Have you ever been doing a Bible study or reading a section of scripture and had one verse jump off the page at you? I experienced that yesterday. I was reading through John 5 when verse 30 jumped out and I had to camp out there a while. It says “I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.”
Jesus clearly stated how He went through life. We are called to follow Jesus; therefore, this is how we are to go through life. Are you there yet? I know I’m not, but I want to be.
First, Jesus does nothing on His own initiative. How many times have we walked into a mess because we’ve followed our own agenda instead of seeking God’s counsel first? It’s more common for people to make their choices and move forward and then cry out to God to fix it when things are working out as we have planned. We’re called to be different, set apart.
So how does Jesus know what to do? The next three words are key…”As I hear…” He is constantly listening to the Father and then seeks to do what the Father directs Him to do. If we are to hear what the Father is telling us to do, we must have an intimate relationship with Him with regular conversations throughout the day. We can’t say one quick prayer at the beginning of the day and expect to know what God wants us to do throughout the entire day. 2 Corinthians 10:5 says “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” In order to do this we must be in communication with God.
Finally, He is focused completely on the Father’s will because He knows that is His purpose in life. We all have a purpose in being here. Whether your parents planned you or not, you were not an accident. God intended for you to be born because He set things in place for you to do. Ephesians 2:10 says “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
Take some time today to meditate on John 5:30 and ask the Lord to show you what changes, if any, you need to make in the way you’re living life. He wants the best for you and He desires to help you obtain it. Be blessed!