When it comes to
the will of God, most want to know, “How do we know God’s will?” The older I
get the more I understand, our answers are not as important as the questions we
are asking. Framing our questions correctly gives us more correct answers. From
where we stand in the moment, give or take, eternity is already here. We cannot
measure eternity looking forward alone. Eternity is just as far behind us as it
is before us. The creatures cry the declaration continually in the presence of
God; “holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.”
He is the God of “our was,” “our is,” and “our is to come.” This specifically
declares God as eternal in the moment and from where we stand, eternal in both
directions. The will of God for us has never changed, His will is the same as
it was in His heart before our conception, before the worlds were formed. God’s
will in the moment for us will be the same a million years from now.
Verse eight and nine sets in the
center of this context. The apostle Peter is addressing how we should be living
towards Jesus return. Some in his day was living as though His return is a
myth. The question was posed in our Son-day School Class this last week, “Does
the return of Jesus effect how we are living in the present?” We as Spirit
filled believers have what we call a “five-fold gospel;” in other words, we
encounter Jesus in five different major encounters; we encounter Jesus as our
savior, sanctifier, baptizer, healer, and our soon coming King. He is working
His will in us in these five major ways. It is not His will that any of us
should perish, His will is that we should come to learn repentance (change);
repentance is our lifestyle as believers in Christ.
