Episode 2 God's Will

God's will is discussed in the second episode titled "God's Will." The term is used in various ways, such as praying for someone's well-being or speaking about a situation. Scriptures like Psalm 25:4-5 and Psalm 119:105 emphasize the importance of seeking God's guidance and following His path. Trusting in the Lord and reading the Bible daily can help us understand His will. The story of the speaker's job as a bus driver and the encounter with a woman who eventually became a Christian highlights how God's plan may involve closing doors for His purpose. The speaker also shares personal experiences with his father's illness and eventual passing, showing the need to trust in God's will even in difficult times. Praying for God's will to be done and seeking to do His will make us part of His family. The analogy of sheep following their shepherd's voice emphasizes the importance of recognizing and listening to God's guidance. I believe he's not done yet with Bill Nalen. Welcome everybody to our second episode titled God's Will. Let's look at what is God's will. We use that term different ways. Maybe when we pray for someone, we pray that God's will be done in a certain way for someone that's sick or whatever the reason it is that you're asking, that God's will be done in that situation. You might be using it to speak to others about a situation. God willing they make it home okay. God willing their trip is good. God willing they get to the boat on time. We use it in the Lord's Prayer. God will be done. Let's look at some of the scriptures that talk about God's will. Psalm 25 verse 4 and 5 show me your ways Lord teach me your path guide me in your truth and teach me for you are my God and Savior and my hope is in you all day long. This would be a good morning prayer but one part of it says teach me your path. We are asking God to teach us what path he wants us to take. Now many times in my life I have prayed about different situations and how does God want me to deal with them. For example, many times I would pray and ask God if I should switch employers. I'd question God if this was his will or the path that he wanted me to take. Sometimes he'd open a door and I'd find a new job. Sometimes the door would close and I would stay on that job. One of the jobs I had was for a bus driver driving a public bus around town picking up people on the bus stops. I met this woman while in training and we got along great. One day I had a Christian music station playing on my car radio and we were driving over to a local park to eat our lunch and I realized she was in the car and turned the volume down on the music. She replied that it was okay which surprised me because she wasn't a Christian but I didn't think much about it. A month or so later I fell and broke my kneecap and was let go from that job and I was crushed. I liked the job a lot. I got along with the other drivers and I got to know some of the regular passengers. I couldn't understand why God allowed me to be let go but God closed that door. A year passed and I crossed paths with that woman again and she shared that her current boss had a Bible on his desk one day when she went in to talk to him. She saw it and said, don't preach to me but then she remembered that day in the car and the song playing and she ended up giving her life to the Lord. Sometimes he closes a door because he used us for his purpose. His will was done. That could be what God's plan is in your life overall. I had a very respected Christian woman tell me one time to stop asking God why or what path he wants me to take that he will let me know what he wants for me. He will guide my path when he is ready. Yes, as I said before, it's hard for me to not know where I'm going. Kind of like getting in a car and saying you're going to go somewhere. But you need to know the destination so you can drive to that place. But maybe God can direct you. Maybe God can be the one who says, turn left or redirecting. If we go on a few verses in Psalm 25 in verse 8 and 9 it says, good and upright is the Lord. Therefore, he instructs sinners in his ways. He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way. This verse says a lot. The Lord will instruct us sinners in his way. He guides the humble, which means we need to humble ourselves that we can't do it on our own. And we have to allow him to teach us his way. We'll always be sinners. But if we humble ourselves and admit it every day, the Lord will teach us how to live the right way. Psalm 119 verse 105 says, your word is a lamp unto my feet, a light on my path. So if we read the Bible every day, which is his word, that will shed some light on what path he may want us to take. So if we read the Bible, memorize scriptures, and think about the scriptures we read, we will understand them more and we will know what he wants us to do and take that path. In Proverbs 3 verse 5 and 6 says, trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. And always submit to him and he will make your path straight. So if we trust in the Lord daily and not try and figure out things out on our own and submit to him, he will guide us on a straight path. How many of us included have traveled somewhere? We go online, check out the maps. We might have even gotten one of those old fashioned paper maps and unfolded the whole thing and look where we were at now and where we were going and what's the best route that we could take. Or we can go online and check out Google Maps and it will give us three choices on how to get there. And we have to choose which path is the right one. Some of them will take you miles out of the way, but you eventually end up at point B. But most of us want to take the quickest, straightest, less traffic path to get there. Because we can't be late to check in our hotel room, can we? Sometimes though, when we have a situation and you think, hey God, I got this. I can do it. I think God is up there thinking, yeah, okay, go for it. And we usually fail at the attempt. Have you heard the poem, Footprints in the Sand? In it, the writer questions, why is it in the worst time of their life, God was not walking with them? There's only one set of footprints. And God replied, I was carrying you. We need to trust in the Lord. He knows what's good for us. But there are times we will go through rough seasons, as I like to call them. My dad passed away almost eight years ago. And before he died, he was on hospice. And I don't know if you know what hospice is, but hospice is what you belong when the doctors have pretty much given up and said, you're not going to get better, you're just going to get worse. We've given you all the medication we can. It's almost like giving up in a way. And that's one of the things my dad struggled with when we talked about putting him on hospice. It felt like he was giving up. And that's not what it is. It's accepting that your body is shot. You can't do anything more to treat it. You're untreatable. It was a struggle for me to see him so weak. This was a guy whose arms could easily kick my butt. But I could understand. I couldn't understand why God wouldn't take him home. My dad was a devout Christian. He read the Bible daily. He was always there for our family if we needed advice or wisdom. I can remember one day I was sitting out on the front porch of our family house. And dad came out and said, you know, people used to come to my dad and get his wisdom and advice on different things. Nobody ever does that for me. And I looked at him and I said, are you kidding me? All of us kids come to you for advice and wisdom. We all look to you for that. But I couldn't get why God was seemingly making him suffer in his last days as he got weaker. I asked a friend of mine about that. He says, Bill, we don't know what God's will. He has a reason why your dad is still alive. And when he's ready, he will take him home. You know, they told us when he went on hospice, two weeks. Honestly, we thought, how do they know it's two weeks? But you know what? It was exactly two weeks. The hospice nurse came in the last day and said, I won't be back. We kind of looked at her and said, what do you mean you won't be back? Day to day. Which kind of freaked us out, of course. But they also told us that there were things that we would see to know that the end was near. His ears were turned blue. His toes were turned blue from the lack of oxygen. Dad had none of that. So the last day, we were all sitting around the bed in the living room where dad's bed was. And just standing around watching my dad. All of us were there except one brother. My sister had just came in from Minnesota and questioned his dad, is he still alive? And what happened next was one of the most beautiful experiences I've ever had. We sang a couple of his favorite songs, How Great Thou Art and Amazing Grace. And my sister said the most beautiful prayer that pretty much said, dad, you've been a good and faithful servant of God. You've done good by us kids. It's time for you to go home. Your job is over. And about an hour after that, we were called back by my dad. And he had his last breath. And he was gone. And at that moment, I knew his soul had gone to death. And the body that he was in on earth, he wasn't there anymore. Proverbs 19 verse 21 says, many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails. Which means we don't always know what God's will is. Sometimes we have to make decisions. But after we do that, sometimes we may have to make some changes. But they have to be the godly things. Ever notice when we say the Lord's Prayer. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. So when Jesus taught his disciples how to pray, he asks that we say, your kingdom come, thy will be done. That's our life goal. Thy will be done. By praying his will be done, we are asking that any obstacles, including our own intentions, good or bad, be diminished. The Bible gives us so much. Another book of Mark, chapter 3, verse 33 to 35 says, who are my brother and my mother? Then he looked at those in a circle around him and said, here are my mothers and my brothers. Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother. Wow! So if we do God's will, we can be the Lord's brother or sister? Amazing, huh? In John 10, verse 3 and 4, the gatekeeper opens a gate for him. And the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all of his own, he goes out ahead of them. And the sheep follow him because they know his voice. A few things on this verse. Remember from the last episode, I spoke about Psalm 23 and it's saying, the Lord is my shepherd. They use that term a lot in the Bible. But here's the point I want to make. The sheep hear his voice. Some years ago, I used to love going kayaking on this lake in Northern Illinois. I'd make the hour's drive up there. I'd put the kayak in and I'd paddle to the far side of the lake. And I just lay back and close my eyes. And yes, I talked to God. Out loud, I just kind of talked to him in my head. Kind of like praying. Well, one day God and I were discussing love and my lack of a love life. And God says, I want you to tell others about the love I have for everyone. And I was like, okay, who should I tell? And it's like the people at church. One. All of them. You mean like preach it? Yes. Tell them. You want me to preach? Good one, God. Well, God doesn't kid. So I called my minister friend up and said, God told me I should preach. And he said, let's meet in person. So I met him at church. And before he got there, I prayed and said, what verse, God, should I share with my minister about love? And he gave me a verse. I don't remember now which one it was. But my pastor came in and I said, God wants me to preach about love using this word. And my minister said, okay, sounds good. Mind you, here's the guy who never spoke in public before, who almost puked trying to give a campaign speech and I prayed. But I prepared my sermon, made a rough draft of what God wanted me to say. And a few Sundays later, I gave the sermon. Yes, it was awesome. People listen. And I know God was proud of me. Because I listened to his voice. If we follow what God's will is in our life, I believe we will believe in heaven. Yes, we will make mistakes or commitments. Yes, we need to read and memorize the Bible. So when we are tempted, we can cry out the word to help us. We need to ask forgiveness for what we do wrong. In 1 Thessalonians 5, verse 16 and 18, it says, rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances. For this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. Thanks for listening. May God bless you. And keep falling in love. You've been listening to I Believe He's Not Done Yet with Bill Nelan. Thanks, you all, for listening.