Understanding The Will Of God
I am an avid reader, and my favorite genre is historical fiction or historical memoirs, particularly books about WWII. I was fascinated by Corrie Ten Boom’s, The Hiding Place. I saw as I read her book that even though she was doing work for God throughout the time she endured war and imprisonment, she still doubted and struggled with selfishness with her own desires. She struggled with surrendering wholeheartedly to God.
When Corrie and her sister, Betsy, were first brought to the barracks at the Ravensbruck concentration camp, they immediately saw the place was covered in fleas, and across the long, narrow room, women were shaving their heads to keep the fleas from making their heads a home. Corrie was disgusted by the fleas that surrounded them, but Betsy saw these fleas in a different light. Betsy remembered the verse in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 that says, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” She saw the fleas as God’s creation and was thankful for a glimpse of God’s goodness. Corrie was taken aback by Betsy’s thankfulness for the fleas. Betsy led the way as they both sat in the prison barracks and gave thanks for the fleas swarming them. While Corrie was wrestling with her circumstances, Betsy was adapting to God’s will.
A little later, Betsy got very sick. Corrie talks of how she wanted more than anything for Betsy to live. She did not want to be alone; she wanted her sister with her as a form of familiarity in her life. Corrie recognized her selfishness. Nothing would be better for her sister than to be with Jesus, but to stay on earth meant that she would be in Ravensbruck prison for who knew how long and would be exposed to who knew what. When Corrie realizes her selfishness, she said, “selfishness takes on a life of its own.” Selfishness starts out as a small seed but then grows into an invasive vine that crowds everything else, all the goodness in the heart. Selfishness must be cut down at the stalk and pulled out, root and all. After Corrie realized her selfishness, she was able to adapt to God’s will. She spent each gruesome day spreading Jesus to every woman she encountered. When she finally adapted to God’s will, she realized she did not have the ability to transform the women, only Christ could do that. She was simply called to plant seeds.
Adapting to God’s will takes giving up the need for control. My will, my way is a hard mindset to change, but God pursues us pointing us in the direction of surrendering to Him and giving up this ingrained way of thinking.
It is extremely difficult to surrender to Jesus without understanding your role as a Christian. I used to think that to live out God’s will in my life, I had to be perfect. I thought if I made a mistake or the wrong choice then I failed to live God’s will. I had always heard that God’s will is perfect, so I had to be perfect to live out His will. With those thoughts ingrained in my head, I wrestled with God’s will in my life for years. It was like I was searching for the perfect answer and could never find it. I was Tootles in the movie “Hook” who had lost his marbles and was searching for them so that he could go back to Neverland and live happily ever after. If only I had the perfect answers from God, I could live a perfect life.
I found out that is not how the Christian life works. God’s wills may seem difficult to understand, but it is possible. There are three different types of wills of God.
1. God’s sovereign will- God’s sovereign will is His eternal plan and purpose and most of the time is hidden from us. These are things that happen that cannot be changed no matter what decision is made here on earth. They are set in stone, and we do not have the power to change them. Things such as God’s plan for our salvation, His choice of making the Israelites His chosen people, His plans for all of creation and Jesus’s return, and His covenant promises.
2. God’s revealed will- This is God’s will that is not hidden from us. These are things such as the commandments, promises, moral issues, and precepts that are clearly written in the Bible. They are on issues that are written plainly for us to know right from wrong. Where we cannot change God’s sovereign will, we can refuse to obey a commandment from God. This is where free will comes into play. We can choose to accept God and His Word or not.
3. God’s dispositional will- This deals with His attitude and what pleases or displeases Him. God’s dispositional will is different from His sovereign will because this is again has to do with free will. 1 Timothy 2:4 tells us that God wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge and truth of Him, but we know not all will be saved. Some people choose to live a life of disobedience to God and refuse to believe that He is the One True God.
As God gently guided me through the understanding of these, I began to understand how I could surrender to Him. God’s will is still a mystery, but I cannot deny the fact that I am a changed woman from learning to adapt to it.
Trust is a hard thing to do. The world we live in is full of lies. We cannot trust the things we read on the internet, the things we hear on the news, even the pictures we see can be changed from what the truth is. When we live in a society that is untrustworthy, it’s real hard to place our trust in something without holding on to some kind of control or doubt.
To live in God’s will takes trust, response, and understanding. Trusting in God’s sovereign will and the fact that it cannot be thwarted is essential in our Christian walk. Not only can we not change the will of God, but it is always perfect. We may not always see the perfection in it, but He does, and we will see it in the end. Obedience is our proper response to God’s revealed will. When we walk in obedience to what He has commanded us to do and live a life that is culminating a relationship with Him, our trust is deepened because we are matured through our growth towards Him. We can hear the voice of the Holy Spirit inside us clearer, we can stand firm on the promises that God reveals to us through His Word, and we can choose to live with morality. We also must have an understanding that God permits certain things, even bad things, to happen. We may never understand why His permission was to allow a certain evil thing to happen, but we need an understanding that even though it happens, He is still on the throne and is sovereign above all things. He has an ultimate plan that cannot be thwarted. Trust it no matter what your circumstance may be.
“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-17
“Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.” Ephesians 5:15-16
Digging Deeper:
How has it been difficult of you to follow God’s will in your life?
What makes you question God’s will the most?
Where in your life can you place your trust in Him so that His will is revealed?