A few weeks ago an early season snowstorm was forecast for our area of southern Vermont and was supposed to be a whopper of a Nor'easter arriving around midnight on a Saturday. Betty and I, along with many others scurried all day to get our lawn furniture in the shed, the garden cleaned of the dead plants, the deer fencing down and put away until next spring's plantings go in, and made sure there was a adequate supply of firewood stacked next to the woodstove. The forecast, amplified many times throughout the day, emphasized that this could be a major storm with 8 to 14” of heavy snow for our area and significant power outages resulting from the expected high winds and trees with significant foliage. However, by nightfall, we were ready and all snug in our cozy home.

The next morning after a disappointing 6 to 7” snowfall and just before Worship, a friend, told me how he and his daughter, Hannah, had worked the evening before to move their flock of chickens from an old coop to a nice new one. They waited until the hens were all settled comfortably for the night in their nests and then went in to take the hens two at a time to their new home. As you can imagine, the hens were not pleased at this intrusion and spoke quite vehemently about it. Hannah remarked to her father that the hens were behaving just like we did when God puts us through some circumstance and we insist on an explanation.

Now I ask you, have you ever tried to reason with a chicken? Two squawks and a cock-a-doodle-do says “Trust me, it's for your own good?” It's no wonder that as a child I was convinced that the only good chicken was the one on my plate at Sunday dinner.

As I listened to the story, I realized that the Lord was providing me with the perfect tale to use for the children's message that morning. I knew that I was going to talk to them about 1 Thessalonians 5:18 “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” and Romans 8:28 “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” but was still in a bit of a quandary about how to approach it. Here, as a result of Hannah's insight, was what I needed.

Many of us often confuse God's plan for us with His will for us. We say things like, “I want to know God's plan for me so I can work/live in it” or “I will wait on the Lord until I know His will.” We quote Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope” and tell God that we need to know His plans for us.

Brothers and sisters, we cannot know God's plans for us any more that Hannah's chickens could know her plans for them. We are not capable of understanding; God says, “I know.... trust Me” and we squawk. God never, so far as I have been able to determine, offers to tell me what His plans are for me, all He ever says is in Jeremiah 29:11—that the plan is for my welfare and not for evil, that it will give me a future and a hope. If I listen closely, I hear His gentile voice saying, “Trust Me, what more could you want?” “Trust Me for Romans 8:28 is true. Trust me for 1 John 3:1 is true. Trust Me for I am the Lord God Almighty. Trust Me!”

And now we come to God's will for us. An entirely different matter for His will is knowable and He tells me how to know it. I have found approximately 15 passages in the New Testament that state that we are to live in God's will. God is not some diabolical Joker putting up an unattainable goal. No, He is the loving Father who instructs us and leads us into a close relationship with Him as we learn and understand His will for us.

The key is in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Three simple phrases, but oh, so hard to master. “Rejoice always” “Pray without ceasing” “Give thanks in all circumstances” But as we strive to make these three little phrases a way of life for us, we find that we are indeed living in His will for us. They are the means by which the Holy Spirit transforms us from one degree of glory into another as we are transformed into the image of Christ. Praise the Lord!

One thing to keep in mind is that the will of God instructs us for the moment. Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:34 "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” In other words, keep your attention on right now - this is where the Holy Spirit is instructing you, this is the current circumstance that you are to give thanks in for He is with you. And we can know His will in that circumstance if we are rejoicing, praying and giving thanks.

This is not to say that we will not be gaining a sense of the direction in which God's will is taking us. I believe that Romans 12 :2 along with Psalm 119:9 and 11, Proverbs 3:5-6 and others indicate that as our mind is transformed into the mind of Christ, our understanding of God's intended direction for our life becomes clearer and clearer.

It is especially important to keep Romans 12:2 “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” before us. It is that constant and ever upward transforming of our minds that enables us to discern the direction of that good and perfect will of God. Frankly, my discernment of 30+ years ago as I first began to seek to follow the Lord, was weak and flabby compared to where I am today, but was certainly more robust than prior to that time. He was leading me from the very beginning of my acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Master of my life, but His plan for my life was cast and written in God's book (Psalm 139:16) long before I entered this world.

So, let us join together and support each other to do our best to present ourselves to God as ones approved, workers who have no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. (2 Timothy 4:15) and seeking His will as we advance the Kingdom through His plan for us.