“HIS or YOURS”
Submitting to God’s perfect will is fundamental to our lives as Christians. His perfect will is far superior to our desires and will. When we steadfastly insist on specific outcomes in life without submitting those desires under God’s perfect will, we limit ourselves to the imaginable and miss out on the unimaginable goodness embedded in the perfect will of God. If only we could glimpse our future, we would witness the blueprint of our lives perfectly and uniquely designed by God for you and me.
God will never force us to do anything. That’s why He gave us the freedom to choose between life and death, hoping we would choose life. In this context, it’s either “His perfect will or His permissive will.
God’s perfect will is His divine orchestration that exceeds our limited knowledge, understanding, and expectations for our lives. So, choosing His perfect will aligns us with His divine orchestration. This alignment is submission, and submission is humility.
God’s permissive will asks God to permit us to live and have things our way. In other words, we tell the God who created and orchestrated our lives that we know better. This right here is pride. Now, if we decide not to choose His perfect will for us, which is always the best choice, we automatically choose His permissive will. You already know how stressful and draining it is to do things with your limited ability. Remember the story of Jonah in the bible?
Praying in God’s perfect will is surrendering our agendas to Him, obeying and trusting His lead and wisdom. By this, we tap into the unimaginable, beyond the things we see and dream of, beyond the material things we long for. I am not saying they are nonessential, but there is so much more to life that is bigger and far more significant than our wants. God desires to do and give us much more than just material things; he desires to usher us to the realm that supersedes the ordinary and grooms us to become sons. We need God to lead us through every step of our life’s journey. Often, we think we have everything figured out, especially when it seems like all is rosy, but we don’t. Without God’s mercy, we won’t be or have what we have. Romans 12:2, NLT says: Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then, you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good, pleasing, and perfect. Let us not be like those who are ignorant and spiritually immature, dictating for God what He should do, threatening and giving Him an automaton. Instead, let us patiently seek to trust Him, His promises, and His higher and far more significant ways. His perfect will is perfect for us; no matter what life brings, He is always there to lead us through. Recall how Jesus taught us to pray:
Matthew 6:9 – 13 NIV… This, then, is how you should pray:
“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one”.
Jesus emphasizes that our desires and actions should align with God’s perfect will for our lives. When we focus only on praying in the perfect will of God, we can then fully appreciate the importance of surrendering our will.