God's Will Now Roulette?

Question: Why do people decide if something is God’s will after they do the thing? “Something bad happened: it was God’s will that the bad thing happened to keep me on the right path, and it was not God’s will that I do what the bad thing stopped me from doing." (What about spiritual opposition?) "Something good happened: it was God’s will.”

This person only seems to know something was ‘God’s will’ after the fact of having done something. That is the same logic used with luck: “Something good happened, well, I had good luck. Something bad happened, I had bad luck. Nothing I did or anyone else did, it just happened.” What a way to drag God, your Father, to your level of understanding.

Yes, you give God the glory for blessing your life, but in the given context that many Christians use to label ‘God’s will,’ you’re not giving God glory because you believed the good would come to pass, you’re crediting Him after you see in relief that good happened and not bad. Conclusion: “God’s will” has turned into a Christian’s roulette game.

They aren’t certain of where God is directing them, and every decision is either delayed with much procrastination out of fear because they just don't know or made while they plead for God to speak to them.

Note: if you believe you have to plead and beg, consider seeking out what God’s character is like. Go and learn what the Good Shepherd’s voice sounds like. Build a relationship by finding out who your Father is. He wants us to see him as a close, and caring Father, not a distant, toying God. If you're afraid to make a decision because you can't tell if it's in or out of God's will, consider studying the born concept of 'God's will.' God's will for you should never make you fearful, if it does, you have wrong understanding of God's character.

So, this Christian is full of doubt now, and they fear decisions in their lives because they believe God’s “will” dictates what job they should get and what car they should drive, and if they should visit the park that day. Following this belief, if they should select the wrong job, car, or go to the park on an “unwilled” day and get a flat tire (which would be proof that God didn’t want them there), suddenly this Christian is “out of God’s will” which begs the question: what does that mean?

To be out means you’re not in. Thinking you’re out of God’s will leads to believing you’re not in or ‘not right’ with God. If you’re in a state of ‘not right’ then that means you’re not pleasing Him, which means you’re out of His good graces, He’s distant from you, not likely to hear you and your prayers, you’re not deserving of blessings, which means all blessings stop until you get back on track “right with God” and “in God’s will.”

That’s just a world of hocus. But some Christians live and believe that.

Example:

“What is God’s will? Am I actually doing it? What if I choose the wrong job?? What if I go on a church retreat without my brother because he couldn’t make it… I came on the retreat, but maybe this isn’t God’s will because my brother couldn’t make it. Because it is safer to travel with a companion, and I didn’t, it must be that it wasn’t God’s will for me to come. But I did, and that’s why I got the flat tire! Now I’m doomed!

“My family says I’m unwise for not taking a family member with me! Is God angry? Will I be punished? I know my family is agonizing over what could happen to me out here with these other Christians who are ‘only’ my church family. Who knows if they’re really saved or what they might do, because they’re human, after all! How do I get back in the will of God??”

This superstitious and anxiety-filled thinking is projected at others as if it is the accepted way of living as a Christian. Let's look at a list of 43 references in the bible that declare God's will, and then I'll expound more. God's will:

1) Your sanctification and abstinence from fornication. (His will is for you to have good health spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and physically) 1 Thessalonians 4:3

2) In everything give thanks. 1 Thessalonians 5:18

3) That all men be saved, come to the knowledge of the Truth (Christ our ransom: Grace) 1 Timothy 2:4, 5

4) By doing right, silence the ignorance/criticism of foolish men. Live as free people. 1 Peter 2:15, 16

5) None should perish. All should come to repentance (the changing of your mind in what you believe). 2 Peter 3:9

6) Forgive us and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9

7) Have compassion on us. Subdue our iniquities. Micah 7:19

8) Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11

9) Weapons formed against us shall not prosper. Tongues speaking in judgment against us we shall condemn. Our righteousness is of the Lord. Isaiah 54:17

10) We shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and hills (obstacles in life) shall break forth before you… Isaiah 55:13, 14

11) To answer us and to hear us before we call and while we speak. Isaiah 65:24

12) To exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth: for in these I delight, saith the Lord. Jeremiah 9:24

12 1/2)To not impute sin unto us. 2 Corinthians 5:19

13) Troubles don’t come nigh to us. Live in youth. Be supplied despite the world’s drought. Never cease from yielding fruit. Jeremiah 17:8

14) He chooses to not remember our sins. (Because Jesus already took the punishment, gave us His righteousness, and His blood makes us white as snow in the Father’s eyes, and God is justified to not remember our sins because Jesus paid for them.) Jeremiah 3:34

15) To add unto you all the things that you need. Matthew 6:33

16) To give good things to them that ask him. Matthew 7:11

17) What we believe should be done unto us. Matthew 8:13

18) To heal. That we be healed. (Jesus said, ‘He who has seen me has seen the Father, I do the will of the Father.’ Jesus didn’t turn away anyone who came to Him for healing. God’s will is for people to be healed.)

19) According to your faith, be it unto you. Matthew 9:29

20) That we fear not. Be not dismayed. To help me. To uphold me. To strengthen me. Isaiah 41:10

21) That we receive the peace of Christ and we should not let our hearts be troubled. John 14:26-27

22) That we go to him. Matthew 11:28-30

23) Be it unto you even as thou wilt. Matthew 15:28

24) That we wield the authority over our problems or obstacles in life; the authority given by Christ to use words. Matthew 21:18-24

25) Communion with the Father.

26) “That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God/Christ. Luke 4:4

27) To run to us. Kiss us. Clothe us with new garments. Put a ring of authority on our finger, put shoes on our feet, make us to sit, rest at a table set for us that we did not prepare or work for, and feast. He wants us to receive from Him. Luke 15:20-23

28) Ask of the Father in Jesus’s name. John 14:13-14, 16:23-24

29) His joy remains in us. And our joy might be full. John 15:11

30) We be convicted (by means of the Holy Spirit) of our righteousness in Christ. John 16:8-10

31) Ask that ye receive that your joy may be full. John 16:23-24

32) Speak what we believe and have yet to see. 2 Corinthians 4:13

33) That we through the poverty of Jesus might be made rich. Not spiritually and heavenly only, but here in this life on earth. 2 Corinthians 8:9 (Jesus do not become spiritually stricken)

33 1/2) And be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God. Romans 12:2 When you renew your mind, you change/transform the way you’re thinking. Thinking about what? What you believe about Jesus and God.

If you believe God sends sickness to teach lessons, or that you have to sway him to answer your prayers for blessings, then you won’t believe all these surrounding verses are yours already as the beloved joint-heirs with Christ.

You have to renew your thinking in order to see that God’s will for you is in all of these printed verses. When your thinking changes, when your perspective of Jesus and God realizes how much their love is meant for providing for you here on this earth, not just what’s waiting for you in heaven, then you will know what is good and pleasing to Him. What is pleasing to God? It is to supply all your needs. It is you learning the depth of His Son’s love for you and what it looks like and how you abide and abound in it all the time. It is you sharing this gospel of Jesus with others.

34) God’s will is not to remember your sins. He chooses not to. Isaiah 43:25

35) Thoughts of peace toward us, not of evil. Jeremiah 29:11

36) Us having peace. John 14:27

37) To receive from Him what we ask. “That the Father may be glorified in the Son.” John 14:13-14; 15:4-5, 7-8; 16:23-24

38) To remember we are righteous through Christ. John 16:7-8, 10; 2 Corinthians 5:21

39) Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Romans 12:2; 10:14, 17; Psalm 119:9; 2 Corinthians 10:5

40) “If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this or that.” James 4:14

Context: Christians boasted of themselves and the works they would do. The verse is saying if the Lord wills/allows that they live. Not if He allows what they do. God allows you to do everything you set your mind to do whether it be right or wrong, but He gave you His Spirit of Truth. He gave you His Word to learn discernment, and He said to ask for wisdom whenever you needed and wanted it and for anything.

41) To work in you. Philippians 2:13

42) That we have everlasting life. John 6:40

43) “Then they said unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work/will of God, that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent.” John 6:28, 29

Note: God allows what you allow.

The idea of “God’s Will” perceived through the promise “I Will Guide Thee” with the expectation of having their life dictated.

1) “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways (this is action happening) acknowledge Him [submit the thing/issue to God] and He shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in your own eyes: fear [worship] the Lord, and depart from evil.” (When you are acknowledging the Lord and departing from evil, you have a ‘GO.’) Proverbs 3:5-7

2) “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: He delighteth in his ways. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholdeth with his hand.” Psalm 37:23-24 God put His words in our hearts by means of His Holy Spirit of Truth by means of Jesus’ blood justifying us. What we do in our lives is not dictated, more rather God expresses His desire for us to live as Christ. This is character and behavior born from beliefs taught by our heavenly Father.

3) “A man’s heart deviseth his way (he makes a plan in life): but the Lord directeth his steps (God determines how we get there.)” Pr. 16:9 Goes along with the promise: “For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.” Isaiah 41:13 a promise to the seed of Abraham.

4) “My times are in thy hands.” - David, Psalm 31:15

5) “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.” Psalm 119:105 (The idea is that we are actively going forward, and God’s word, being a light, instructs and advises us as we encounter life with its ups and downs.)

6) “Man’s goings are of the Lord; how can a man then understand his own way?” Pr. 20:24 Thus: trust in the Lord and lean not unto your own understanding.

7) “There are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand.” Pr. 19:21 Man has counsel from experience, counsel from worldly knowledge, and counsel from hypothetical imaginings, and he has excuses; these can all be subject to circumstances and have no grounds, but God’s counsel always stands.

Question: Do people believe that example seven is proof 'God’s will’ is forced on you? Or that you will keep failing in life with all your choices until you happen to make the choice God pre-chose for you? (Let’s note that this would be the opposite of helpful.)

Answer: Our way is possible though not guaranteed, but God’s counsel is better than the way we see things.

8) “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with my eye upon you. Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near to you.” Ps 32:8-9 When you have been taught “the thing” whether as a child or at a job, you are expected to take on responsibility of the performance of using that taught knowledge. The parent or boss doesn’t want to be hanging over your shoulder and checking that you do all that they just taught you. The point of training you was so they wouldn’t have to be present all the time.

They expect you will wield the knowledge they trained you in with appropriate authority. However, though our Father never leaves or forsakes us, and He says He will hold our hand, He still gave us the responsibility of choice. Whatever decision you make no matter if based wisely or rashly, or leads to either rejoicing or sorrow, God will hold your hand and be with you and get you through it all.

8 ½) The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside the still water; He restores my soul. He leads me down the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.” Ps 23

Jesus leading us beside still waters shows that He cares that we feel secure. The waters are not raging and threatening like the waters threatening to sink the disciples’ boat. He puts our minds and hearts at ease. He leads us by being an example.

9) And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right or to the left.” —Isaiah is speaking to Jerusalem. If they defile their graven images and turn back to God. (We, under the new covenant, are spoken to through God’s word and the Holy Spirit. But God tells us how these two speak to us. Counsel. Not dictation.)

10) “I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way thou shouldest go.” Is. 48:17 (Teaching, wisdom, examples by Christ and Paul)

11) And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose water fails not.” Is. 58:11

12) “O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.” Jer. 10:23

13) “For I know the thoughts I have toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” Jer. 29:11

14) “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith/believing, nothing wavering (don’t doubt God’s promise, thinking Him a liar). For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.” James 1:5-6

15) Romans 12: the will of God is good, acceptable, and perfect. You can test and discern this by renewing your mind in reading the words of Christ. Not just any part of the bible. Reading of Christ’s new covenant with You. This grace in which we stand. This faith, this believing for things hoped for.

We live by faith in the Son of God. What has Christ given you to hope for here on this earth? How has He provided for you, the believer, until His future coming? Do you know? Haven’t you looked? Do you want to know and to believe?

Many of these verses say God guides, leads, and directs us. Unfortunately, instead of focusing on how to listen to know what God is saying or focusing on how God is faithful in his promises, the popular idea of “God’s will” has us focus on worrying about whether or not our actions are what God wanted us to do.

If it’s sin, then obviously not, however, many Christians don’t use the phrase “God’s Will” for sin but for inciting fear in making decisions without the dictation of a holier/elder/experienced Christian.

There is no trust when you are so busy focusing on yourself and what you’re doing. God promised He would give us wisdom and that He would lead us down the paths of righteousness. Believe Him. Act like it. He’s told you what sin looks like and what righteousness looks like. God entrusted us with a brain, and He tells us in all our getting, get wisdom and understanding.

17) The will of God is good, acceptable, and perfect. Jesus’s obedience at the cross is all of these. God’s will is that we believe on His Son, that we have faith in the obedience of His Son that made us righteous and holy in the eyes of God.

The way and the path are our proper conduct. Look at the verses again.

Another thing: we were promised that we would know our Shepherd’s voice. Since that is God’s promise to us, how is the fear of mistaking God’s voice/will even merited?

Others: because some people don’t know how to discern.

Me: so, they should take counsel – not dictation – but counsel so that they can conclude what must be done, thus: learning and exercising discernment. Growth!

Others: Oh, no, not that!

I’ve heard people say, “How will I know what God’s voice sounds like?” or “How do I know it’s God’s voice I’m hearing?”

And they’ve questioned: “What if Christians feel licensed to go out and sin more after hearing God does not condemn them or impute sin to them because Jesus already took their punishment?” or “What if they go out and sin more after hearing about grace?”

Answer: First half: If you read about Jesus and discern His character, and understand His promises, you will know what is God’s voice.

Second half: God stated that’s not what happens with His grace.

Why do Christians spout these hypothetical questions as if they have any merit after God clearly stated how it is?

2 Corinthians 10:5 “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing which exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;”

Note: Christ’s obedience, not ours.