Living for God's Will
St. David's Episcopal Church | The Rev. Frank Allen | 4.14.2016

"Remember the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not harm you,
plans to give you hope and a future.
"

Jeremiah 29:11
Dear People of St. David's,

I pray that you are well and are enjoying the blessings of Easter and this slowly unfolding spring we've been given by God.

I've been reflecting a good deal on God's will for our lives over the past few weeks. It's always a touchy subject to consider and talk about God's will because some people misuse the idea to support whatever it is they want to do or to persuade people to their way of thinking and living. The result for me and for many of you, I suspect, is that we stop wondering and pondering and praying for God's will to be done in our lives and in the lives of others.

Most of you know that I went through the Bishop election process in our Diocese. I prayed a lot about it and became convinced that God was calling me to that position or, to put in the terms that we are considering today, that it was God's will that I be called as Bishop. It wasn't, and though it hurt my feelings for a few days and I was a little confused, I pretty quickly came to the conclusion that it wasn't God's will for me. Of course, 2,000 people at St. David's praying for that result may have had some effect on the outcome.

Still, I learned a lot about myself. I learned and remembered what I feel is most important in the Christian life and where my gifts might best be used. I also returned to a sense of holding my life and ministry a little more lightly, recalling the promises of God for my life and for yours - a life and a future with hope.

That's one of the ways we know that we are living in God's will. It is not harmful to us or to other people. It brings about a sense of prosperity; though not often prosperity associated with material things, but more of a prosperity and goodness that come by being more closely connected to God and to people who love us and whom we can love. God's will always comes with a deep sense of hope and a movement toward a life that is even grander than the life we are living.

Living for God's will is so different than living for our will and I wonder if it might be helpful for all of us to take a moment and consider our lives and whether we have a sense of hope and a greater vision connected to God and to others. If our lives don't reflect that kind of vision, then perhaps we need to ask God to lead us in a different direction. And if our lives do have that deep sense of hope and a greater vision for the future, then relax and enjoy and press on. We're probably living in God's will.

Grace and Peace.

 Frank Allen
_______________________________________

Sunday Worship:
8:00am | Church
9:15am | Chapel
11:15am | Church
5:00pm | Church
________________________________________


St. David's Episcopal Church
763 South Valley Forge Road | Wayne, PA 19087
610.688.7947

St. David's Episcopal Church | 763 South Valley Forge Road | Wayne | PA | 19087