God's Will vs. My Will

Introduction:

In the Army there are Generals and privates and a lot of ranks in between. A private in the Army has no authority. A General in the Army has all the authority. In between each of the ranks has various amounts of authority depending upon their level of command and position in that command.

When I first entered the Army I had a little bit of authority because I was given a higher rank because I had a degree. So, I was put in charge of a bunch of privates because I was a private first class. It didn’t amount to much authority except that I had to make sure these guys did the little bit of stuff we were supposed to do.

But as my career lengthened and my rank increased I had more authority. But with more authority comes greater responsibility. With more authority I was told less of what to do and was expected to do my work without much supervision but also to make sure those under me did there work too.

Do you know the line from Spiderman? “With great power comes great responsibility.”

For God that great power includes all authority in heaven and on earth. With that power and authority God is weaving a Grand Tapestry. To weave that grand tapestry He uses His different kinds of will when necessary. He has His sovereign will, we have His revealed will in the scriptures and He has His perfect will (or personal will) for each of us, but He also has permissive will.

We have covered His sovereign will and His revealed will, today we are going to talk about His perfect will, that plan He has for each of us and His permissive will.

Today passage shows just how His permissive will works.

Scripture: Job 1:6-12

Job 1:6–12 NASB95

6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. 7 The Lord said to Satan, “From where do you come?” Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.” 8 The Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil.” 9 Then Satan answered the Lord, “Does Job fear God for nothing? 10 “Have You not made a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11 “But put forth Your hand now and touch all that he has; he will surely curse You to Your face.” 12 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power, only do not put forth your hand on him.” So Satan departed from the presence of the Lord.

Transitional Sentence: So God permitted Satan to touch all that Job had. This is God’s permissive will.

Before we look at God’s permissive will let’s take a look at His:

a. Perfect Will:

God’s perfect will is His ultimate, flawless plan for your life. It is characterized as good, acceptable and perfect. It is found by transforming your mind through the work of the Holy Spirit to align with His purpose which involves using your unique gifts to further His kingdom. It leads to a deep inner peace and fulfillment. It is distinct from His merely permissible will, which He allows but that isn’t His best for you.

God’s perfect will is good because God is good.

God’s perfect will is acceptable or pleasing because that is what fully pleases God and is achieved through righteous living and obedience.

God’s perfect will is perfect because it is complete, without defect and achieves God’s intended goal. It makes you a better reflection of Him.

God’s perfect will is specific because He has a plan intended for each one of us.

And then there is His:

b. Permissive Will:

Permissive will refers to what God allows to happen in the world, even if it’s not His ideal plan. He grants us free will to make choices, including sinful ones, which carry consequences. Yet He sovereignly works through these events and decisions, even mistakes, to ultimately fulfill His greater, perfect purpose.

His permissive will is allowance, not approval. God permits things to occur, not because He approves but because He gives us freedom to choose. He will direct the outcome of our choice to work within the framework of His perfect will.

His permissive will acknowledges that we are at liberty to choose, and these choices have natural consequences. Even when people choose disobedience, God uses these actions to accomplish His ultimate purposes, turning bad intentions into good outcomes.

c. Why does it matter? What are some of the potential consequences or experiences you may have from following your will instead of His will?

i. Hardship and suffering. God allows evil and mistakes, leading to difficult situations, but He doesn’t abandon you.

ii. Fewer Blessings. Some traditions suggest a life in permissive will brings fewer blessings than living in His perfect will.

iii. Personal growth and refinement. These allowed trials test faith and refine character, leading to spiritual maturity.

iv. Integration into God’s plan. Even bad choices get woven into God’s Grand Tapestry bringing Him glory.

2. God’s will, a case study.

a. Before Jesus - I did what I wanted to do. I had Free will because I didn’t know Jesus and I certainly didn’t acknowledge Him in any way. I didn’t even use His name as a cuss word like so many others who don’t acknowledge Him in their lives.

When it was about time to leave high school I decided I would join the Air Force, like my father before me. I never made it, I didn’t pass the physical exam. I passed out after they took about a gallon of blood. Come back later and try again - nah I’ll try something else. Was that a door keeping me from doing something God didn’t want me to do?

So now what? About a month before graduation my mom finds an advertisement in a magazine for the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. That looks cool, I like art, might as well. I had just enough time to register to start in July after graduating at the end of high school. Everything went well through school except for some roommate issues. No big deal, they got worked out. Graduation comes along, what’s next? I spent about nine months trying to find a job in commercial art, nothing. Sorry you don’t have any experience. Another door locked by God?

So what’s next? At the time I am living in Washington state, near my cousin. Her boyfriend says why don’t you join the Army, they take losers like you. Ouch. So I went home to Ohio, tried getting a commercial art job in Cincinnati. Nothing - maybe it’s time to join the Army.

So, I joined the Army. Basic training, Jump school, AIT, it all went well. Then I got to my first assignment and did not have a good time. The people telling me what to do shouldn’t have been telling anyone what to do. They did a lot of telling but no doing. It didn’t make for a happy beginning. So I volunteered for overseas assignment. Italy sounds cool - ooops - welcome to Okinawa Japan. While I was there I learned to SCUBA dive. That was awesome so I quit the Army and learned commercial diving. Almost died doing that - Bang, there goes another door. Learned to teach SCUBA diving that didn’t work out - Bang there goes another door. So what’s next?

In the next two and a half years I lived in 3 states, had at least 8 different addresses and married a woman I never should have married. If your standing at the alter and you pass out you might want to reevaluate your choices. The problem is, I didn’t. At this point I am definitely walking in God’s permissive will because I didn’t even know God had a will for me and my life. Stuff is going wrong all the time and I am getting no where. Finally I decide to get out of the dead end job I was in and reenter the Army. Well that helped. Things started getting better - sort of. There were all kinds of marriage problems though. But after a little less than nine years that all came to an end. She had an accident and died. That’s when everything changed.

b. The night after I had to identify her body at the morgue and make arrangements for its care I met Jesus. I was invaded by this guy we call the Holy Spirit and after that I didn’t want anything to do with the people who my wife called friends. It was time to go. The first person I told was my mother. She was very happy, she told me they had been praying for me for 10 years. That’s also when I found out that she and my dad had both had born again experiences about 10 years earlier. That’s when they began to pray.

The problem was that I was still in the Army and I had to go back to Korea. A fun place but a dark place. But I had that Spirit guy telling me what to do and He started leading away from what I was doing. I know now that He was sanctifying me, but I didn’t know that at the time. I just tried to listen. I didn’t always get it right but He kept after me.

After leaving Korea I went to Germany and the first two people I met were believers who openly told me about Jesus and got me started by taking me to the Chapel services on Sunday morning. A little after this I got married again. God’s hand was in this one. He brought us together and kept us together even though we shouldn’t have been by the Army’s rules. God’s been working in our lives ever since.

The Spirit kept pushing me. I learned to pray about stuff and I learned to listen for His guidance. I have no idea if I am getting right or not. I do know that there are more blessings then catastrophes and there is more love than the first time.

One great thing about the Army for me is there wasn’t a need to wonder if it’s time to go somewhere else. Is it time to do something else. Mostly, the Army said go every three years. So we went. But then things began to change. I was nearly at the top of the food chain and I didn’t want to be the guy doing what would have been next. So we prayed, we tried to find out what He wanted for us. We may or may not have gotten it right but it sure seemed right. Until He started pushing me to serve. I’m a soldier, I need to serve the King. So here I am. Is it the right place? Is it the right thing? I don’t know, but we have been blessed through it. Our children have grown up to be wonderful young adults and we will be able to make sure they both get a college education to get them started on their own. We’ve done our best to make sure they have their own faith in God and the Lord Jesus in their hearts. Now it’s time to pray that they continue walking in the path of righteousness.

c. I the beginning I walked in God’s permissive will. I suffered the consequences for not knowing what that will was, even worse I suffered because I didn’t even know that He had a will for my life. I walked in His permissive will because I didn’t know His Son as my Lord and Savior.

But now, at least I have His Son as my Lord and Savior. I don’t know if I am walking in His perfect will or not but I’m trying. God found me out in the muck and the mire of a life poorly lived and dragged me kicking and screaming out of it all and onto His path. There are still questions in my life that must be answered but I know enough now to pray about it and to try and be at peace while I wait for the answer. The problem is that I don’t want to wait. I want the answer now, actually I wanted it yesterday. But I will wait. Maybe Jesus will come back before I have to make another big decision that may be God’s perfect will for me or maybe He’ll just let me do it because I can’t wait for Him.

The question is:

3. How can you find God’s perfect will for your life? I guess a better question would be - Can you even know God’s perfect will for your life?

a. So, some of the things you can do to discern God’s perfect will for your life is:

i. Begin by Renewing your mind. Be transformed, don’t conform to the world’s values,. Do this through spiritual renewal. Romans 12:2-3

Romans 12:2–3 NASB95

2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. 3 For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.

ii. Study Scripture. Read the Bible to understand God’s revealed will. The bible is full of the way God wants each of us to live. If we are following God’s revealed will then we should be doing a good job of being in His perfect will. His revealed will helps us make decisions before we have to ask for specific guidance.

iii. Pray and Rely on the Holy Spirit. Seek guidance through prayer and the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit.

iv. Godly Counsel. Seek counsel from others who are more mature in their walk with Jesus than you are; they can help point you in the right direction.

v. Use your gifts. Actively use your talents, resources, and passions to advance God’s kingdom, rather than waiting passively.

vi. Seek inner peace. Seek a deep and persistent peace in your spirit, even amidst external chaos. A deep persistent peace will show that you are aligned with His will. Philippians 4:6-7

Philippians 4:6–7 NASB95

6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

vii. Submit to Him daily while walking in obedience. Dump your selfish ambitions and yield to His plan and obey what is in His revealed will.

viii. And finally Trust His timing. This is the hardest one of them all. Be willing to wait for His perfect timing rather than rushing into decisions based on impatience.

There’s a neat illustration about this from the book The Fellowship of the Ring, the first book in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Ring series.

Gandalf the Wizard is leading the Fellowship through the mines of Moreah, the home of Dwarves which is currently inhabited by orcs. The Fellowship comes to a point in their travels where Gandalf has no memory of the place where they are or which way to go. So Gandalf sat down on a rock to puzzle through it. After a long while he stands up and says, Oh, that’s the way. The air is fresher that way.

Sometimes that’s the way it is for us. We don’t know which path to take so we sit down and puzzle through it until an answer comes. The answer is a nudge from God, take this path, the air is fresher that way.

But sometimes that nudge just doesn’t come. Sometimes you can’t or don’t want to wait any longer for a definite answer.

b. Sometimes finding God’s perfect will for your life will start by making a decision. This is where God’s Permissive will, will come into play. If you have done your best to renew your mind and tried to bring your life into alignment with His will, you’ve study the Bible to find an answer, you’ve prayed and sought godly counsel and you feel at peace with what is going on but you still don’t have an answer about which path to take, then maybe, it’s time to just make a choice. Buy your ticket and take the ride.

God’s permissive will takes into account our free will. Our free will to listen to what He says and do it, or to do what we want to do whether He provides an answer we want to hear, an answer we don’t want to hear or if He provides no answer at all. Maybe sometimes God just wants to see what we will do. In His permissive will God will allow us to make decisions, even if they are the wrong decision or a sinful decision.

Going back to Gandalf in the mines, if he hadn’t puzzled it through and decided the fresh air was the right direction then he would have needed to make a decision. If he led them the wrong way then eventually he would have needed to make another decision to get back on the right path.

Fortunately, if you make the wrong decision God will put road blocks in the way to prevent you from going to far down the wrong path. He will take your wrong and make it right. After all He gave a donkey the ability to speak to help keep Balaam from doing the wrong thing. So, He can work in your life in such a way to keep you from going over the edge.

He can take your bad decision, your okay decision or your really good decision and keep you on the right path with His perfect decision. You can’t make a decision that will ruin His plan, because He can make something beautiful out of whatever decision you make.

c. Why does it matter if we live in God’s perfect will or if we simply live in His permissive will? If you are living in God’s perfect will you are considered to be living in the center of God’s Will. Right smack dab where He wants you. How many of you would say that you are living in the center of God’s will?

God’s perfect will for you is His plan. His plan is the best plan for your life. His plan will ultimately lead you to good and purpose for your life, it brings peace and contentment, it transforms your character through sanctification, provides divine direction and protection, protects us from wasteful rabbit trails, and finally it equips, empowers and aligns you with His eternal perspective.

But if all you do is live in God’s permissive will you are going to go from one decision to the next. Crashing through doors, sneaking through windows and bouncing off of guard rails until you finally figure out that there is a better way to live. Decisions made in God’s permissive will end up causing pain and sorrow. Every time you crash through a door you will cause yourself and those around you pain. Every time you jump through a window you cause yourself and those around you sorrow. Every time you hit a guard rail you force God to fix your life and make things beautiful again. Wouldn’t it be easier to slow down and listen for the right decision?

There is always fresher air somewhere to follow. That fresher air is God’s will instead of your own, because God is allowing you to do what you want doesn’t mean it is the right thing to do.

Here are some signs that you might be living in God’s permissive will.

i. You question God’s clear guidance. You are being tempted away from God’s revealed will.

ii. Difficult circumstances. You are experiencing obstacles or conviction because God is trying to get you attention or redirect you.

iii. Lack of peace and joy. No joy and you are experiencing unnecessary struggle compared to what God offers in His best will.

If you are feeling this way or experiencing these situations then you should take some time and seek His will for you. You should pray for wisdom, examine your choices, listen for the Spirit and seek godly counsel. Above all you should surrender your will to His and trust Him so that He can work through your life and bring things back into alignment with His will.

Exit: In the beginning of my career I had very little authority unless I was put in charge of others who had even less authority than I had. Each step along the way as I went up in rank I had more authority. There were more soldiers lower, and fewer higher than I was. Then came the day when I was in a position were I had all the authority. I was as high in rank as I would go. My supervisor was in Washington D.C. and I was in Japan. We talked on the phone once in a while, I went to visit him once and He came to visit me once. I wasn’t the boss but I carried His authority. He trusted me to do what needed to be done and I used His name to get things done that I couldn’t have done on my own.

It is this way with our walk with God. In the beginning we know nothing. As we grow and we learn more we are able to walk more in His perfect will for our lives and less in His permissive will. But as we grow in our walk we should also be growing in our authority.

A non-believing human has zero authority in this world. But a believer has a lot of authority. You see God has all the authority. As a member of His kingdom believers get to use His authority. God gives us His authority and power to wield in the world. Just like my supervisor gave me his authority to wield in the Pacific region, God has given us His authority to wield in His creation. Matthew 28:19-20

Matthew 28:19–20 NASB95

19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Pray: