We usually admire the child who makes up his mind to accomplish a goal and devotes his life to its achievement, whether in the field of music, athletics, science, or business. But leaning to our own understanding in this manner comes short of the glory of God. The better way is to make the daily seeking of the Lord our goal in life, for who knows what God intends to do at any given time with any believer?

If we do not know what God desires then we are to diligently perform the tasks at hand, meanwhile presenting our body a living sacrifice in order to prove the will of God.

"All people seek their own interests, not the interests of Christ," Paul lamented. How true it is! Even in the work of the Lord the desires and goals of the ministry are of first importance. The actual will of Christ plays a secondary role—if any role at all!

Whenever God moves in a new, refreshing manner, as He has on many occasions, sometimes presenting doctrine that represents a restoration of that which has been lost since the first century, the established denominations cry "Heresy!" Why do they cry heresy? Because they do not know the voice of the Lord. They are pursuing their own plans, seeking to exalt themselves.

It may be somewhat easy for the believer to accept the fact that worldliness and sin have no place in the Christian personality. However it may not be as clear that the ambition to achieve a certain goal, particularly in the realm of ministry, is as deadly an enemy as worldliness and lust. It is impossible to keep our eyes fixed on the Character of Jesus and the will of Jesus when we are filled with various plans and programs designed to accomplish some "Christian" goal that seems good to us.

As we think of the Lord Jesus we notice He was not filled with plans and programs designed to extend the Kingdom of God. Rather He spent all night in prayer so that on the following morning He could say and do that which the Father showed Him—nothing more and nothing less.

The successful pursuit of the Christian life does not mean we sit down and plan what we shall do and then pray that God will help us fulfill our ambitions. Such a program often is pursued by zealous believers but it is not part of the rest of God.

It is true also that to successfully pursue the Christian life does not indicate we are to go about our business as usual under the impression that if God wants us to change or to do something He will interrupt our activities and inform us of His will. The believer who takes the "business as usual" approach will discover at the end of his life that he did not grow in the Lord nor did he bear the fruit the Lord is looking for.

To be continued.