God’s Will & God Will

God’s will and God will are two different things but they both have to do with God. God’s will is what He allows to happen in the world and in our lives. If it is God’s will, that mean that God is possessive or has ownership over it, remember the ‘s. Another way we can see life is God will a promise of an action. If God wills it, you can believe IT WILL happen. When God has a will for your life, He has a plan and purpose that will be beyond anyone’s reasonable expectations, but we must give up our will and give in to His. Think of it this way, you wouldn’t want to know the ending to every movie or book you’ve ever watched or read, we like the mystery. God is the same, He knows the ending to every decision we make yet He gives us the free-will to act upon our heart and we have a choice, the same that Adam and Eve had, to obey or disobey therein lies the mystery.   That is why God says, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9.” Why does God have a will for our life? And what does it mean? It means that God has a marvelous plan for each of us, all laid out full of great things, filled with purpose. Here is what God told Jeremiah the prophet, “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. Jeremiah 1:5.” Yet God’s plans and our plans usually have a difference in opinion. Again, Adam and Eve show up giving us the first and greatest example of spoiling a perfect plot. They had everything they could imagine and more, a perfect place, a perfect life, but temptation and not listening to God threw their lives upside down and inside out. Thanks to them, we know sin, we know evil, we know trials, we know death and we know eternal damnation. Yet God had a plan all along for us. He knew our plight for happiness would end in our own demise and ruin, so He had to send a Savior, no one else could save us, because we were all in the same boat. So He sent Jesus Christ, His own Son to save us from our sins, “Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, 2 Timothy 1:9.”  God doesn’t want anyone to go to eternal separation from Him, He wants a complete and whole person to spend loving quality time with Him and love ones, that is why 2 Peter 3:8-9 says, “But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” We know God’s will is hard, yet very simple. It is very tempting to break, even Jesus was tempted, but He continued to do His Father’s Will even up to the hardest thing He’d ever have to do, face death Himself. “And he came out, and went, as he was wont, to the mount of Olives; and his disciples also followed him. And when he was at the place, he said unto them, Pray that ye enter not into temptation. And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. And when he rose up from prayer, and was come to his disciples, he found them sleeping for sorrow, And said unto them, Why sleep ye? rise and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. And while he yet spake, behold a multitude, and he that was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them, and drew near unto Jesus to kiss him. Luke 22:39-47.” God’s will is so simple a child can do it, yet hard to keep and to do. How do we know God’s will? We listen, we pay attention, we read the instructions (The Bible) and we wait.
            
What if you knew God’s will, would you do it? If you knew the answer to your most burning questions would you agree with the answer and live by that or would you challenge it? Jonah had this happen. God spoke, you read right, spoke to him. Telling him, “go preach,” here’s what he did. “Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me. But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. Jonah 1:1-3.”  Jonah ran for his life. He didn’t want to face the answer.  Many of us would say the same, if we knew how our life would end up, we wouldn’t like knowing the answer, it would ruin the mystery and possibilities.
   
This man knew a little bit of what would happen in his life, he knew he would have a son, and that the son would be a very fruitful man, but God had willed something different, a change in plans, the one thing he always wanted could possibly be taken from him, if you had to fill this man’s shoes, how would you react? With anger? With hatred? Run and hide? Or face God and the challenge?  God sometimes uses the things we most want and treasure to teach us that it is all about Him and trust. “And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you. And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together. And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together. And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. Genesis 22:1-13.”
          
 The one thing Abraham wanted most was a son, God gave it to him in his old age, but it looked like that this dream was short-lived. God asked Abraham to do the impossible, give up his own son. Who would do that? Give up their own son for simple obedience? Abraham was willing to pay the price and was rewarded for his obedience with the sparing of his son and a blessing. God told Abraham, “That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice. Genesis 22:17-18.” One thing we can know for certain that if it’s God’s will and we follow it; God will bless us, somehow someway, and it may not be in the way you think! That is why His Word says, “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. 1 Thessalonians 5:18.”  Give thanks to God for everything because you may not realize the blessing until later in life or see God’s will working behind the scenes until the pieces fall into place, or some go missing.

When we serve other things, whether it be good things, like our families, our work, our hobbies, our church, our time more than God, we are not doing God’s will, instead we are doing the opposite. How do I know? Because God wants us to serve Him, and love Him, not be so busy doing His work we forget about the very one we are working for! That is why Samuel says to the people serving other gods (and us serving other gods: people, places, things) “If ye will fear the LORD, and serve him, and obey his voice, and not rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then shall both ye and also the king that reigneth over you continue following the LORD your God: But if ye will not obey the voice of the LORD, but rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then shall the hand of the LORD be against you, as it was against your fathers. Now therefore stand and see this great thing, which the LORD will do before your eyes. Is it not wheat harvest to day? I will call unto the LORD, and he shall send thunder and rain; that ye may perceive and see that your wickedness is great, which ye have done in the sight of the LORD, in asking you a king. So Samuel called unto the LORD; and the LORD sent thunder and rain that day: and all the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel. And all the people said unto Samuel, Pray for thy servants unto the LORD thy God, that we die not: for we have added unto all our sins this evil, to ask us a king. And Samuel said unto the people, Fear not: ye have done all this wickedness: yet turn not aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart; And turn ye not aside: for then should ye go after vain things, which cannot profit nor deliver; for they are vain. 1 Samuel 12:14-21.” Samuel was telling the people to serve God with all our heart and not to go after things that cannot help us or save us because they are nothing in the space of eternity. Everything rusts, decays, and goes away, but not God! “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Matthew 6:19-21.” If you want something people will envy, try your relationship with God Almighty!

Even in your hardest hours and your greatest triumphs don’t forget that God has a will for your life, a purpose, and that is to bring about the greatest creation He has made—YOU. Jesus not only faced death triumphantly in His Father’s will but also prayed for His followers, including those who know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior now. “These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word. Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me. I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them. And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled. John 17:1-12.” Jesus never brought attention to Himself but to God. We should do the same, never take the credit for something God willed. Follow God’s urging and instructions. “Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil. James 4:13-16.”  Our life is special. God has created us with many unique things, blending them together into a beautiful collection of talents, tastes, textures and testimonies. Only you can fulfill that. There isn’t another Jonah, there isn’t another Paul, there isn’t another David, or Solomon, there isn’t another YOU. You may think you are just ordinary with a no-nothing name with a no-name job, but Paul was a tentmaker, David was a shepherd, Jesus was a carpenter from a lowly family. Don’t discount yourself, God has a will and where there is a will there is ALWAYS a way. The Bible says, “Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God. 1 Peter 4:1-2.” The power of God rests in doing His will but also knowing He will do something; He isn’t idle, sitting in neutral, He is helping, aiding, watching, and taking notes of your life; seeing you fall for temptation and triumph in blessings. He is seeing your tears of trial and your shouts of salvation but who have you gave credit to when you crossed that mountain? Did you give the glory to God or take it for yourself? That is why we can pray, we can talk, we can ask, we can praise, and we can become better. Jesus tells us, “After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Matthew 6:9-15.” Noah didn’t take credit for building the boat, you didn’t hear John bragging about how he was older than Jesus, you didn’t hear Paul bragging about the souls he saved, the honor, glory and praise rested on God because HE is the one who changes things. God is the catalyst, the game changer, the difference in our life. We see the ending when there is no God in people’s lives, it’s chaotic, selfish, and empty. Don’t live by your will alone. Don’t let your hopes, dreams and goals step in the way of God’s plans, see if they line up! The world has many tricks up its sleeve to keep you from following God, stay busy, stay distracted, stay pre-occupied, stay angry, stay dissatisfied with life, just stay away from the truth. A good way to remember to stay focused and making God your number 1, and finding His will is this, “I find the doing of the will of God leaves me no time for disputing about His plans.” -George McDonald. Don’t give the devil time of day to steal your joy, to steal your blessing, your testimony; give it to God. Don’t let the Devil ruin your life, even in the mistakes of life (Adam and Eve), God still used them and didn’t destroy them, take heart. God loves you, will use you for good if you want Him too and has a purpose for you. We need hope, we need to know that God will make you for His Will. “For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Romans 8:24-28.”
            
God will, because God can. “I can do all things through Christ which strengthen me. Phillipians 4:13.” You can and will, if you are of a willing heart to a stronger purpose than you could ever imagine! God willing to send you another blessed day!