EPHESIANS 6:6

“not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart.”

I have been required to do some things in my work that I did not agree with. Shocker! They weren’t immoral or illegal (I wouldn’t have done that), but they did go against my view of things. That doesn’t mean I was right, and my boss was wrong. It just means I disagreed with my boss. Nevertheless, because I serve someone greater, I had to submit to my boss’ prerogative. That takes humility, something I am often short of.

As Paul continues his discussion about slaves and masters, don’t forget he is drawing a parallel between us as bondservants of Christ and our obedience to God. Here, especially, in today’s verse, we see that. Paul says at the end of the verse, “doing the will of God from the heart.” That should nail all of us, right? Doing God’s will is not some secret adventure that only a few can discover. No! Every believer is capable of doing this.

APPLICATION

Jesus taught us to pray according to God’s will. In Matthew 6:9-10, we read, “9 ‘Our Father, who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name. 10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.’” If the Son of God sought to obey God’s will, shouldn’t we? We saw Jesus again pray for God’s will to be done while in the Garden of Gethsemane. In Matthew 26:39 it says, “And He went a little beyond them  and fell on His face and prayed, saying, ‘My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.’” 

We see God’s will for our lives in Micah 6:8. “He has told you, mortal one, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” Following God’s will is really quite simple. So, why don’t we do it? Because we are fleshly, human beings who think we know what’s best.

Even Paul said in Romans 7:18-20, “18 For I know that good does not dwell in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. 19 For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. 20 But if I do the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin that dwells in me.” This is from one of the godliest men in Scripture who penned half of the New Testament.  We will fail while trying to follow God’s will. But we must continue to strive toward that which comes from Him.

O Lord, forgive me when I fail to listen to Your Holy Spirit Who shows me Your will daily.