The Will of God and It's Perplexities

"Now Shephatiah the son of Mattan, Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur the son of Malchiah heard the words that Jeremiah had spoken to all the people, saying, “Thus says the Lord : ‘He who remains in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence; but he who goes over to the Chaldeans shall live; his life shall be as a prize to him, and he shall live.’ Thus says the Lord : ‘This city shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon’s army, which shall take it.’ ” Therefore the princes said to the king, “Please, let this man be put to death, for thus he weakens the hands of the men of war who remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man does not seek the welfare of this people, but their harm.” Then Zedekiah the king said, “Look, he is in your hand. For the king can do nothing against you.” So they took Jeremiah and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the king’s son, which was in the court of the prison, and they let Jeremiah down with ropes. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire. So Jeremiah sank in the mire."(Jeremiah 38:1-6, NKJV)

What is the will of God? Seems like a crazy question. One might ask, 'What type of question is this, don't you know that God's will is what He desires, what He wants done, what He prefers?' Of course, but the bigger question is what exactly is His will for our lives, everyday of our lives? There is what I describe as the general will of God (read the Bible, go to church, pray, love your enemies, be responsible, honour your father and your mother, etc. - Romans 12:9-21) and the specific will of God for each person per occasion. It is the specific will of God that I want to write about in this article. 

Suffice it to say that the will of God is at times perplexing. Prophet Jeremiah delivered a message from God to the people of Judah and they did not like the message. Basically, God said that the Babylonian army would conquer the land. Earlier Prophet Hananiah has given a false prophecy, "Hananiah announced in front of everyone, “This is what the Lord says: Just like this, before two years have passed I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all the nations.” Jeremiah the prophet left." (Jeremiah 28:11, FBV)

Hananiah died soon after (according to another prophecy of Jeremiah).  Jeremiah was thrown into a dungeon full of mud with no water and he sank into the mud. God allowed that to happen because it was His will concerning Jeremiah for that (for a moment in time) to occur even though it was unpleasant. God promised Abraham a son but Abraham had to wait 25 years for Isaac and then later on God commanded Abraham to kill his son. Yes, it was a test but it did not sound like that to Abraham at the time (Genesis 15, 22). Peter and the apostles was thrown into jail (Acts 5:17-29) for preaching the Gospel and performing miracles by the power of the Holy Spirit. In the night, an angel of the Lord set them free and they continued to preach and teach in the Temple. They were challenged by the custodians of the law and the Bible says - "But Peter and the apostles answered, “We have to obey God rather than men." (Acts 5:29, FBV). 

The apostles did not sulk at what happened to them, they embraced God's will which included a night spent in jail. Interesting, right? There is a school of thought that promotes the devilish idea that children of God should not and will not face persecution or suffering. That is wishful thinking and many so-called prayers today are simply carnal thoughts spoken out loud. There are other interesting examples in the Bible such as Apostle Paul with a thorn of flesh. Paul called upon God to deliver him from that buffet of satan but God responded by saying, "... “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." (2 Corinthians 12:9). Whatever that thorn in the flesh was, it was unpleasant.

The case of John the Baptist makes one realize that some plans and purposes of God are too deep for us to fathom. John the Baptist was described by Jesus this way - "Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he." (Matthew 11:11). Before he was beheaded, John the Baptist sent his disciples to ask Jesus if He was the Messiah. Remember, John the Baptist had earlier said of Jesus “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me."(John 1:29-30). Yet the Bible says 

"And John, calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to Jesus, saying, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?” What was going on with John the Baptist? Was it discouragement, despondency, or misplaced expectation? Jesus could have set him free easily but Jesus did not do that. In other words, the imprisonment of John the Baptist was in accordance with the will of God. Oh, God, help us understand. John the Baptist was murdered by Herod but Jesus, the Son of God and God the Son did not make a move to free John the Baptist. 

We often think that God is obligated to give us all we want or to prevent us from encountering pain and suffering. God has never promised anyone a pain-free, suffering-free, tribulation-free, persecution-free life. And interestingly, the adverse situations are very often part of God's plan to make us the people He created us to be. 

"And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again. Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented— of whom the world was not worthy." (Hebrews 11:32-38)

By faith many believers have done exploits for God. They have subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, quenched the violence of fire, defeated armies of enemies, brought back the dead to life, etc. However by faith also, many have been tortured and killed, sawn in two, crucified, beheaded, stoned to death, imprisoned, afflicted, etc in accordance with God's will. The disciples of Jesus were killed except Apostle John known as John the Beloved. 

Oh yes, the will of God is very often perplexing. Presumptuousness will not suffice; wishful thinking is out of order; cheap grace is completely unacceptable. By the will of God, believers emerge victorious in battle but also by His perfect will others suffer death, go through ordeals, are severely tempted, are imprisoned and starved. Jesus Himself went through unimaginable torture and pain to set us free from the bondage of sin and the power of the devil. It was all according the will 0f God. Amazing!

Our preoccupation should then be to do God's will in all circumstances. No wonder Esther said, "If I perish, I perish" (Esther 4:16). Who can understand the mind of God? We cannot put God in a box and expect Him to respond to our whims and caprices. God is not a lottery ticket. He is the Creator of the Universe and He may well allow us to go through pain like Job or conquer Goliath like David. He may empower us to overrun Jericho or suffer in Egypt like the children of Israel did. He may allow us to be born with sight or bring us to this earth blind. Some may see their 90th birthday, other may pass away at the age of 50. 

Our focus should be the will of God. No wonder Jesus taught His disciples to pray as follows:

"Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven." (Matthew 6:10)

Nobody in his or her right mind will pray for pain or suffering, but trusting God in the matter helps us to go through the difficult times. Finding God's will and abiding by it in the situations of life empowers us to be joyous, strong, and to have a testimony. The Bible says, "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death." (Revelation 12:11)

We know God is alive, that He is faithful, that He is trustworthy, that He never fails, that He is the Beginning and the End, that He is the Alpha and the Omega, that His ways are perfect, that He is holy, that He is not the author of confusion and that He reigns forever and forevermore. Whatever the situation may be, trust in God. Seek His will and you will never be disappointed. God bless you and keep you safe and strong in Jesus' Name.