His Will and My Will

How do I know for sure?

For those of us who have grown up in the Christian faith (or spent years as a saved adult, growing in the Word), we have often heard, discussed, or entertained thoughts surrounding the topic of following God's will and the ability to live by our own will.  They are two separate and distinct choices - neither interfering with the other.  God's will is not imposed on us, for He is not a dictator.  Nor does our free will change the nature of God.  The two coincide, many times warring against each other within our finite human minds.

However, as I have gotten older, I have found that I am more inclined (dare I say willing?) to hunger after God's will for me rather than do that which my flesh and emotions would have me to do.  It is not that I do not feel the human desire to follow my own path; it is that I am more clearly aware of the possibility of choosing incorrectly and facing consequences I would have avoided had I sought God's guidance instead.  Simply, God's way is better because it is right and, therefore, easier in the long run.

During this growth process, I have come to a personal conclusion for my prayer life.  But before sharing that revelation, I want to give you some scriptural background for this thought process.

While I haven't necessarily found explicit scriptures for our free will, there are scriptures that show us our ability to exercise the practice.  Deuteronomy 30:19 includes the phrase "...therefore, choose life..."; Joshua 24:15 says, "...choose you this day whom ye will serve..."; Matthew 6:33 states "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness..."  There are others, but this small sample confirms that we have the option of making right or wrong decisions, following our flesh or following God's lead.  And there are plenty of examples in the Bible of men and women making the wrong decision, leading them into years of exile, separation from God, even death (think Moses, Adam and Eve, Ananias and Sephira) .

The Bible is very clear about God's will - His will for His people, His future plans, and for us as individuals:

          John 6:40 - "For this is the will of God..."
          Matthew 18:14 - "...will of your Father which is in heaven..."
          Romans 8:27 - "...according to the will of God."
          Romans 12:2 -" ...that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."
          Ephesians 1:5 - "...according to the purpose of His will..."
          Colossians 1:9 - "...knowledge of His will..."
          1 Thessalonians 5:18 - "...for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."
          Hebrews 10:36 - "...after ye have done the will of God..."
        
God clearly has a plan, a perfect plan, that is for the good of all who love Him.  Romans 8:28 says, "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."  Loving Him means knowing and following His will.

That leads us to submission.  Hopefully, we all understand submission to mean putting our will under God's guidance and direction.  James 4:7 says, "Submit yourselves therefore to God..."; Matthew 6:33 tells us to "seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."  Scripture clearly explains that placing ourselves under God's authority will be beneficial to us.  However, the simplest example of this is found in Matthew 6, verse 10:  "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven."  When we pray, we are to subject our lives and our choices to God's will, because His plan is already ordained in the most high places.

So this all leads me to my revelation about my will versus the Lord's will.  In praying for guidance and direction about a particular situation one day, it came out of my mouth: "Lord, I submit my free will to you.  I give you authority over this situation.  I ask that your will is my desire."  Although I had all the practical ideals about God's will, and I could recall all the aforementioned (and other) scriptures as foundational knowledge of needing to pray for God's will, I had never applied the scriptures in this exact way.  In that moment, I suddenly realized that by voluntarily cutting off my free will and laying it down at the throne, I was freeing God to move mightily.  Perhaps more mightily than ever before.  In the past, I would pray the common, "Lord, your will, not mine" (Mark 14:36) scripture.  There's nothing wrong with that - it is the position Jesus took right before the crucifixion.  However, Jesus was perfect and never considered taking another approach to the situation.  I, on the other hand, have said "Your will, not mine," while thinking of other tactics, other approaches, other conversations, other outcomes, etc.  But on this day, my revelation day, I was prompted to focus solely on God's will.  In a moment, I immediately took God's perspective - even though I didn't know the outcome, and I don't know the larger details of the situation.  Talk about liberating!

Additionally, it was also very freeing to ask the Lord to make His will the desire of my heart.  If my heart is lined up to be in accordance with the plan He already wants to bring into fruition, how much easier is it for me to voluntarily see and follow that very plan?!?  In theory, we often say that God's will is the desire of our heart, but is that really what we feel?  Is that really what we are thinking?  Um, that's a no from me.  I'm doing all of those other options I discussed earlier.  But then that brings me to another scripture:  "If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you" (John 15:7).

If I'm so concerned about what to do, what not to do, what to say, what not to say, am I really abiding?  Abiding means living in or among something.  How can I be living among the Spirit of God, calling on the name of Jesus to guide me if I am not secure in my petitions?  If I'm praying His will and still wondering about whether or not I'm going to hear from Him (or be happy with the outcome!), then am I really abiding?  Probably not.  And according to this verse, I have to be abiding in Him in order to ask for and receive what I desire!  There's a stipulation to the Lord's follow through.  So taking my own point of view, setting it down in the lap of the One who knows best and letting Him tweak it makes the most sense.  When I allow Him to plant in me His plan, when I open myself to letting the desire of my heart be exactly what He wants for me, I cannot help but be blessed in multiple ways!

I have spent years thinking I was submitting to God's will, and maybe on some level I was.  But in the end, I was still spending time wondering what would happen next and whether or not I would recognize His hand once He moved.  Now, I am experiencing a new burden-free feeling.  Knowing that God will move when He is ready, and it will be in my best interest, changes my thought process and grows my trust in Him.

It is ironic to know that submitting my free will to God's will has allowed me to exercise more of my own free will!

Have you ever thought about your will versus God's will?  Do you think one can be stronger than the other?

Have you believed, like me, that you've submitted to The Lord, only to realize you haven't?  Were you able to pinpoint why you didn't completely trust it to Him?

If you are praying about something right now, I would like to challenge you to pray like I did:  "Lord, I submit my free will to you.  I give you authority over this situation.  I ask that your will is my desire." Ask the Father to change your heart and your perspective so that you can fully rely on Him, trusting that His Will is so much better than anything you can imagine!