God’s Will

March 28, 2019

When so much in life interests me, it’s easy to get off track from what God has called me to do, which is why sometimes it’s a relief when I can walk away from an open door. For the past week, I’ve been wrestling with a ministry/business opportunity that presented itself to me. My imagination was ranging all over the landscape as to the possibilities this venture would present. On the other hand, exactly where this would take me or how I would manage it was unclear, as was where I would find the energy and time to pull it off. I thought about it, prayed about it, talked it over with Linda, and decided yesterday to take action, so I had a conversation with a knowledgeable individual who gave me the information I needed for my decision, information I had been lacking. I was actually relieved to discover that the opportunity was beyond the parameters I had decided upon. 

People often talk about walking through doors God opens, but not every open door is one we should take. This door is still open; the opportunity remains, but I’ve chosen to walk away. Every road we take means there are hundreds of others we cannot travel. Years ago I chose to be a United Methodist pastor, which meant the early dreams I had of being a missionary in Alaska would never materialize. I chose to marry Linda (and fortunately for me, she also chose me), which meant every other woman on earth was off limits, not only because it would be morally wrong, but also because I value my body parts remaining where they are. 

Some people would look at situations like this in terms of whether or not it is God’s will, which turns every decision we make into a cosmic decision; if we get it wrong, we end up “outside of God’s will.” The problem with that kind of thinking is that it takes us down impossible roads. If marrying a certain person is a matter of God’s will, what happens if we get it wrong? Not only have I missed it for myself, but I’ve also ruined it for my partner and for the people we should have married, ad infinitum. It becomes a never-ending line of dominoes resulting in no one being able to be in God’s will. 

I believe God’s will is moral, ethical, and spiritual; that the Bible is crystal clear on those matters. In everything else God graciously gives us freedom to choose. Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight yourself in the LORD, and he shall give you the desires of your heart.” It doesn’t say he gives us the desires of his heart, but of ours. Put God first, and we have freedom. We don’t need to be fretting about whether this or that decision is God’s will. I love the way Luke states the matter in Acts 15:28–“It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us...” I’ve heard too many people declare certain courses of action with absolute divine certainty when it really was a matter of their own choice and preference.

So I walked away from the opportunity, and tonight I keenly feel the freedom of the Holy Spirit to do so, just as I would have felt had I chosen otherwise. I am thankful tonight that God’s will is not determined by majority vote or personal preference, and that God gives us freedom to think, to plan, and to decide. Sometimes it’s good to walk away.