“…that you may discern what the will of God is, the good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2)
There is a saying thus: “ The will of God will never take you to where the grace of God cannot keep you, where the arms of God cannot support you, where the riches of God cannot supply your needs, where the power of God cannot endow you”.
Why is this so? Because God is a loving father who knows what is best for his children. His will for our lives is a bumper harvest of protection from evil and provision of his divine mercy.
On the other hand, man is so fickle so much so that his flesh would often have him unable to recognize God’s direction in his life unless he is super sensitive spiritually and finally ready to surrender his will to that of God.
And we should add that not even the most mature Christians are exempt from this battle of wills. Abraham deviated from God’s plan for him and had Ishmael.
Some even know the will of God for their lives but are made powerless due to sin. A good example is Samson. To this point, Apostle Paul famously said: “…. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do”. (Romans 7:15).
Some Christians are not just weakened by sin but also spiritually blinded to God’s will for their lives. Unaware of God’s divine purpose Saul persecuted the same God he thought he was serving with a blind zeal.
Likewise, many of God’s children are presently on a path that is contrary to the will of God for their lives. The more they seek to have things their way the more the will of God says No!
This frustrating cycle continues until they come to a spiritual understanding of his will for their lives- to a place where they surrender their own will to allow God to have his way.
Saul was in this painful situation until the resurrected Jesus spoke to him saying: “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ (Acts 24:16).
Kicking against the goads inflicts pain on the kicker. Jesus was saying that in the process of going against the divine will, Saul was hurting himself.
This lack of spiritual awareness of God’s preferred direction for his children and his timing for their blessing has made many wander away from God’s will and in a frustrating pursuit of their own desires.
This insensitivity puts man at odds with God’s words which affirms that “A man’s heart plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps”. (Proverbs 16:9).
Until a child of God breaks away from his painful path of self-will and surrenders his own will to that of God he will continue to fly under the radar of God’s best for his life.
In many instances, the patient and loving mercy of God has steered many like Apostle Paul slowly even though painfully toward the divine will for their lives.
We do not all have to go through the painful process if we are willing to quickly understand his will for us and surrender our own will asking Him to take the lead while we follow obediently.
Reading
Ephesians 5:15-20
