“And He said, “Abba, Father, all things are
possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will,
but what You will.””
Mark 14:36 NKJV
'Will' as we are using it in this context is a noun, defined according to Cambridge Dictionary as what someone wants to happen. This definition is too simplistic for me, so I came up with my own:
The will of God is the heart of God; what He
wants to be done and to be, for His glory.
The will of God is the heart of God and the outcome of His will is the glory of His name. To understand the will of God, we must see it from His view not what we desire but what He desires.
Many times we pray for the will of God in our situation but we are not ready to accept it because of our selfishness; or too impatient to wait so we 'help' God along.
The Holy Book gives us insights into the will of God. I have classified these into two categories; the will of God as it relates to Himself. I call this God-will. And the second is the will of God as it relates to mankind.
1. God-will: What God does by His own will without
mankind. Creation was an example. By Himself God did it, according to His will,
desire, purpose. Another example is the creation of man. This was by the will
of God. He purposed to create man in His own image. So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created
him; male and female He created them. (Gen 1:27). And God saw everything He created was good. Gen 1:31
In God’s relationship
with mankind we see these wills in action:
2. Free will: God created man in his own image. He
also gave us free will, to make decisions and choices in life. God also provides man the necessary information and options to make the decision. Gen 2:15 - 17 (NKJV); 15 Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Of course we know that man chose to eat of the fruit they knew not to eat (irrespective of the tempter the ultimate decision was still man's. Our conscience tells us what is right or wrong. We make the choice on what to do; which way to go. He
called everyone to make the choice of life in Christ. Many will hear the call, some will even answer the call but only a few will choose to do his will.
3. Permissive will: This is when mankind asks God for something they
desire against the expressed will of the Father and He let them have it. Israel demanded a King and God
gave it to them (1 Sam 8). But it was His will for them. And we read the everlasting impact on the nation. How many times have we asked,
pleaded, begged, even tried to blackmail God (if you do this, I will serve you forever...)? We quote the scripture - God
gives the desires of my heart (Ps 37:4) as justification for badgering Him with what we want instead of asking for His will. What about what He desires for
you?
4. Perfect will: When we know, acknowledge and accept
God's will irrespective of our own desire. We do what He asks. We go where He sends. We say what He tells us and when He tells us. Our perfect example is Jesus. He came to earth to do the will of God the Father. Whatever He did was the perfect will of
God - his birth, ministry, death, resurrection and the ultimate redemption of
mankind. We should seek first to know and understand His perfect will. And then walk
in it. Many times we might not know the end or know the vision, nor be clear on the
details. Sometimes the journey is painful, uncomfortable, hard but He knows the
plans He has for us; plans to prosper us and not harm us, to give us a hope and
a future (Jer 29:11).
5. Self-will: When you operate in self-will, there is no acknowledgement of God. There is no desire to ask His will. All you want is to do what you desire. You think all you need is your own abilities, intellect and strength. This is different to permissive will because in the latter you still acknowledge God but you ask Him to rubber stamp your desires. Like a loving father to a petulant child, He lets you have your way. The history of Israel gave us many examples of incidences of self-will. They kept rebelling against God and following their own desires. The prophets kept warning them about God’s heart concerning the rebellion.
For a declared born-again Christian, self-will is rebellion against God. Because you are saying, ‘You are not my God.’
“But My people would not heed My voice, And Israel would have none of Me. So I gave them over to their own stubborn heart, To walk in their own counsels.” Psalms 81:11-12 NKJV
Brethren, Elohim gave us free will but He expects us to choose Him; to acknowledge Him; to obey Him; to honour and glorify Him.
What is the perfect will of God for your life? Are you walking in it?
Prayer:
Almighty Father, in the name of Jesus help me to operate in Your perfect will for my life. Amen
#will #willofGod #sppiritualmaturity
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