giving place to god’s will

Luke 42:21-22

“And He [Jesus] withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, where He knelt down and prayed, ‘Father, if You are willing, take this cup [of suffering] from Me. Yet not My will, but Yours be done.’”

Few words spoken in the life of Jesus are as eternally impacting as, “Yet not My will, but Yours be done.” Had those words not been painfully voiced in the face of intense torture and death, you and I would be living without hope. There would be no sacrifice for our sins. No justification before God. No grace or mercy enabling a pathway to eternal life.

We would be on our own in this life and destined for eternal misery in the next.

That Jesus seemed to possess the option of going to the cross is intriguing. This speaks to His being fully human and fully God—known technically as the Hypostatic Union. In the Garden of Gethsemane, where in Luke’s account Jesus prayed so hard He sweat drops of blood (Luke 22:40-46), Jesus wrestled not with the Father but with His humanity, knowing what He was about to endure.

God’s will is a BIG deal, and it’s the best evidence of an authentic relationship with Him through Jesus Christ. To say, “I’m a Christian” these days is largely an empty declaration. From Vladimir Putin to Joe Biden, from Kanye West to every Mormon walking the face of the earth today, there are simply too many people who, with deeply contradictory beliefs about God, Jesus, the Bible, etc., claim Christianity as their faith.

The term “Christianity” means so many things it ends up meaning nothing.

What then do we need to know about God’s will?

· He has one—i.e., He has a plan for every aspect of His creation, including us. God is not a disorganized, free-wheeling Deity. He is exceedingly intentional and provides everything we need to live a life that brings us hope and glorifies Him.

· He expresses His will through His word, both Living (Jesus Christ) and written (the Bible). There is no vagary, no tricks in God’s expressed will. He makes it plainly comprehensible.

· His will is not up for negotiation. As I’ll explain later, those who choose not to follow His will are either not in relationship with, or they are in rebellion against, Him. Neither is good.

· He gives us the grace and strength to follow His will. He knows that despite a transformation in Christ that brings the Holy Spirit to guide us, we are still human beings that need His support.

What is God’s will for us and how do we discern it?

There are two forms of God’s will: His sovereign will (for example, speaking the heavens and earth into existence, sending His Son to die for us, etc.), and His compliance will—i.e., His instructions for His people, that we…

· Seek His will (Psalm 25:4-5, 8-9)

· Seek first His kingdom (Matthew 6:33)

· Come to Him through Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:9)

· Are not conformed to this world, but transformed in Christ to discern God’s will (Romans 12:2)

· “Do good” (i.e., act like Christ) to silence the enemies of God (1 Peter 2:15)

· Give thanks in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

· Put to death sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed (Colossians 3:5)

· Trust in Him and lean not unto our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5-6)

· Submit to authority as unto the Lord (1 Peter 2:13-15; Hebrews 13:1-7)

· Preach the Gospel and make disciples (Matthew 28:19)

· And many more…

Yet knowing God’s will is insufficient. As noted previously, the greatest evidence of a saving relationship with Jesus Christ is a newfound, Spirit-led inclination to obey His will. As I’d say often to my sons, congregation members, and students, “Revelation without repentance is useless.” Just as Jesus’ words acquiescing to the Father in the Garden of Gethsemane are preeminently powerful, the most important words a person can utter are, “Yes, Lord”—whether in response to an invitation to salvation in Christ, or in Christ to obey God’s directions.

In this context, consider these Bible passages:

“If you obey My [Jesus’] word, you are truly My followers” (John 8:31).

“But if anyone obeys His word, God’s love is truly made complete in Him. This is how we know we are in Him: Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did” (1 John 2:5-6).

“This is love for God: to obey His commands” (1 John 5:3).

“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (James 1:22).

“Everyone then who hears these words of Mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it” (Matthew 7:24-27).

“If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love” (John 15:10).

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21).

But look also at this very important truth:

“For God is the One working in you both to will and to work according to His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13).

In other words, willfully disobeying God as a biblical Christian is really hard to do! Giving place to God’s will is simply acknowledging Him first in ALL things—all decisions, all directions, all relationships, in everything. We are servants of God, not of ourselves:

“For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man [including ‘self’], I would not be a servant of Christ” (Galatians 1:10).

As the apostle James put it:

“Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit’— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that’” (James 4:13-15 – Emphasis Added).

So, we seek God’s will in His word, guided by His Spirit, giving Him preeminence in all matters. When mistakes are made, we acknowledge them before the Lord, turn around, and head in the direction God provides. In this we will see not merely the preeminence but the power of God’s will in and through our lives.