Resisting God’s Will

It’s usually said in response to a difficult or hard-to-explain life experience. I believe it’s being said sincerely; but I believe it is sincerely wrong. The comment?

“It must be God’s will.”

I do believe God is sovereign and must ultimately allow something to happen. But that is a far cry from something being the result of His determined will.

We are made in the image of God and possess a free will to make choices daily. Because God is not limited by time constraints He already knows what is going to happen. But that does not mean He predetermined it to happen.

We are left with the weight of our free will and the consequences of the choices we make.

In all our lives there is the will of God. Then, of course, there is our will. Unconsciously, we assume these two match. To know Christ is to give Him an opportunity to deal with the difference between who we are right now and the person He wants to transform us to be. In that process, we often discover many things about Christ that we never knew before, things like He is not Santa Claus! He is not one who dispenses only good (according to our definition of good) but is a Lord who has a purpose quite contrary to our own.

…The trouble begins when the Lord turns out to be not what you thought. Then comes the question: “How do I know if these circumstances are really from God?” I suggest you measure your resistance to those circumstances. Are you resisting what God wants to do in your life because it is so far from what you have always wanted for yourself? ~ Excerpted from Living Close to God (When You’re Not Good At It) by Gene Edwards

One of the essential things that should happen when we gather in our faith communities is a reminder that God is the center of life and we all need to continually surrender our will to His control.

As we gather this weekend, all around the globe, may God be honored by our desire to realign ourselves with His will. May we all pray what Jesus prayed in the garden…

“Not my will but Your will be done…”

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If you’d like to read the first chapter of Living Close to God click here.

© Richard Alvey and iLife Journey, 2012. All rights reserved.