it with the Word. Then we are to lean on the Lord for our strength. Never are we going to be 100% certain. There will always be that element of doubt and concern. Such will teach us more to trust in the Lord. Remember, He is more concerned about us, that we do His will, than we are ourselves. "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways ac knowledge him" (Proverbs 3:5-6).
try. When these things all squared together, I felt this must surely be the will of Cod. Things began to fit together. Keep in mind that God is al ways interested in what happens in your life. He wants you to eval uate the circumstances, consider the counsel of friends, weigh your own common sense, along with measuring your inner desires and compulsions to see if contentment ensues. These things should all fit together if we are to discover the will of God. How fittingly Paul tes tifies, "For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowl edge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding (Colossians 1:9). It should be our earnest com pulsion to "walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruit ful in every good work, and in creasing in the knowledge of God." Knowing God's will enables us to be victorious in His power and grace. As a husband I need to be concerned about the will of God in terms of my relationship to my wife. The wife ought to be con cerned about the will of God in regard to her position in the mar riage. Parents should be concerned about the will of God for their chil dren in matters of spiritual guid ance and discipline. In every area of life the will of God becomes very practical. The Bible reminds us that the just shall live by faith. We are to walk in Him, continuing in the principle of our salvation (Colos sians 2:6). Even discovering the will of God, we still have to walk by faith. We must take all of the data, processing it, and squaring
Dr. Howard is assistant professor of pastoral theology at Western Baptist Theological Seminary in Portland, Oregon. This message was taped especially for the Biola Hour during the 1973 Torrey Con ference.
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