Don’t exhaust and frustrate yourself by being unprepared to accept God’s will.
We often talk about God’s will for our lives and how important it is to live this out as followers of Jesus. But the reality is, so often, we only talk the talk, and don't walk the walk. Do you know why? It’s because we like to pray for God’s will; but when He answers, we still like to help Him with the job of fulfilling it by doing it our way.
Believing God's Promises
The Lord called Abram and told him to “go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land I will show you. And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth will be blessed” (Genesis 12:1-3). Wow! Notice that Abram didn’t pray for God’s will, but God made it loud and clear to him. And it was great that Abram followed the Lord’s will, packed everyone and everything he had, and set out for Canaan, even at the ripe age of 75. He did exactly what He was told and arrived safely in the land and settled!
But famine soon came, and Abram had to pack up everyone and everything again—this time to go to Egypt. Here we see the turn of events when Abram started doing God’s will his way. “When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, ‘I know that you are a woman beautiful in appearance, and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, “This is his wife.” Then they will kill me, but they will let you live. Say you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life will be spared for your sake” (vv.10-13). Notice that there was no praying for God’s will here. Abram was preempting danger and was willing to put his wife’s life on the line to spare his own. He already forgot God’s will to bless those who bless him and curse those who curse him!
But God didn’t forget what He said! After Sarai was taken to Pharaoh’s house, “the Lord inflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife” (v.17). Pharoah had to confront Abram: “Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her for my wife? Now then, here is your wife, take her, and go” (v.19). There was no fight in Pharaoh, only acceptance that God brought the curse upon them because of Sarai.
Then there’s the memory of becoming a great nation, which was probably not too far off from Abram’s mind, with only Eliezer of Damascus, his servant, as his heir. But God assured Abram with His will, “This man shall not be your heir; your very own shall be your heir” (15:4)—and as many as the stars too. But God’s word was overlooked when Sarai remained childless. Acting on their own will, Abram was propositioned by his wife: “Go in to my servant [Hagar]; it may be that I shall obtain children by her” (16:2). Listening to his wife’s voice instead of remembering God’s Word, the “doing it their way” produced Ishmael and created trouble in the household.
Can you see how events unfolded in the lives of Abram and Sarai? It’s for sure a clear battle between God’s will and man’s desire to do God’s will his way—never a good combination.
Let’s make it personal. God expresses His beautiful and perfect will even without you asking for it, but man is an expert on muddling things up. Perhaps you are a famous influencer or in leadership at a mega-church today, but you're slowly losing the humility and gratefulness for God’s bountiful blessing on you. You close your ears to people speaking the truth about your foolish actions. But you don’t care because you have now “exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served [yourself] rather than [your] Creator” (Romans 1:25).
Do you forget the cursing that God will do to those who curse you? For sure! You like to fight your own battles since no one can really defend you the way you expect to be defended and no one will ever understand what pain and grief you are going through except you, right? The Apostle Paul clearly said, “Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord” (Romans 12:17-19). Let God curse those who curse you and cause you unnecessary pain because of their evil intentions!
Waiting for God's Promises
How about the waiting period for God’s will to be fulfilled in your life? Patience is one fruit that’s desperately needed because it is your way of learning to trust God’s love and faithfulness. This is when you peel away your self-dependence, so you can completely surrender to God’s will in His perfect time. The book of Isaiah says, “But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint” (40:31). Don’t exhaust and frustrate yourself by being unprepared to accept God’s will. Wait for it with hope!
As you and I pray for God’s will, it’s good to be reminded of these wise words of the psalmist: “Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground!” (143:10). We need to ask God for the wisdom to do His will, not just to know it. Without God to show us how, it will never be done His way, only our way. And if we don’t ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance, we cannot avoid a bumpy ride over potholes or blindly walking into a pit.
Still thinking of doing God’s will your way? Just make sure that you know following your own path and labeling it as "God's plan" is a guaranteed failure if your goal is to fulfill God’s best plans for you!
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/mikvivi
Luisa Collopy is an author, speaker and a women’s Bible study teacher. She also produces Mula sa Puso (From the Heart) in Tagalog (her heart language), released on FEBC Philippines stations. Luisa loves spending time with her family over meals and karaoke!
