people taking hasty decisions especially in choosing life partners. They have expectations and when they encounter one which appears to closely match theirs, they immediately jump into it without testing and approving. Only later they understand it’s not what God had planned and regret in that irrecoverable state. In all other matters of life we tend to make this blunder which is prime reason for guilt and regret. The fakes come with false promises and could never accomplish those. To test and approve one needs to wait patiently and see the results just like Eliezer did.

Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for your will is perfect in my life. Help me to test and approve your will that is good, pleasing and perfect for me. Amen

God of the Invalid

1 Corinthians 1:28 – “He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things – and the things that are not – to nullify the things that are”. I was in a conversation with one of the topmost persons of a conglomerate who once was a devoted child of God, now an atheist. He commented something about Jesus Christ that made me pen down this article. He said “I don’t know why Jesus related himself only with people of low state like the sick, poor and the illiterate. That is why I cannot relate myself to Him as I am always with people of high state”. Though I was perplexed about how this generation has already raised themselves above God and the pride of life has blinded their eyes, I was on the other hand thrilled about my Jesus who though being the Master of this universe still was humble enough to consider the lowly…Aren’t we fortunate to have a father like Him?

God’s wisdom, His majesty, His wealth, His riches cannot be fathomed. He designed this humungous universe and the tiny little atoms. He is there from infinity to infinity. He formulated the seasons. He gave rules for the stars to shine, the planets to revolve. He defined nature, the rain, the sunshine etc. He chiseled our brain and placed rules what it is supposed to do. It’s funny using this petite invention of God, we have started to question the creator Himself!

That is why God’s ways are always interesting. He being such a great God still came down for the lowly and even died for them. In John 1:45, the Bible talks about a person called Nathanael. The Bible does not describe much about his ancestry, but when Jesus saw him coming towards Him, He remarked, “Here is a true Israelite in whom there is nothing false”. Here we see God himself giving approval of Nathanael’s conduct. Jesus further prophesied about Nathanael saying he would see heavens open and angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man. In simple words, Nathanael was a perfect minister of God. But this is where Jesus stands out…instead of appointing Nathanael as His assistant, He let him go. Do you know why? Jesus was interested in a denying Peter, doubting Thomas, timid John and Mathew instead of a spotless Nathanael.

God is absolutely interested in the invalid. Jesus isn’t compared with a goldsmith who takes the most precious metal to bring out a beautiful ornament. He is compared to a potter who takes the dirty clay and makes a beautiful pot out of it which is honored in par with a gold ornament. Unlike gold, clay is extremely fragile, incompetent and irksome. In Jeremiah 18, God asks the prophet to go down to the potter’s house. What he sees is very interesting. There was a potter who saw that the vessel he made was marred. He immediately smashed it and redesigned a new pot out of it the way he intended it to be. God chooses the invalid and moulds them the way He wants them to be.

Ruth was a Moabite. Genesis 19:30-38 describes how the very inception of the Moabite clan was an abomination before God. Moab was cursed right from birth. Yet God chose Ruth from that cursed generation and lifted her up to be the great grandmother of Jesus. Moses had a stammering tongue, very inarticulate and timid. God chose him to lead Israel to the promised nation. Right from Genesis the Bible is full of examples of how God chose the invalid and made them valid.

Today you may be feeling inferior because of your poor state, sickness, low education, sin or anything that isn’t up to God’s standards. If you are one feeling so, CONGRATULATIONS!!!! YOU JUST GOT SHORTLISTED FOR BEING GOD’S CHILD! God would choose you more than anybody else only because you are invalid. Isn’t He wonderful on contrary to the world which would love you only if you are valid? It’s a joy serving the Lord and seeing Him molding us into finer vessels though we were invalid once. Do not listen to the lies of the devil but keep up the fervor…Remember God is there backing you up always amidst your inabilities.

Dear Father, my King my brother, my sweet friend, it’s a pleasure to be your child and thank you for the grace that you have bestowed on me to make me valid. Thank you once again. Amen.

Shibboleth vs. Sibboleth

Judges 12 - Before King Saul became the king of Israel, judges led Israel. Jephthah is one among the notable judges. He was a Gileadite and a mighty warrior with valor and known for his mission against the Ammonites. He devastated the Ammonite lands and subdued them. After this victory, the men of Ephraim provoked Jephthah for not involving them in the battle against the Ammonites. He tried to explain how he had called them for the battle but they refused to join. Unconvinced, they still persisted in provoking him. His anger flared against them that he called together his men and fought against Ephraim.

The Gileadites struck the Ephraimites and captured the city of Ephraim. Jephthah was determined to completely route the Ephraimites. So he decided to kill every Ephraimite entering or leaving the city. Since it was very difficult to figure out one’s origin from mere looks, the Gileadites framed an interesting strategy. Whenever a man would pass through the gate, the Gileadites asked if he was an Ephraimite. Obviously he said he wasn’t, fearing death. They would then ask him to repeat the word “Shibboleth”. The Ephraimites could not pronounce the sound “sh”. If he said “Sibboleth”, because he could not pronounce the word correctly, they seized him and killed him. A whooping forty four thousand Ephraimites were killed because they could not pronounce the word correctly.

Isn’t it strange? No wonder it says in Proverbs 18:21, “Life and death are in the power of the tongue”. James 3 talks about the power of the tongue. It is compared to the small rudder that determines the direction of huge ships. Yes, though it is a small part in the body it can prove to be a threat if misused. It is also said that no man can tame his tongue because it is a restless evil full of deadly poison. We need watch our words and speak wisdom because what we speak is what we are.

Our ministry depends on two prime factors: Words and Action. What we say is what we do and that is what people around see in us. That is why Proverbs 13:3 teaches us to think before we talk. Unless our words are gracious (Proverbs 22:11), comforting (Job 4:4) and beneficial (Proverbs 20:15) we aren’t making the best use of the tongue. As the tongue could determine life and death, isn’t it easy to choose life as the option?

But today’s children of God are so caught up in the conspiracy of the devil and he has rightly struck the precise organ to propagate his ministry; the tongue. That is why there is so much of gossips, offensive remarks, words of hatred, enmity and strife even among believers. It’s high time we understand the power of the words we speak and use it for the glory of the Lord. Just like how the Ephraimites lost their lives because of a word, we may lose our lives because of our words! The only difference between the words 'Shibboleth' and 'Sibboleth' is the letter “h” and one minister of God referred to it as “Holiness in Words”. If there is no holiness in your words, it may take the very life out of you!

Here are a few questions to evaluate yourself.

Do’s:

1. Am I using wisdom in words? (Proverbs 10: 31,32)


2. Do I impress the wisdom of God’s word to others around (Deuteronomy 6:6, 7)?


3. Are my words comforting to people? (Job 2:11, 4:4)


4. Do I speak on behalf of the innocent? (Proverbs 31:8,9)

Don’ts:

1. Do I gossip knowingly or unknowingly? (Proverbs 20:19)


2. Do I talk too much? (Proverbs 10:19)


3. Do I offend people by my words? (Proverbs 15:1)

Dear Lord Jesus, thank you reminding the power of my words. Please help me to use it to bring life for your glory. Amen

Uzza’s Visa – A Leadership Blunder

1 Samuel 4 – The Israelites waged war against the Philistines. The Israelites were losing and so planned to bring the Ark of the Lord to the battle field. But surprisingly the Israelites still lost the battle as they didn’t inquire of the Lord on how to go about the war instead took their own ingenious stand. The Philistines carried away the Ark to their country. The Lord’s hand was heavy upon the Philistines and they realized that it’s because of the Ark of covenant which is in their country. Knowing the power of the God of Israel and His mighty acts in the past, the Philistines intended to send the Ark back to Israel with all respect. After consulting with their wise men they set up the Ark on a cart and sent it on the way to Israel, to a place called Beth Shemesh. From there the Ark of the Lord was taken to Kiriath Jearim and the Ark stayed there.

Later in 2 Samuel 5, David conquered Jerusalem and became King over Israel. In chapter 6, he initiated the return of the Ark of the Lord back to Jerusalem. What did he do? He called thirty thousand men and went to bring the Ark of God. He casually set the Ark of God on a new cart and brought it down from the hill. There was great rejoicing and the men were celebrating before the Ark with songs, lyres and tambourines.

Who is Uzza? – Uzza is one among the thirty thousand men David chose to bring the Ark of the Lord. He had the advantage of walking close to the cart. He and his brother “Ahio” were guiding the cart. Everything seemed to go pretty well until at one moment the oxen of the cart stumbled and Uzza reached out to take hold of the Ark from falling down. The Lord’s anger burned against Uzza for his irreverent act and struck him right there and he died. All the men were dumbstruck by this sudden disaster that came upon Uzza and panicked. The celebration was brought down to mourning because of this incident. David was afraid and didn’t know what to do and then said, “How can the ark of the Lord ever come to me?” (v9) – a question too late to be asked!

Did you notice David’s response? After sacrificing one of his men, he realizes the mistake he made. In Exodus 25:12, the Lord describes the design of the Ark where He commands Moses to place 4 rings, 2 on either sides of the Ark. A pole needs to be placed inside the rings and the Ark should be carried using the poles. This was God’s commandment and was followed ever since. During the fall of Jericho, God commanded Joshua to carry the Ark of the Lord around the wall. He obeyed and promptly employed priests to carry the Ark on its poles (Joshua 6:12).

Leadership matters – David didn’t realize the divinity of the Ark and the way it ought to be handled. He treated it with contempt by not following what God commanded. He learnt a lesson at the cost of Uzza’s life. It’s surprising to know after David realized his error, in v13 it says, “When those carrying the Ark had taken six steps he sacrificed a bull and a calf” which means he employed priests to carry the Ark, the way it should be done. Anyways his former negligence resulted in the death of one of his valuable men, Uzza.

Isn’t daunting to know how we leaders need to watch our every step. It’s a call to all fathers, mothers, church leaders, husbands, wives, managers, team leads and all who are in a responsible position, to understand their responsibilities. A small slip could result in a big blunder, especially in matters of God, we need to be further watchful. Everyone is called to be a leader and knowingly or unknowingly people are watching us. The way we conduct ourselves is pivotal in living a Christian life. Only a constant relationship with God can mould us and impart Godly characters in us.

If we fail, it may prove fatal. So let’s look onto God for conducting ourselves as good leaders in the place we are.

Lord Jesus, thank you for reminding my responsibility as a leader. Help me to watch my ways and guide others in the right way. Amen