The Will of God
Filed under: Blogging, Christianity
Finding the will of God for your life and the seeming conflict between free will vs. God’s will is like searching for a sliver dollar in a fountain full of quarters; oh and did I mention that more quarters and silver dollars are being thrown in the pool while you are searching?
My journey in understanding God’s will and His purposes for individual lives.
Most likely, from the initial day you started thinking about God and asking the age old questions “Why am I here?” and “What is the meaning of life?” you have thought about the “will of God” and the purpose and plan He has for your life. The understanding of what this means is hugely complex and a journey I am currently on in my life and I want to invite you to share with me in this journey… Welcome.
When I look back on my life and view it in the various stages I have gone through to take me to where I am now, I can see very specific milestones. Most if not all of these (after the age of 12 or so) have been choices I made, however, external factors and environments helped move me toward these choices. But ultimately they were my choices.
Now to further complicate things you have to take into account whether you ascribe to the Calvanistic view of Predestination, whether temporal or conditional, Infralapsarianism, Supralapsarianism, or the Methodist view of Free will, or the many other theories out there. But my point here is not to argue which is true, but rather to go on a journey through life and scripture and break down some truths about God’s will that can be applied to the life of a believer.
I like to break down God’s will or purpose for an individual’s life into two scopes; a general scope and a specific scope.
The General scope of God’s will:
The general scope of God’s will is the part that speaks about God’s will for mankind. That He doesn’t want anyone to perish, that He wants all to come to know Christ. This includes God’s ultimate purpose for all of us being that He would be glorified and the gospel and God’s kingdom would be advanced (1 Cor. 10:31; Phil. 1:12). I find this in verse’s such as:
“…just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will…” (Eph. 1:3-5)
“This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:3-4)
“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.” (Rom. 8:28-30)
The Specific scope of God’s will:What I mean by the specific scope of God’s will is God’s specific plans and purposes for an individual’s life as it relates to their giftings and abilities. God’s design for each individual is very specific and unique to that individual. I draw this scope from verses such as:
5 “ Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.” (Jer. 1:5)
1 … “The LORD has called Me from the womb; From the matrix of My mother He has made mention of My name. 2 And He has made My mouth like a sharp sword; In the shadow of His hand He has hidden Me, And made Me a polished shaft; In His quiver He has hidden Me.” (Isa. 49:1)
15 But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, 16 to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles… (Gal. 1:15)
So what does this mean for God’s purposes for an individual’s life?
The Event/Task List: Does God have every single small decision mapped out for us and it’s just up to us to find out what we are supposed to do? How specific is God’s will? Does God’s will include whether I’m going to eat oatmeal or cereal for breakfast? Whether I’m suppose to wear shoes or sandals today? Or is it more for bigger decisions like where to go to college, whether to go into full-time ministry or move to a different city?
The Map: Is God’s will more like a map to guide us with a starting point and an ending point with signs and stops you’re supposed to make along the way?
Principles: Or is God’s will more like guiding principles that as long as you are following after God and using the gifts He has given you, you have the free-will / choice to choose whether you want to be living and serving God as a missionary to China or a missionary to the workplace?
Since God is a creative God and did not want us to be robots, did He design us to be creative and choose from several different ways to serve Him, or is everything pre-defined and we are pre-destined to only do one thing and every other choice is the wrong choice?Is there always only one right choice for every situation a person goes through, even though 3 or 4 different choices were presented and all were choices God would be pleased with? Would all be wrong except the one thing you are “supposed” to do?
Here is what I do know:
1. God has plans for our lives (not sure how detailed), plans to prosper us, not to harm us, to give us a hope and a future. (Jer. 29:11)
2. It is God’s will for us to know Him and be with Him. To follow him with wholehearted devotion. (1 Tim. 2:3-4; Luke 9:23
3. The Bible will help us know God’s will for our lives. God will reveal His will to us if we ask Him. (Psalm 119:105)
4. God wants us to have wisdom and will give it to us if we ask Him. (James 1:5; Proverbs 2:1-5)
5. The Holy Spirit will guide us into His will (John 16:13)
6. Listen to the advice of Godly council that God has place in our lives (more than just one person, seek the council of many) (Proverbs 12:15; 15:22)
7. God will give us peace when we are pleasing Him with our lives (Isa. 32:17)8. God has equipped us to do what He has called us to do with individual giftings and abilities. He will probably not call you to an area when you are not gifted in that area.
8. We should always trust in God. No matter the circumstance because He will always come through. He is faithful.
What I do know is that if I understand and do the 8 things above, I will walk in His will… even if I can’t seem to wrap my mind around it.
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August 14th, 2007 at 6:33 pm
I’ve really missed these deeper posts of yours. I’m glad you’re doing them again, I get so much from them!
This concept of there possibly being multiple options and still being in the will of God is a very new concept to me, so I don’t have much to add except one question.
Consider the argument that God gives us options for the small decision (i.e. what type of cereal to eat) while staying in the will of God, but He does not give us options for the big decisions (seminary school on the east coast vs seminary school on the west coast):
Where is the line drawn and how do we identify the line of where the small decisions stop and the big decisions begin?
August 14th, 2007 at 11:05 pm
Oh goodness… This debate again??
I tend to be more on the side of God having one specific plan, and for every decision, there is only one right answer. The idea that I could choose any of 3 or 4 options in front of me and any of them could be God’s will doesn’t sit right with me. I’ve heard people in the church apply that principle to marriage. They say that there are probably several men out there that I could marry and be happy with, and any of them would be in God’s will. But I don’t agree. I personally see that arguement as license to kind of do whatever I want to do and not really wait on God or seek His will. Just my opinion, though, and I’d actually really like to hear from anyone who has a different opinion.
But if God does have one specific plan for my life, and there is indeed only one right choice for every option, does that extend all the way down to things like breakfast cereal or footware? I don’t know about that, because it seems ridiculous. But if it doesn’t go that far, that means there has to be a line somewhere between things that God’s will does apply to and things that it doesn’t. And if there IS indeed a line of some sort, then wouldn’t Scripture have to define where that line was? And I haven’t seen anything in the Bible that says that…
So that would mean that either God’s will does include breakfast cereal, or God’s will isn’t specific to every decision in my life?
…I think I’ve confused myself now…
August 14th, 2007 at 11:06 pm
And apparently I have a lot to say about this topic…
August 15th, 2007 at 12:53 am
Man I have had the weirdest stuff going on lately, Almost showing me how slight alterations in my life would have made me a completely different person.
I mean the day to day stuff really is only a slight change, but its the strange awkward first time meetings where we solider on in conversation and then a month later your on your way to a new best friend.
So what I’m saying is God’s will is his will, it will be done, and its for the better.
The two huge things that I found that changed me where moving from O.K. Back to Florida, and Meeting everyone one that was then at Harvest.
I found some of my old friend from Oklahoma and they are all drunks or have kids… AND WE ARE ONLY 19!
So I think that everything fall apart and comes together for his will, I Think it becomes a thing where we just ask him what his will is, so we are going with the flow, cause ether way it will happen how he wants.
And I think I might be sliding of subject but this sparked my interest.
August 15th, 2007 at 1:13 pm
Tough one. I can only speak from my own experience and I wish I could say God has talked to me about meal or clothing selection. What I know is that there are certain things that God has shown me to be His will for my life right now and so I’m in hot pursit of those things. But there are areas of my life in which I don’t have a clue what the will of God is or is not and I only pray that He’ll guide me through those decisions and that I can make choices in line with His will when the time comes.
It’s been my experience that most of the time I hear real clearly when I’m out of His will and at those time I can see the way to get back in it. If your in right relationship with God I don’t think He will let you walk in the wrong direction very long. And if you ask Him anything with a sincere heart to hear from Him I think He will answer even if its something as trivial as what color shoes to wear.
So if the will of God is a in or out thing then for me as long as I don’t hear that I’m out I must be in. But if there are several options that fall within His will that would explain why we can make all kinds of decisions everyday without stopping to ask God and still live.
August 15th, 2007 at 1:27 pm
Nicole-I like that a lot!
“So if the will of God is a in or out thing then for me as long as I don’t hear that I’m out I must be in.”
I never really thought about it that way, but looking back on my own experiences, I would definitely agree with that! As long as my heart stays open to God’s correction, I usually know pretty definitively if I’ve stepped outside God’s will.
August 16th, 2007 at 3:29 pm
“So if the will of God is a in or out thing then for me as long as I don’t hear that I’m out I must be in.”
I definately see what you’re saying; however, that doesn’t seem like the complete answer though (It’s not like I know the complete answer… this just doesn’t seem like that’s it. hehe)
The reason why I don’t think that theory is the optimal solution is because I don’t think God would require us to get out of His will in order for us to realize we are actually out of it. His desire is for us to ALWAYS be in His will and that means He has/will give us guidance on how to do that.
August 16th, 2007 at 5:41 pm
No I don’t think it answers it at all. The will of God is different for everyone in one respect but yet the same for us all in other respects.
When I’m struggling with wanting to know if a specific thing is in the will of God I don’t freak out if I don’t hear a yes right away or nothing at all. Because I know that if I were out of His will He would let me know and I would find grace to get back on track.
I agree that He desires us to always be in His will but He also gave us free will and if we choose to knowingly go astray or unknowingly fall out of His will it is in those times when His will is made clear. Or at least its clear that we’re out of it.
I guess what I’m saying is that I know that God has specific plans for my life for your life and from time to time we get to walk right in the middle of it and know it. Sometimes we walk out of it and much like Samson we know when Spirit has departed. But I guess the real question for me is will I ever know the perfect will of God for in every situation and be able to walk in it? And as much as I’d like to do it, I still have flesh and so I’m afraid the answer is no. But God is gracious and merciful and loves us anyway.
August 19th, 2007 at 8:22 pm
God knows what route in life we’re going to choose, but I think there are an array of choices at each crossroad(array may be a strong word, let’s use ‘a few’). I think there are some ways we can take that will take us backward, some that are good, and there may be some blessing there, but I still hold to the idea that there is often that one path that is exactly the way God wants us to go.
I say often because sometimes I think there is more than one way that God would equally bless. For this I would use the example of David and him wanting to build the temple for God. To my knowledge that was David’s idea, yes inspired by the Holy Spirit, but God had never said anything about building a temple for Him at that point. Yet God blessed it anyway.
I heard Bill Johnson speaking about dreams and whatnot; how God enjoys it when we use the creative ability He has given us to glorify Him. I think if that is the true motive of our hearts, it is much harder for us to choose a way that puts us further from God.
Also Adam, there was a guest speaker by the name of Voddie Baucham at my church in Atlanta (Northpoint Comm.) a month ago and he did a two-part series on Jeremiah 29:11. I think it was the first time I had heard it preached on as the centerpiece of a sermon. Needless to say it was good! The video is on northpoint.org/messages. Great post!