Misconceptions about the will of God
The will of God is not defined by the absence of tribulation, but rather by the assurance of His presence within it. It is erroneous to think that to be in the will of God is perfect peace without struggle. Joy without any temptation to be sorrowful. Obedience without a desire to disobey. Abundance without scarcity. Immediate reward for obedience. Immediate breakthrough without waiting. The will of God is not a perfect state. It is not a place where the adversary cannot reach you. Many wonder why they are still not experiencing abundance though they give and faithfully tithe. They wonder why they are in debt though they obeyed the Lord and moved to another state or started the business He instructed them to. Many wonder why they are still unmarried though they have been celibate or in abstinence,continuing to seek the Lord faithfully. They wonder why the Lord would “overlook” them and bless the sister who is clearly in fornication with marriage.
A closer look into the will of God
To understand the nature of God’s will, one must examine the lives of those who walked closely with Him. Despite their faithfulness, their paths were often marked by significant tribulation. Joseph honored the Lord and resisted temptation yet he was thrown in prison. I am certain that was not the outcome he was hoping for but his actions led him into the heart of the will of God. He was in Gods will because the Lord used that prison to prepare him for his destiny. Secondly, Paul was in the perfect will of God and yet he found himself imprisoned more times than any of the apostles. He was stoned one time, shipwrecked and flogged. That’s the will of God. Our Lord Jesus was in the will of God yet he was hated, rejected, scourged and faced the agony of the crucifixion. He was in the perfect will of God yet He asked Father if it’s possible to have the cup pass from him(Matt 26:39). It was the will of God for the Israelites to be liberated from slavery and yet they were pursued by Pharaoh. They felt helpless and fearful when they stood infront of the Red sea(Exo 14: 10-11). That is the will of God. It is not likened to us joyfully hopping down the street with the sun hitting at the right angle. It is not without tears for tears still shed from the eyes of those who are in the will of God. Paul cried when he shared with Agabus the prophet that Holy Spirit showed him tears and imprisonment awaited him in every city he would visit. This is the will of God. In the will of God, there is crushing. Even when a person is firmly within the will of God, He does not anesthetize them to the difficulty. You still feel the crushing; you still feel the weight of the trial. We are not to feel that we missed the Lord’s leading because of the incessant tribulation His will might bring.
The will of God is a sobering departure from human expectation
It is not a place of absolute comfort, on the contrary, it pushes you out of it. It’s a place where the Lord challenges your limiting beliefs and even propels you forward. Feeling stagnant or purposeless is often a symptom of being out of alignment with His leading. In contrast, being within His will,even amidst tears,challenges limiting beliefs and propels the believer toward their ultimate calling. This is not to say when you are in the will of God you wont long to be elsewhere, but there will be grace for you to remain in His hand and endure the process.Even in the waiting, the believer who is in the will of God is not on vacation. The Lord is healing them, giving them strength to confront their carnal mindset and revealing His will to the believer. The will of God requires engagement and endurance rather than avoidance. It is a call to remain present and active even when the circumstances are taxing.It is not a stationary place. Even if the days are monotonous because we are in a “desert” season or spiritual winter, if you are in the will of God you will still not be sitting idly and complacent. The will of God is not conducive for laziness nor does it promote it. It is a place of redirection, healing, renewal, revival, purpose.It fosters intimacy with the Lord and strengthens the authority of the Lord in our lives. It places us in the position of submission unto the Lord and makes way for deepened trust in Him. In the will of God, the Lord restores our authenticity and places us on the path He had for us all along. There is provision in His will, tangible and or intangible. This gives languaging to the gnawing feeling of directionlessness, emptiness and purposelessness experienced out of His will.
How to enter His will
So how do we get into His will? Seek his face consistently. Minimize distractions and get still before him. The Bible says be still and know that I am God( Psa 46:10). Listen more than you speak for when we do most of the speaking in prayer, it is a sign of pride. When you receive instruction from the Lord, compare it with scripture. Is that something the Lord would ask you to do? Sometimes you wont find your answer in the Word. What do you do? Fast and pray. Continue to live in the presence of God. Get godly counsil from those mature than you in the faith if possible. Worship, praise Him and practice gratitude. Position yourself to hear Him in this way. Dont give in to worry and confusion. Trust that the Lord will unveil truth to you. Continue to petition the Lord to make His instruction clear to you. Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart (Ps 37:4). This actually means that as you delight yourself in Him, He will in turn give you His desires and they will subsequently become your own. The will of God may feel uncertain but He is not heavy handed. He leads in peace. Again, peace does not mean you have all the answers nor does it mean you wont have the option to give into worry and stress. It is having peace in the face of the stress and worry. You will find that peace rises and towers over the stress and worry that stems either from your flesh or the enemy. Overtime you realize that the stress and worry is gone. That is a sign you are in the will of God; when the peace is more vocal and the fear scurries off.