Be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. – Romans 12:2
A Bible dictionary will help make this verse more understandable and interesting.
To prove means to carefully examine and thoughtfully consider something, with the intention of accepting it. A friend of mine bought a truck this week. I expect he first walked around it, lifted the hood, took a test drive, checked Carfax, and negotiated about the price. The will of God doesn’t just fall into our lap; it has to be actively sought. God isn’t playing hide and seek; He wants us to find His plan for us, but patient, confident effort is required. The process could be described by a phrase a friend told me was used in the Navy: “explore with an affirmative attitude”.
As we engage in this process, we can be confident that God will guide us into a life which Paul says will be good, acceptable, and perfect. Once again I opened the Bible dictionary.
“Good” means that God will move us closer to Him. To reflect God more fully and grow to be more like Him is the definition of goodness. On his first voyage, the logbook of Christopher Columbus described weather and sailing conditions and concluded every day with these words: “Today we sailed westward.” Your day can be defined as good, no matter what the external conditions are, if at the end of it you can say, “Today I moved Godward”. As Godspell says, we experience good when we “see Him more clearly, love Him more dearly, and follow Him more nearly day by day.”
The word “acceptable” means to be fit together closely. It is a word a carpenter might use as he crafts a dovetailed drawer. The will of God is acceptable because it makes your life fit closely into place with the overall plan of God. We begin to see a design in what previously was confusion and chaos. All things work together for good to them that love the Lord. The acceptable will of God also moves us into closer contact with the rest of His people. Paul goes on to describe the church as a body, where each of us is a discrete, necessary part of a larger whole.
The “perfect” will of God is a word farmers use at harvest time and accountants use on April 15. It means that a cycle of life is completed and a reward is impending. When we find the will of God there are no loose ends or frustrating roadblocks. Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith, makes our work bud, bloom, and bear fruit. Billy Graham’s wife Ruth, saw an interesting road sign once and decided to make it her epitaph. The sign said, “construction complete; thank you for your patience”. Her grave is a witness to the fact that she carefully sought the will of God, which moved her always Godward, connected her life with the work God was doing around her, and made her life completed and fruitful.
The process of finding and following God’s will requires two things, according to Romans 12:1-2. We must present our bodies as living sacrifices by taking concrete actions to “do the next right thing”, and we must renew our minds by focusing on God.
Are you confused about a decision you need to make? Offer God your willingness to do what is right as He reveals it. Do the things you already know are right. Read and meditate on His Word. You will find the will of God, which is good, acceptable and perfect. You will move toward Him, have the satisfaction of fitting in with His big plan, and someday be able to say, “construction complete”.
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