"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." (Romans 12:1-2)
A true follower of Christ knows His will and submits to it. His will has ever deeper stages, but once we surrender our own body, mind, and will to His will, we will "prove" it to be "perfect." The second verse of the hymn "Deeper and Deeper" echoes this.
Into the will of Jesus, deeper and deeper I go,
Praying for grace to follow, seeking His way to know;
Bowing in full surrender low at His blessed feet,
Bidding Him take, break me and make
Till I am molded and meet.
God may give us a burden to accomplish a task or a life's work, and then open and shut doors to make it possible. Discerning His will has never been easy, but we must seek earnestly to know it and follow it. "O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord?" (Romans 11:33-34) are the verses just prior to our text.
The key, then, to knowing God's will is full surrender to it, whatever it may be, starting with obedience. "If a man love me, he will keep my words" (John 14:23). To be useful to Him, we must be broken of our own pride and self will, then remolded as He desires. "If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work" (2 Timothy 2:21). God grant us an ever deeper submission to His will. JDM
