God’s will is not kidmin

Yes, I said it. No matter what  you believe God’s will is for your life, it is not kid’s ministry, nor any ministry for that matter.

Take a minute and answer this question— “What is God’s will for my life?”

There was a point in my life not too long ago that when I was asked that question, my answer was to do my best for God. I believed that. I thought God wanted me to do my best— in my ministry, in my family, at my job. That seems simple enough, right? Do my best and God will be happy with me?

Nope.

God’s will is not for me to do my best.

What I believed about God’s will

The problem with that is my belief about God’s will for my life was based on me—what more could I do? How good could I act? How much time could I spend in ministry? I thought that is what God wanted from me, and that is what I tried to do.

Does that have you thinking? What is God’s will for your life? The answer is much easier than I made it out to be. And surprisingly enough, God’s will has nothing to do with kids ministry.

What is God’s will for my life?

There is a single verse that sums up what God expects of me. One single verse that tells me what his will is for my life.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. Matthew 22:37

That’s it! Love him with all my heart. That is what he wants from me. God’s will is that I love him.  Yes, I know, because of that love I will want to do other things for him, and he will ask me to do things for him. That is the call of God on my life.

Too often we confuse the Call of God with the Will of God. The will of God involves my relationship with him. The call of God is what I do as a result of that relationship. I have mistaken God’s call and his will. There have been times I have focused more on my call than his will. I have spent more time trying to “do more” and “do my best” that I have overlooked what God really wants and expects of me. God’s will for my life will never change, He will always want me to love him, but his call on my life might change. No matter where I live, where I work, what my family looks like, how much money I have or what church I attend, God’s will is always the same– love him with all my heart.

While God’s will for your live will never change, God’s call on your life very well might change.

• Today you may be in kids ministry, but 3 years from now you may be planting your own church.
• Today you may be a stay at home mom raising two kids, but in ten years you may be a Sunday school teacher or VBS director.
• Today you may be a lead pastor, but next year you may enter the mission field full time.

God’s call for you may change, but his will is always the same—for all of us.

In a society that is so task oriented, it is easy to try to associate God’s will with a list of tasks. That is not it though, it is about relationship, about love. I was created to love God. With all my heart. If I do that, everything else will take care of itself. I don’t have to worry about messing something up, or making a mistake and stepping out of God’s will (which has been a fear of mine before). The truth is, God’s will is simple. Love Him.

God’s will for your life is to love him with all your heart. As you learn to do that, your relationship with Him will become stronger. As you focus on him, his calling will be clear to you.

What is God’s call for your life? What do you think about the difference between God’s will and God’s call?