What is the Will of God? Part III

Well, the will of God are those events which God determines by the decree of his good pleasure to bring about what he has determined of which nothing can thwart and of which he does not ask anyone’s advice or counsel. God’s will is his decrees or purposes that achieve his counsel or purpose in perfect harmony with his character and attributes.

OK, enough of the fancy talk. How then does this relate to us in our everyday lives? By, the way, the great difficulty of understanding the will of God stems from our finite minds trying to fully understand the infinite God. Even though the bible says that God’s ways are not our ways and that his ways are above our ways, we still try to make God’s ways our ways so that we can find some meaning and understanding in them.

For example, God has ordained the moment of your conception. He actually formed your inward parts in your mother’s womb. God wrote in his book every day of your life, every day that he formed for you. He knows every thought you will think and every word you will speak. Take some time and really read, no meditate through the 139th Psalm.

Isn’t that great? What wonderful words, God ordained my conception and my days! Hallelujah! Oh, but wait a minute – what about the baby that is the product of a horrible rape? Here is where we want to start rethinking God, where we want to limit God, determine what God can do or not do, and even protect God from evil and evil things.

God can, and has determined to use the hatred, wickedness, the lust, and the anger in a man’s heart and determined to allow that man to wickedly and violently violate a woman in order to bring into existence someone he has ordained from eternity past. God did not “create” or cause the rape, unless you consider the fact that it was in his power to prevent the rape “a cause,” but God used the rape for a greater good. His good, the formation of a human being formed for his purposes and for his glory.

Don’t you think God knew those planes were going to be hijacked and flown into those twin towers? Don’t you think God could have prevented that? I realize there is some theologies that would answer no to both questions. I am speaking from a biblical basis, not from heresy. God determined to use the hatred, bigotry, and heresy of those hijackers to divert those planes into those towers for a greater good than preventing them from ever being hijacked. God is under no obligation to explain to us what that greater good could possibly have been.

God has ordained the moment and the means of our death. Psalms 139 states that God has written each of our days in a book. The amount or number of days falls into God’s secretive will. I don’t know why some are ordained 1 day, or 10 days, or 3 months, or 12 months, or 3 years, or 12 years, or 20 years, or 45 years, or 50 years, or 75 years, or 106 years. That information belongs to the secret counsel of God. We have a specific amount of days willed to us and we need to live each one of them to the fullest and to the glory of God.

Turning to a practical area that most people struggle with, how do I know God’s will, or how do I find it? There have been multiplied forests turned into paper for the gazillions of books written on the will of God. There have been oceans of ink spilled on “helping” people find the will of God. For one of the easiest things about God this has been turned into one of the most difficult areas.

First, we have a very detailed revelation of God’s specific will for our daily behavior. It is called the bible. Specifically the New Testament is God’s revealed will for almost all of our behavior. What God permits and what God prohibits for our daily behavior is contained in the bible. It is no secret that the will of God demands that we do not commit adultery, steal, lie, cheat, be lazy, hate, be angry, and etc.

If you have a doubt about God’s will concerning __________ (fill in the blank) in regards to a behavior go to the bible. You don’t have to pray about or wonder if it is God’s will to marry an unsaved person or an unbeliever; it isn’t. You don’t have to pray about or wonder if it is OK to live together before marriage; it isn’t. You don’t have to pray about or wonder if it is right to be actively involved in a local church; it is. You don’t have to pray about or wonder about lust; it is wrong.

Second, we make a mess out of trying to find some supposed bull’s eye target of God’s will when it comes to whom to marry, or what job to take, or what house to buy, or what college to go to, or what town to move to, or what church to go to, or what car to buy, etc, etc, etc. People have actually been told that if you don’t pick that right person, buy that right house, take that right job then you are out of God’s will. 

Let’s put that to bed. You can’t be out of God’s will. You can resist God’s will for as long as he has  determined for you to resist it, but you will comply with God’s will at some point. You may by God’s determination disobey his will for some time, until the time he determined arrives. You can not go anywhere in this universe where God is not, you can not go beyond his sovereign control, therefore you can not go outside of God’s will.

Next, there is no bulls eye. You don’t have to cast lots, throw dice, read tea leaves, agonize, sweat or struggle over what car to buy, what house to buy, where to go to college, what job to take, or even what country to go to as a missionary. 

If you know what you are deciding on doing does not violate any revealed determination of God, and it is not specifically covered like, only marry in the Lord (a believer) then do what you want. In other words, pray about wanting to honor God with your decision, pray that you want to magnify his character by the results and consequences of what you are deciding on, ask him to guide your steps as he has promised and make a decision. Use your background, experiences, desires, likes, dislikes, gifts, limitations, education, internal motivations, and parents advice, wise and godly counsel and make a decision.

Proverbs 16:1 says, “The plans of the heart belong to man…”

Verse 23 says, “The lost is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.”

Psalms 37:23 says, “The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in his way.” 

They key is that you have to trust God to direct you once you have made a decision or taken a course of action. God will continue to lead or guide your steps through circumstances; such as open or closed doors, peace in your heart, or even finances.

Do you delight in God and make God your first and foremost concern? Are you concerned about his glory and his character? Then make a decision. God will direct you through that choice to where he wants you. You may decide to be a deputy sheriff, but while taking the physical you might blow out your knee and be prevented from a career in law enforcement, which then has the opportunity to open a door to the ministry. (This is what happened to me)

Go ahead and go to Spain as a missionary, even though you think you don’t deserve to choose what you want, because you think everyone should to go the jungles of Africa. See how silly we can be about this.

If you want to go to move to Texas and God has some plans for you in WA don’t you think he will direct our steps? You are not greater than God. If you have two houses to choose from, two colleges to chose from, two jobs to choose from, to careers to choose from, and you delight in God’s ways, you love his glory, you have prayed for direction, and you trust him, then make a decision. Unless it violates God’s reveled standards of holy living and righteousness, the decision can’t be wrong. God will use that decision to move you through whatever maze he needs to move you through.

I hope I have put to rest the notion that somethings happen outside of God's will,  or that somethings aren't necessarily God's will. Granted God does not will evil but the evil that takes place is not outside of his control, purview, purpose, or glory. I don't think the scripture reveals the why of this to us. We have to trust God.

This is an intricate subject that is beyond our fully understanding or finding out. But even then, as I said already, man can resist God and violate God's will - but for only as long as God has determined. At some determined point in God's scheme the resistance and the violation will cease. That is why it is not outside of God's will or not necessarily God's will. If God permitted something to take place it is only because God had a purpose for it, or a use for it, or it was his determined will to use the evil in our heart for his purpose and glory.

Look, stop me, I can't quit, I just keep going on. Somebody help me! This is such a tremendous subject to think on, research, work through, and struggle with! I love it!