Doing and Discerning

John 7:14-19

14 When the festival was already half over, Jesus went up into the temple complex and began to teach. 15 Then the Jews were amazed and said, “How does He know the Scriptures, since He hasn’t been trained?”

16 Jesus answered them, “My teaching isn’t Mine but is from the One who sent Me. 17 If anyone wants to do His will, he will understand whether the teaching is from God or if I am speaking on My own. 18 The one who speaks for himself seeks his own glory. But He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.
(from Holman Christian Standard Bible®)

The more I abandon my will to His, the more I take no interest in how much obeying Him will cost, the more I delight myself in Him and His ways and His desires, the more He hands me secrets. The more able I become to discern what He is saying and what it means.

The more I want safety and guarantees and easy work and friends, the more difficult it becomes to see the path clearly. The more challenging it is to make decisions and the harder it is to understand what is happening around me.

If you want to do His will, you will understand what He says to you. The more you offer your body to Him as a living sacrifice, the more you can know and understand His perfect will (Romans 12).