Last week I mentioned that one part of being spiritually nourished is a steady of diet of God’s Word. Reading, reflecting and interacting with Scripture is how we begin to understand how God works in this world and in our lives. But merely reading Scripture is not enough; in fact, it is dangerous. Head knowledge without heart practice lead to spiritually proud people. Jesus warns about this in Matthew 7:26-27 where He says:

“But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

So a steady diet of Scripture needs to be accompanied with a steady diet of obedience. Jesus put it this way in John 4:34:

“My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish His work.”

The only way we can be satisfied with life is to seek to do God’s will. Too often we try to do God’s will AFTER we have done our will. We squeeze the “spiritual stuff” after we’ve accomplished “our stuff.” What we will find is that when we make God’s will a second priority, we will NEVER have time to do it. The devil is perfectly delighted to keep us preoccupied with our own will and agenda because he knows it will keep us from God’s will.

When we seek our will first, we also find that our lives become very, very empty. I am reminded of the too many times when I insisted on doing my own thing instead of seeking God’s will first. I never felt satisfied when I did my own thing; I usually felt that I wasted my time.

How do we accomplish God’s will? Here are some practical steps:

1. Offer yourself daily to God (Romans 12:1-2). It sounds incredibly simplistic, but the simple offering of ourselves to God each day can make a big difference in how our days go. Before you start your morning routine, take a few minutes and turn the controls of your life over to the Lord. You can say something like this: “Lord, I give myself to You today. I make myself available to be used by You , to learn from You and to grow in You. Open my eyes today to see what You want me to do.”

2. When you read Scripture, ask yourself: Is there a promise I need to hold onto? Is there a command I need to follow? Is there a sin I need to confess? Is there an attribute of God that I need to offer praise? Is there something that I need to be thankful for? Is there an attitude I need to change? Always read the Word of God with the thought of personal application in mind.

3. When the Spirit prompts you to do something, do it! By offering yourself up to God and devoting yourself to His Word, you WILL be prompted by the Holy Spirit – I guarantee it! So do what He prompts. If you question whether the Holy Spirit is leading you to do something or not, call up a godly mentor and run it by them.

Jesus wants His Whole Life Worshipers to be “spiritually fit” followers of Him. So let’s not only be hearers (or readers) of the Word, but do-ers of His will, as well!