Many times, you will hear your parents and your pastors and teachers at church talk about "walking in the will of God."  

What that means is to trust in God's plan for our lives, and obey Him. It sounds simple, doesn't it, kind of like two plus two equals four.

Most of the time, it is simple, unless we try to make it hard. There are many ways to discover and walk in the will of God. The main way is to study the Bible and follow it. It is God's Guidebook for Successful Living. Sometimes the Bible does not give us specific direction, such as whom to marry or what car to buy, or whom to have as a close friend. But the Holy Spirit Who is God leads us by peace in our hearts. If the peace leaves and does not come back--or is missing to start with--then the LORD is usually warning us away from somethiing or someone.

One of the easiest ways we walk in the will of God is to trust and obey those people He puts over us, such as our parents, teachers at church and school, and other leaders--unless they are telling us to do something against God. This is another reason we must know what the Bible says, so we'll know the difference between right and wrong. Sometimes we may not understand why they are telling us to do something, or not do something, and we may not even like it. We may think we know a better way.

It is usually okay to very respectfully tell our parents and other leaders what we think about something, and to ask questions. But we must remember that God put those people in authority over us and that He knows best, and it is His will for us to obey them. This is called submitting to authority.

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. "Honor your father and mother which is the first commandment with a promise that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth." Eph. 6:1-3

Submitting to authority will continue all your life, no matter how old you are. It is the excellent plan of God, for we all must submit to authority. Even Jesus submitted to the authority of God the Father. He never did anything other than what God told Him to do, and He never said anything other than what God told Him to say.

So Jesus said, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am the one I claim to be and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him." John 8:28-29

Most important, Jesus submitted to the authority of God when He agreed to go to the cross and die to pay for the sins of every person that would ever be born. Jesus did not want to go to be beaten and made fun of and spit on and killed, especially since He had never done anything wrong!

He even very respectfully asked God the Father if there was some other way to save all people from the horrible death of hell because of their sins.

But God said no. So Jesus walked in the will of God by submitting to the authority of the Father; He went to the cross and died for our sins, so we don't have to. Hallelujah!

Then God gloriously rewarded Him, for there is always a reward for walking in the will of God by submitting to authority. Some of the rewards Jesus received were that He came back to life and will never die, seized again the leadership of the universe from the devil our enemy, and lives forever as the awesome and perfect King of kings.

But His best reward is that He became the Savior; He provided a way for every person in the world who will believe and accept that He died for them and rose again, to know Him and come live with Him forever in Heaven! So it was definitely worth the LORD Jesus walking in the will of God by submitting to the Father's authority.

Thank goodness He did, or none of us could be saved!

We all like rewards, and walking in the will of God by submitting to authority will bring us blessings better than we can dream. And, the very best reward of all is that our best Friend Jesus gives us the happiest life on earth and a glorious life in Heaven with Him when we walk in God's will!

Tonja and her husband live to exalt God. They lift Him up in books (P.O.W.E.R. Girl!; LEGACY; Visions of the King; Your Holy Health; more); presentations; service in church, community, and the world; and via the "River Rain Creative" (309 videos) and "POWERLight Learning" You Tube channels.