God's Will

I once had a friend say to me "If it was God's will (fill in the blank) it would have worked out".

Depending on your theology, this may be true for you.

I can sit on my couch all day though, praying, hoping, placing my trust that the "will" of God for me is to get a job. But if I never get up off the couch, if I never apply for a job, if I never take action, guess what? I won't get a job.

I have learned not to place my faith, confidence, or trust in the "will" of God. I place my total trust in the Lord, but not His "will". My theology may shake your view of God (and me) and or cause you to rethink what you believe.

Let's look at 2 Peter 3:9

"The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is long-suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance."

"Not willing that any should perish"

The Lord's will is that none should perish. But we all know that many do.

This get's into the idea of the multiple wills of God and whatnot. And I don't want to get into a big theological debate. We can, (preferably not on here), but I'm trying to make a point here rather than begin a debate.

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I believe that for many Christians, they may view things in their lives (decisions, opportunities, success, etc.) based upon whether it happens/is easy and then if it does comes to pass, define it as "God's will". But if it fails or is difficult look at it as "the Lord closing the door" or "not God's will".

2 things to keep in mind here: 

1) Just because it's difficult, hard, impossible, or doesn't come to pass doesn't mean it wasn't what the Lord called you to. There's a thousand variables that play into why something may not come to pass, but the simplest answer? Humanity. People screw things up. I screw things up. This unfortunately plays into whether or not certain things will come to pass.

Take for instance Esther from the bible. Mordecai her uncles comes to her to plead for help and says to her in Esther 4:14:

"For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”"

 "Relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place"

Esther had the chance to help deliver the Jews. Yet had she decided not to, Mordecai knew that help would come from another.

The decision to go before the King was neither easy nor without it's difficulties. She had to face the reality that she could (and would) die without a miracle.

It could have been easy for her to say "It's not God's will for me because the king has not called me in thirty days". But she didn't. Instead, she made a decision, she moved, she was faithful to the call, there was an action, and the Lord honored her for her faith.

I believe that when the Lord calls us, when we feel in our hearts a direction from Him, we are to pursue that until either the Lord calls us to stop (as in the case of Abraham sacrificing Issac) or until the door has been closed so tightly (by the decisions/sins/failures of humanity) there is no hope for it to ever open again.

But to turn away, to stop, to give up in the midst of what we clearly feel is a direction from the Lord, or perhaps not even a clear direction, but we sense it is from the Lord, it would be us not being faithful. And where would the Jewish people have been had Esther given up?

Who knows what the Lord wants to do through you, through the places or people He's calling you to. But if you give up because there is difficulty and you comfort yourself with "if it was God's will it would have happened" you are potentially missing out on an incredible testimony! One that could affect perhaps just one, or maybe a thousand lives.

2) The Lord does close doors but don't assume difficulty means "closed".

In Acts 16, we see Paul making plans to go to Asia to preach the Gospel but in vs. 6 it says: 

"Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia."

The Lord clearly closed the door to Asia. 

BUT for many Christians, myself included, it's easy to think that opposition and difficulty means the door is closed. Perhaps it is not the door closing, but rather, the enemy doing all he can to prevent you from going through that door.

The devil has been around far longer than you or I. He can spot potential and see the possible effects of a life faithful to pursue whatever the Lord is calling them to and will do all he can to destroy that potential. Do. Not. Be. Deceived.  

"The devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour"        1 Peter 5:8

Now that said, there are amazing testimonies of doors opening for people and God providing. For some, there was no difficulty or any problems and that was how they knew it was God.

But I would say this is often times not the case.

Look at Joseph. Sold into slavery, betrayed by Potiphar's wife, thrown into prison. One thing after another. Were these merely tests? Or was the enemy at work to destroy Joseph. To break his very faith in the Lord so that he would never rise to rule in Egypt and be a provider, a savior to his family - ultimately the lineage of Christ.

How many times could he have thought (and perhaps did) "the doors have all been closed and I am left here to die. This is not God's will." Yet the Lord would use even the actions of his brothers to sell Joseph into slavery to ultimately deliver Israel.

Your testimony of being faithful, of pursuing what the Lord has put on your heart, of not giving up because of difficulty or impossibility, may be the very deliverance for people around you. 

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You may look at your life and see areas where you could have been more steadfast. Where you could have pursued harder. Where you could have not given up.

Don't let discouragement and failure bring you down though. That is what the enemy would like to do. Break your very desire to continue serving the Lord.

There is great news! We serve a God that redeems and restores our lives, decisions, and time.  

"So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten..."           Joel 2:25

Let us be stirred to be faithful, even when it is difficult, seems impossible, appears hopeless and we are discouraged.