Show Notes
You may have questions about God’s Will from these past two episodes.
In Episode 5: What is God’s Will for you?, we learned there are three types of God’s Will. A general will that applies to everyone, a specific will that is just for you, and a free will – this one also applies to everyone. Then in episode 6, I interviewed Jessie Synan from Praywithconfidence (website: praywithconfidence.com). She shared her story about how God has worked in her life, and how she has accepted His Will for her.
Here are some questions that came out of these two episodes.
Questions about God’s Will: Can God’s Will change?
God wants everyone to come to know Him as their personal Lord and Savior. However, God allows us the Free Will to choose Him or deny Him.
God’s general will does not change. However, His specific will that He has for you can change.
How can this specific will of God change?
This begs this question about God’s Will. How can your specific will change when God is in control of all things and He knows everything about us?
This change depends on us and our obedience to Him and the will he has for us. Remember, when I talked about God’s specific will, there are choices we can make, but they need to be within his guidelines. I mentioned three examples: 1) Whether we should marry or stay single, 2) a job/career, and 3) where we live. Each of these decisions is up to us. However, there are boundaries.
If we are to marry, it needs to be a believer. God wants us to stay on track with our faith and not depart from Him. I gave the example of Solomon.
Another Bible character is Jehoram. After his dad, King Jehoshaphat of Judah, died, Jehoram became king. After he ascended the throne, he killed all his brothers and some of the princes of Israel. He did evil in God’s eyes, like his father-in-law, King Ahab of Samaria. His wife, Athaliah, was an unbeliever from this other nation. The Lord struck Jehoram with a painful disease, and he died. His unbelieving wife, Athaliah, reigned in Judah and killed off all the royal family, including her grandsons, except for one, Joash, who was hidden (2 Chronicles 21-22).
If we choose an unbelieving mate that is not the best for us, God can use that choice for good for those who know and love Jesus (Romans 8:28). There are other verses about this in 1 Corinthians 7.
One of the other areas of specific will can be the work that we do each day. Our job needs to be one that can honor and glorify Him. It cannot be something that will dishonor His name.
Questions about God’s Will: What can dishonor His name?
Think about this question about God’s Will and your job. Does the company or place you work at do something or want you to do something that goes against God’s statutes?
God has told us in His Word that He created us in his image as male and female.
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
Genesis 1:27 ESV
After God created man and woman, God’s Word states who are the participants in the relationship.
Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
Genesis 2:24 ESV
God’s Word is clear that marriage is between a man and a woman. Any company that openly professes anything different, then that company is not honoring God’s statutes for how we live our lives.
Examples of standing for God
I know of a business owner who does work that is based on bids that he will recommend his company do for them. If he learns that the company openly supports a marriage relationship opposing God’s statutes, then he will politely decline to do a quote for them.
He is following God’s statutes and is choosing to lose potential business. The result – his business is flourishing.
Or does the company you work for personally want you to stand for something you cannot?
When companies were forcing employees to get the jab to remain employed, people had to choose whether this was something they could support or not. In my former company, that is one of the things that they were doing. And I felt that it shouldn’t be something I should be forced to do, but it should be my own choice to make.
God’s Timing is Right on Time
Another question about God’s Will: Why does God let us know only parts of His specific will for us, and we must wait for the rest of it to unfold?
In the interview with Jessie in the last episode, she mentioned Psalm 119:105 – Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
God’s Word lights our path, and it is usually only a few steps ahead, and the rest of it remains in the dark. When we get there, the light shines brightly on that new step.
A thought from our favorite show
One of my favorite shows (and Dave’s, too!) is NCIS. There is mystery, drama, humor, and warmth in how the team supports each other like a family. The best part is if you are like Dave, the plot line will twist, and you don’t always know who is the one guilty of murder.
In this episode*, Dr. Jimmy (the medical examiner) and Kasie, the forensic scientist, are having a conversation in the lab.
Kasie has a personal medical scare and is waiting for a DNA test to see if she has the gene for Alzheimer’s. She tells Jimmy that she hasn’t looked at the email yet, and he said he would review it with her. Instead, she walks over to her computer and deletes the email.
Dr. Jimmy: Now you won’t know if you have the gene.
Kasie: If knowing changes the way I live my life, I’m living it wrong.
Those were wise words written in the script, even though they aren’t coming from a spiritual context.
In John 10:10b NIV, Jesus said, I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
If we live life in fear, it clouds how we think, and life is full of worry and darkness. If we choose to think of noble, right, pure, and lovely things, then we move forward one step at a time, thinking of the One who gave us eternal life, God, through the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ. We don’t need to know all the steps ahead, only the next one that comes right on time.
God’s Plan Guided Steps
One of my favorite verses about God’s will and plans for us comes from Proverbs.
The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.
Proverbs 16:9 ESV
For a while, I have been determined to do God’s Will for me. When it comes to His plans for me, I have been tentative in how I make those plans. And I have almost been so timid about moving forward it has made me stall in one place, and worried about making a misstep.
Yet these steps are based on fear of failure, and I need to move forward in confidence with making plans. When I make plans, I need to bring them to God in prayer, and if they are not His direction, He will direct me and establish whether those steps are the right way to go.
Question about God’s Will Summary
I hope this has helped you to understand how God’s general Will doesn’t change, yet His specific will can change based on how we obey His commands. What we do in response to His will for us affects our lives and the steps ahead that we take. However, God will direct us and establish us in the right direction when we obediently listen and follow what He tells us.
Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground!
Psalm 143:10 ESV
*NCIS, Season 20, Episode 18 Head Games, April 11, 2023.
