God's Will: So Simple It's Hard - Crosswalk the Devotional - February 21

Truths observed at the intersection of faith and life by Crosswalk.com editors [Crosswalk.com Logo]( Crosswalk: The Devotional [Devotionals]( [Newsletters]( [e-Cards]( [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( God's Will: So Simple it's Hard by Shawn McEvoy Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. - [1 Thessalonians 5:16-18]( "God's will for my life"... how often have you pondered that notion? Studied it? Read untold books about it? Know people who torture themselves trying to locate it? Well, here we have an obvious chunk of it, even compact and useful just as we like things to be, tucked away at the close of Paul's first letter to the church at Thessalonica. "This is God's will for you...," it says. Well, yes, it says that, and it sure is pretty - almost poetic - but is it deep enough? Shouldn't there be more? Is it practical? Okay. Then let's go Old Testament. Prophetic. Action-oriented. [Micah 6:8]( says, "He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" It's still simple, still bunched in a group of three, still indicating that there's no big mystery way far out there which must be solved before we know how to act or decide, or how God wants us to act or decide. So why do we seek for more? I think it's because the ridiculously simple, paradoxically enough, is ridiculously hard, and we know it. G.K. Chesterton famously said, "The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult and left untried." We could spend a lot of time discussing the ins-and-outs of how easy or hard God's will is, and where else in His Word we can find snippets of it. One woman from my [Bible]( fellowship class is fond of asking during our lessons, "What does that look like?" Let's ponder on that for a minute here. The situation is this: you've been sent on a missionary journey via a clear calling from God. The resources were there, the people willing. You are leading your group through a city when you encounter a psychic who keeps taunting you. After a while, through calling on the name of Jesus you cast out the evil spirit within her. Hooray! Score one for the Lord, and your group! But alas, there is no praise here, because those who had been making some cash off the now-set-free woman's powers aren't happy with you. They drag your group before local law enforcement, have you beaten, and thrown into prison. Hey now! At this point, I am saying, "God, this is NOT your will. YOU made it very clear we were to come on this trip, and we even did a miracle for you! Now we're injured, in jail... I don't even know how I'm going to get home much less continue to be effective for you from here! I want a telephone, I want a lawyer, and I want you to reveal your ACTUAL will, right now, and suffer no more discomfort while doing what you sent us to do!" [CONTINUE READING →]( [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( You May Also Like: [7 'Churchy' Words That Christians Don't Understand]( John McKinley The terms that are distinctly religious but don’t seem to communicate any longer are a distinct category that causes me concern. [CONTINUE READING →]( [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( [What Does the Bible Say about Cremation?]( Dr. Roger Barrier Dear Roger, My husband and I would like to be cremated after our deaths. Is there scripture regarding our decision? [CONTINUE READING →]( [Crosswalk.com Logo]( [Read about Salem Web Network]( | [Unsubscribe From This Email]( [Email Preference Center]( | [View in Browser]( © 2021 Salem Web Network. All rights reserved. 111 Virginia Street, Suite 500, Richmond, VA 23219. This email is never sent unsolicited. You are receiving this email because your email address, {EMAIL}, is signed up to receive newsletters, updates, and special offers from Crosswalk.com - The Devotional. [Link](