Chapter 45
The Will of God
“Thy will be done, in earth as it is in heaven” Matthew 6:10.
The glory of heaven, where the Father dwells, is that His will is done there. He who wants to taste the blessedness of heaven must know the Father who is there, and do His will, as it is done in heaven.1
Heaven is an unending holy Kingdom, of which the throne of God is the central point. Around this throne there are innumerable multitudes of pure, free beings, all ordered under powers and dominions. An indescribably rich and many-sided activity fills their life. All the highest and noblest that keeps man occupied is but a faint shadow of what takes place in this heavenly world. All these beings possess their free personal will. However, the will has, by its own choice, become one with the holy will of the Father, so that, in the midst of a diversity that flashes out in a million forms, only one will is accomplished–the will of God. All the rich, blessed movement of the inhabitants of heaven has its origin and its aim in the will of God.
And why is it then that His children on earth do not regard this will as their highest joy? Why is it that the petition, “Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven,” is often coupled with thoughts of the severe, trying elements in the will of God? Why is it coupled with thoughts of the impossibility of our continually rejoicing in God’s will? It is because we do not take pains to know the will of God in its glory and beauty. It is also because we do not know His will as the origin of love, as the source of power and joy, and as the expression of the perfection of God. We think of God’s will only in the law that He gave and that we cannot keep, or in the trials in which His will appears in conflict with our own. Let us no longer do this, but take pains to understand that, in the will of God, all His love and blessedness can be comprehended and understood by us.2
Hear what the Word says about the will of God and the glorious things that are destined for us in this Will.
“This is the will of my Father, that every one that seeth the Son and believeth on Him may have everlasting life” (John 6:40). The will of God is the rescue of sinners by faith in Christ. He who surrenders himself to this glorious will to seek souls will have the assurance that God will bless his work to others–for he carries out God’s will, even as Jesus did it.3
“It is not the will of your Father which is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish” (Matthew 18:14). The will of God is the maintenance, the strengthening, and the keeping of the weakest of His children. What courage will he have who unites himself cordially with this will!
“This is the will of God, even your sanctification” (1 Thessalonians 4:3). With His whole heart, with all the power of His will, God is willing to make us holy. If we but open our heart and believe that it is not the law, but the will of God– something He certainly gives and does if we permit Him–then we will rejoice that our sanctification is stable and sure.4
“In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). A joyful, thankful life is what God has destined for us and is what He will work in us. That which He desires, He certainly does for those who do not resist Him but receive and allow His will to work in them.
We must surrender our spirit to be filled with the thought what God would have He will certainly bring to pass when we do not resist Him. And if we further consider how glorious and good and perfect the will of God is, then we will yield ourselves wholeheartedly so that this will may find its accomplishment in us.5
To this end, let us believe that the will of God is His love. Let us see what blessings in the Word are connected with the doing of this will.6 Let us think of the glory of heaven as consisting of doing God’s will, and make the choice that our life on earth will be in accordance with that will. And let us with prayer and meditation permit ourselves to be led by the Spirit to know this will completely.7
When we have learned to know the will of God on its glorious heavenly side in the Word-and have done it–it will not be difficult for us to also bear this will where it appears to be contrary to our nature. We will be so filled with the adoration of God and His will, that we will resolve to see and approve and love this will in everything. And it will be the most glorious thought of our life that there is to be nothing, nothing, in which the will of God must not be known and honored.8
Father, this was the glory of the Lord Jesus, that He did not do His own will, but the will of His Father. This glory I desire to have as mine. Father, open my eyes and my heart to know the perfection, he glory of Your will, and the glory of a life in this will. Teach me to understand Your will correctly, then willingly and cheerfully to execute it. When it becomes difficult for me, teach me to do Your will with loving adoration. Amen.
Footnotes
1) Dan. 4:35
2) Gal. 1:4; Eph. 1:5,9,11; Heb. 10:10
3) John 4:34; 5:20; 6:38,40
4) 1 Thess. 5:23,24
5) Rom. 12:2
6) Matt. 7:21; 12:50; John 7:17; 9:31; Eph. 5:17; 6:6; 1 John 2:17
7) Rom. 12:2; Col. 1:9; 4:12; Heb. 10:36; 13:21
8) Matt. 26:39; Heb. 10:7,9
Notes
1. To do the will of God from the heart in prosperity is the only way to bear this will from the heart in suffering.
2. To do the will of God I must know it spiritually. The light and the power of the Spirit go together. What He teaches to see as God’s will, He certainly teaches all to do. Meditate much on Romans 12:2, and pray earnestly to see God’s will correctly.
3. Always learn to adore the will of God in the least and the worst thing that man does to you. It is not the will of God that man should do what is sinful. When man does sin, it is the will of God that His child should be thereby chastened. Say then always in the least as well as the greatest trials–it is the will of God that I am in this difficulty. This brings the soul to rest and silence, and teaches it to honour God in the trial.
4. When God gave a will to man, He gave him a power whereby he could accept or reject the will of God with its full power. This is heavenly glory and blessedness, to be conscious that my will is in harmony with God’s will. God’s will lives in me. It is the will of God to work this in you.