The Principle of God’s Will
Have you ever wondered what God’s will is for your life? Ever wish Jesus would show up at your door and you’d invite him in for a cup of tea and sit and chat. I’m sure somewhere in that conversation you’d ask, “What do you want me to do, Lord?” I know this because I hear women say it. Well, guess what. Jesus invites you to sit with Him every day through His Word. And you can even choose the tea!
Scripture tells us in Ephesians 5:17 that the one who does not know the will of God is a fool. I’m sure you don’t want to be a fool, so let’s get to discovering God’s will for you in the following three areas…
Viewpoint Will of God…What does God want me to think?
Everything we do starts with thinking. God wants us to think like he thinks with divine viewpoint, also known as the mind of Christ (Philippians 2:5). Divine viewpoint is making right decisions using God’s principles in all circumstances. His principles give us perfect wisdom, and isn’t that what we want in making decisions?
The problem comes from discerning divine viewpoint from human viewpoint (anything that opposes God’s viewpoint) and that’s why God wants to meet with us daily, so he can teach us the difference.
Many times, people twist scripture to fit their agenda instead God’s. This is arrogance. Not until we humbly and fully submit to God’s authority can we correctly think with God’s viewpoint and know God’s will.
Operational Will of God…What does God want me to Do?
When we miss the first step above, we fail to understand divine viewpoint and have nothing to fall back on but human viewpoint. There is no other choice. Human viewpoint is making choices based on our sin nature which is contrary to God’s will. This can happen when one doesn’t make time to learn God’s Principles. But sometimes the believer simply doesn’t want to submit to God’s principles because they just want what they want. This is human viewpoint. It’s kind of like making the decision to do something without asking our spouse in fear they might disagree. What’s the old saying? It’s easier to ask forgiveness then permission?
God has a plan for your life, but he needs you to trust His plan by following the path He set before you. This path was uniquely designed for you to navigate one step at a time as He leads you through life. But to stay on God’s path requires only your submission, nothing else. Because in submission is faith, trust, obedience, study of scriptures, application of His principles, and of course, the filling of the Holy Spirit. What does God want you to do? Just that. Because when you submit, you do your part. And only when you do your part, does God do His.
You don’t need to know His plan in advance, nor do you need to approve it. You only need to submit to it one step at a time. And here’s the key – the more you submit, the more God reveals. For if you don’t submit, He has no reason to reveal a plan you won’t follow. And how does He know you won’t follow His plan? Because if you don’t care to submit to His principles and protocol, you don’t care about a plan based on just that.
So, you see, when you study the Scriptures, you are learning God’s will, just as if Jesus was sitting across from you answering all your questions.
Geographical Will of God – Where does God want me to be?
When you follow the first two steps by thinking with God’s viewpoint, and submitting to God’s principles and protocol, you eventually end up where God wants you to be. This is because your mind will be free of the lure of worldly desires, and personal aspirations that get in the way of God’s plan for you. You recognize when God opens doors and when he shuts them, allowing you to always be where God wants you to be.
Why should you care about following God’s will? Because God is perfect, and His plans are perfect. God loves you with a perfect love. He wants only to bless you and have you experience His perfect peace, joy, and happiness. Does that sound like someone you could trust with your life?
Before I moved to Sparks, Nevada, I would visit my family here, usually during winter when everything seemed dead. I could never image leaving beautiful sunny California, especially for such a place as Sparks. And yet, that’s where God led me. I won’t go into detail in this post, but I will say this. Not a day goes by that I don’t praise God for moving me here.
Here I met my husband, who is the most perfect man for me. Our love has brought me such joy. God gave me a beautiful home with a killer view of the same high desert I used to loath. Every morning when I look at the view I am reminded of His love for me. God knew where He planted me in a place I never would have picked myself. Had I not submitted to His plan, I would have missed the surpassing joy and peace I now have.
When we trust God, He will lead us. But what if we don’t trust God? That was me at 17. I had been saved in childhood, but when I began thinking about my future, I didn’t trust that God knew what would make me happy. I didn’t have a good Bible teaching church, so I had no knowledge of the principles I’m sharing with you today. I chose my own path, blazing a trail of pride and arrogance until I reached the end and found nothing but disappointment, hurt, and a growing bitterness toward my choices.
When we venture out of God’s will, God cannot lead us. Instead, God disciplines us like any loving parent would to restore fellowship with their wayward child. God doesn’t have to do much when we venture out on our own, because when we do, we go with our human viewpoint which always leads to self-induced misery. (Listen to my podcast on discipline)
I was a slow learner. I hit my self-induced misery around the age of 52. Mind you, I was attending church, Bible study, women’s retreats and more. But still, I would not submit. It wasn’t until I found myself divorced and lost almost everything I had built on my own, did I come to the point of surrender. And that’s when my life turned around and God gave me the desires of my heart that I could never have accomplish on my own.
Are you living God’s will? If so, are you continually learning and applying God’s principles daily? Your life will reflect it with the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). You will also be free of anger, bitterness, jealousy, hatred, gossip, and more. I’m so happy for you!
If not, consider getting back on God’s perfect path. Ask forgiveness and pray for Him to lead you back. Then learn and apply His principles by sitting with Him and His Word everyday so that you can think, do, and be in God’s perfect will.
