It’s About God: The “Who” Precedes The “What”Sample

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The Who comes before the what

You may be reading this to answer the question “What is God’s will for my life?” But we may be focusing on the wrong thing, or at least in the wrong order. Is your emphasis on “God’s will” or “my life”? You see, before we can reliably know and understand God’s will, we must know God Himself. Any discussion of God’s will must begin with God. That’s where we have gotten so confused. Instead of beginning the subject with Him, we begin it with us. Clarity comes when who He is becomes elevated over what we are to do. In the matter of finding God’s will, the “who” of Him always precedes the “what” for us.

Moses saw a bush burning and drew closer to it. He heard a voice speak and listened to it. He heard a call and answered it. And he did not just discover God’s will … he discovered the God of God’s will. When someone comes to me seeking to know the will of God “for my life”, almost always, the emphasis is on the last part of the request: “my life.” Whether they realize it or not, the key focus in their request should be “God”—not “my.”

Discovering God’s will can become a selfish and self-centered game when the focus—spoken or unspoken—is not on God, but on us. That one small pronoun can steer us way off course in seeking God’s will, in the same way that a few small degrees of navigation can send a plane or a ship far from its intended destination.

When Moses heard the voice of God speak from the burning bush, God didn’t first speak His planned direction of Moses’ life. Instead God spoke about Himself. As you read the verses in Exodus 3:7-10, underline all the times you see “I” and circle all the times you see “you.” 

Do you see the use of pronouns in God’s address to Moses? He tells Moses who He is, what He has done and what He plans to do. Then God brings Moses into the conversation: “I will send you …” God surely had a plan for Moses. But first He had things to teach Moses about Himself. There are six “I’s” and two “you's” for a reason. The first thing we need to know about God’s will is God Himself!

 You can get Gregg Matte’s book by clicking on Finding God's Will.   "