1. “Who is this who darkens counsel / By words without knowledge?” (Job 38:2).
If we want to understand the will of God, we must reject our own views and words. These darken the will of God and are often used by Satan to hinder the will of God. When we seek the will of God by listening to His word, we must reject the views and words of the self. Job’s own view and words only darkened God’s will to him. When he finally rejected his own views and stopped speaking his own words, he knew and understood the will of God.
1. “That you may be filled with the full knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding” (Col. 1:9).
Finally, if we want to understand God’s will, we must have and use spiritual wisdom and understanding. Wisdom refers to the knowledge in our spirit that causes us to have an extraordinary seeing of the will of God. Understanding refers to the understanding in our mind that allows us to ordinarily understand God’s will. Wisdom is in our spirit, so it is spiritual. Although understanding is in our mind, it should also be spiritual. This requires that our mind be renewed by the Holy Spirit and be full of the Holy Spirit’s enlightenment and inspiration. We must have and use such wisdom and understanding to understand the will of God. We must ask God for this wisdom (James 1:5). We must beg God to give us the power to understand and to open the eyes of our heart. We also need to earnestly deal with our spirit and heart so that everything unclean and unrighteous in our spirit and heart is removed, making our spirit upright and bright and our mind fresh and clean. Furthermore, we need to exercise, that is, to practice using our spirit and our renewed mind. Then our spirit will have wisdom from God, and our mind will have spiritual understanding so that we can know and understand the will of God.
The rewards for doing the will of God are many and great. Therefore, it is important to do the will of God.
1. “But there is need of one thing, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:42).
Mary acted according to the Lord’s heart’s desire, so there was need of only one thing. She gained the good part, which could not be taken away from her.
2. “He said, Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it” (Luke 11:28).
When someone spoke of the person who bore the Lord Jesus as being blessed, He answered, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it,” that is, those who do the will of God. This shows that the blessing for doing the will of God is even greater than the blessing that Mary received in bearing the Lord Jesus.
1. “Whoever does the will of My Father who is in the heavens, he is My brother and sister and mother” (Matt. 12:50).
Some people think that being a relative of the Lord in the flesh would be a great blessing, but the Lord said that whoever does the will of God is His relative. By practicing the will of God, we can receive such a sweet, blessed reward.
1. “He who has My commandments and keeps them, he is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love Him and will manifest Myself to him...and make an abode with him” (John 14:21, 23).
Keeping the Lord’s commandments because we love the Lord is doing the will of God. According to the Lord’s promise here, we can gain the love and the manifestation, the presence, of the Lord and the Father. What can be sweeter than the love of the Lord and the Father? What can be more precious than the manifestation of the Lord and the Father? These blessings, which are promised by the Lord to those who love Him and keep His commandments, cannot be surpassed. If we want to practically enjoy the love of the Lord and the Father and if we want to personally experience the manifestation, the presence, of the Lord and the Father, we must love the Lord and keep His commandments.
1. “Samuel said, Does Jehovah delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices / As much as in obeying the voice of Jehovah? / Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, / And to heed, than the fat of rams” (1 Sam. 15:22).
Pleasing God is a great blessing. Many think that they can please God by offering something to Him. But this verse says that God has more delight in our obedience to the voice of the Lord than in any sacrifice we could offer. To obey His voice is to practice the will of God. In the Lord’s eyes, obeying and hearkening are better than offering sacrifices. Therefore, the Lord is more pleased by those who listen to His commandments and do His will.