God's Will

How can we presume to understand the will of God, when we can scarcely understand our own? It could seem an impossible quest. And the closer we come to God, the wider the chasm between His will and ours may surely seem. But there are some things that can be known about God’s will or inferred about it from the Scriptures, especially when seasoned and brought to fuller light in meditation and the quiet solitude, the intimacy, of contemplative prayer. And at the very least, we can know with confidence what is not God’s will:

• My will is not God’s will; neither is yours;

• It is not God’s will that His people war against each other, kill and torture each other, or hate each other; and

• It is also not God’s will that His people should be unloving, unforgiving, self-righteous, judgmental, selfish, unkind, or lacking in compassion, generosity and gratitude.

And importantly, be assured that when you exhibit those behaviors or characteristics, God’s Spirit is not in you or leading you; you are not abiding in our Lord and He is not abiding in you. And from that place, you cannot even see or recognize the path that leads to deeper love and identity in God, which is God’s will. It is important to know these things, to be clear about what is not God’s will before walking into the deeper, sometimes darker waters seeking love and identity in Him, giving up more of our will that we might reflect more of His.

First written: December 2008
© Gregory E. Hudson 2008