Doing What God Wants Us To Do

“Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” – John 6:28 (NIV)

In chapter 6 of John, Jesus just finished feeding the five thousand and He walks on water. Two amazing miracles that we are still talking about today. The crowd Jesus fed then follows Jesus to the other side of the sea and they ask this question:” What must we do to do the works God requires?” (vs. 28)

I don’t know about you but I think about this question a lot. I want, as a Christian, to be doing what God wants. But there are so many things to do and how do I know if I am doing the right things?

Fortunately, Jesus gives us the answer to what we need to do. In John 6:29 we read, “Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” Jesus brings some simplicity to the whole subject: Believe. God wants you to simply believe in Jesus. And when you believe in Jesus, you are doing the work of God. It is going back to your roots. “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33) Believe means, of course, to recognize first that He is present in your life. Believe that when He died and rose again and ascended into heaven and sent the Spirit again into this world it was in order to make Himself available to us.

Believe also means that we look at our situation through Jesus’ eyes, to see life as He sees it. That means you must listen to what He has to say and pay attention to His words. Oftentimes that is totally different than the views of people who are always eager to give advice. Do not take your advice from others. Take it from Jesus. That is what it means. Believe in me. Believe that I love and have a plan for you. Believe that I will guide you. “That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe.” (1 Timothy 4:10)

David had a heart for God and wanted to do everything God wanted him to do. Psalm 143:10 says – “Teach me to do your will, for you are my God…” This is the heart of David’s great success in life. Even when he was facing adversity, he wanted more than anything to do what God wanted him to do. No wonder the Bible says this of David in Acts 13:21-22: “Then the people asked for a king, and he gave them Saul son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, who ruled forty years. After removing Saul, he made David their king. God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’”

Discussion Questions:

What’s one area of your life where you know where God is leading you?
What’s one area of your life where you wish you knew what God wanted you to do?