Wed Inspiration

Morning Inspiration with Pastor Merritt

I think it is important that we clarify what we mean by the “Will of God”. The Bible uses the phrase “God’s will” or “the Will of God,” in three ways. Sometimes the Bible speaks of God’s “providential will.” This is God’s sovereign will, His determined will, or His unchangeable will. It is the will that overrides all human decisions. There are certain things that God has sovereignly determined are going to happen and nobody can change it. Just one example – It is the will of God that Jesus Christ return to this planet. Nothing or no one is going to stop that. God has a will for certain events to take place and He gives us no say in the matter.

Sometimes the Bible refers to God’s “practical will.” Some people call this the “moral will of God.” We don’t have to wonder about the basic rights and wrongs of life. We don’t have to wonder what is good and what’s bad. God has already told us. A perfect example of this is the Ten Commandments. There are certain things that are always going to be right and certain things are going to always be wrong, because they are a part of the practical will of God for all humanity. It always has been and always will be the will of God that you don’t lie, steal, commit adultery or covet what somebody else has.

Finally, the Bible refers to God’s “personal will.” This refers to finding God’s will in the everyday decisions of life that we face – take this job or not, go to this college or that college, date this person or not, marry this person or not, invest my money with this person or that person. Frankly, these are the decisions we wish were already spelled out in black ink on white paper like the Ten Commandments, but this is the part of the will of God that we struggle with. Just understand that the first step to finding God’s will is admitting that He has one. Understanding there is this path that He wants you to walk and being determined to get on that path.