The story is told of an overweight man who was always stopping by the bakery on his way to work to pick up goodies for the staff coffee break. This practice was scrapped when the man went on a diet, and the staff understood. One day he had to drive by the bakery on a work-related errand. As he approached the old bakery, he said to himself, "Maybe God wants me to stop by the bakery this morning and pick up some goodies for the office." So he told the Lord he would only stop if God made a parking spot available for him right in front of the bakery. And, sure enough, there it was, a parking spot, right in front of the bakery-on his eighth trip around the block! God's will. Many people think that God's will is so difficult to know, or that it is the furthest thing from what we ourselves should want in this life. I have found neither to be true. God wants us to know His will and, in my humble opinion, may even give us a number of options that we may chose and still be in the will of God. I have heard of a teaching that there is God's perfect will and God's permissive will. I do not find this Scriptural, because God's will is always perfect even if our choices are not. God may even permit something to happen but in terms of a choice that we would make if we are determined to do our will, then it is not God's will. Many will use the teaching of "God's permissive will" to justify their own sinful choices. God is either sovereign, or He is not. If we desire to live for the Lord and do what is right, that is living in the will of God. True, God may not give you a Cadillac or Mercedes Benz. But then, God doesn't need one, so why should you? God delights to give the things that He enjoys, and when we desire what He desires, then we find Him giving those hearts' desires all the time. David put it very simply in Psalm 37: "Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass." (vv3-5). Some think that in order to do the will of God, they will have to sell everything they have and go to some remote spot in the world to serve God. But this is not true. As I understand this Scripture, you may indeed be called by God to go to this remote spot, but not until you desire to do it. There is nothing wrong with being satisfied and happy serving God right there where you are. It could be that you may desire something more. If your life is desirous to seek His will and to do it, He will bring it to pass. More often than not, this desire comes with blessings and fringe benefits that we never dreamed. Are you seeking God's will today? Trust in Him, and He will give you your hearts desire. Jeff Russell Devotion for Today Friendship Baptist Church, Langenselbold, Germany http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Fields/3695/