When I look back now I realize how stupid it was of me to force my way. To try to work out things by myself without considering and even aligning myself to The perfect Will of God. I remember years ago when I tried to work out a relationship that by the end of the day cost me a lot, putting me into depression for one and half years. It was indeed a nightmare. This relationship made me ineffective in my ministry for quite some time.
I remember very well hearing the prompting of The Holy Spirit, but I ignored it. Or let’s say I was never tuned to The Holy Spirit to understand His promptings. God even spoke to me through a dream in which I saw my partner and me, standing in the light. However, with time she let go of my hand and went into darkness. To me, it was indeed a puzzle, as I never understood the message the dream conveyed. This dream repeated itself twice.
How God taught me His Will
I also remember a day I lost my hostel room key and that same day God provided me with a hacksaw and a piece of metal, from which I tried hard to cut out a key. Shockingly, the key never worked.
At that moment, The Holy Spirit spoke to my heart saying, “Son, this is how hard you have been trying to work your life and relationship out of God’s will, and like that key, you have failed terribly.”
From that moment I had a deep conviction that I was working out my Will and not hearkening to God’s voice. Today, as we speak the lady, is married to another man, and I can’t talk about how this came to be, because it’s really a long story. I would also like to spare you my reader the burden and stress of knowing such matters, for it is indeed depressing to know.
What is the Will of God in a Christians daily life?
The perfect Will of our God is not necessarily a passive plan, the blueprint for His glorious creation. However, it’s basically His heart’s desires. His Will is broad as it covers every aspect of our lives and the universe at large. The Will of God affects our lives positively and brings harmony in the universe and eternity. It does not contradict His Word, as it stands on the integrity of His own Word. It is, therefore, God’s nature to reveal Himself and His divine purpose to men.
How do I know I am in the Will of God?
Using the analogy described in the book of Numbers 9:15-23, we can clearly understand what it really means to be in God’s will and its importance. “By day The LORD led His people by a cloud and by night with a pillar of fire.”
When we are in His will, we can always sense and even experience His presence as He leads us through. Just like the Israelites, the cloud showed them direction and anyone who choose not to follow the cloud (God’s Will), lost direction and died in the heart of the desert.
The presence of God in our lives is crucial as it helps to know if indeed we are in God’s will or doing His will. In God’s Will, nothing goes wrong. We should therefore seek to configure ourselves in His will and choose to trust in His perfect purpose, for in His will nothing goes wrong.
We naturally don’t want God’s will, we want our will, what pleases us. But His will is necessary for us to be successful and blessed. “We should therefore learn to submit our will and desires to God’s perfect will for it is good, pleasing and perfect.” (Romans 12:2).
Why not my Will?
The will of man is full of flaws, weakness which may not be seen in the short run, but in the long run, it brings remorse, regrets, and great loss.
“There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end, it leads to death." (Proverbs 16: 25, NIV)
Man’s will is deeply rooted in his selfish desires, greed, and his lustful nature, which are self-destructive. It’s only the will of God that is good, acceptable, and perfect.
Our desire and prayer should always be that we may know His will and submit to Him, for He created us and knows what’s best for us.
It is to our advantage to know God’s will and configure and align ourselves to it. He will never force us to do so, for He has given us free will. If He was to deprive us of free will, then we would be puppets and not humans anymore. But He chose to give us free will, therefore, let us use it to do His will for, “we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which were prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10).
“Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God; let Your good Spirit lead me into a level country and into the land of uprightness." (Psalm 143:10)
Consequences of Following your own Will
You are trying to open a door that isn’t meant to be opened. You end up conflicting with destiny, as you are trying to trend on a path that will jeopardize your whole life. Furthermore, you end up marrying the wrong person, end up with the wrong friends and in-laws, who intern become your greatest hindrance and consequently end up miserable and divorced.
Not only that, you conflict with your destiny, nature, and the universe at large. Then you think you have been bewitched, while it’s your very attitude and actions that have destroyed your life due to disobedience to God’s Will.
You are on a path that you should not have been in the fast place and have wasted precious time wandering around in circles. That’s how vital the Will of God is for your life.
