Permissive will that allows deadly deviations.
Permissive will that allows deadly deviations.
Matthew 19:8 He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.
There are different forms of wills and they give different results. The perfect will of God always gender unto life eternal while His permissive will result in His displeasure and judgment. A good example of differentiating these two contrasting entities is found in Prophet Balaam from Number 22:12,20,22,32. He received the perfect will of God to restrain from cursing the Israelites but his heart wanted to follow Balak’s messengers for the reward promised. Eventually, God allowed Him to go and he perished with the enemy of the Israelites. Many thread this same dangerous path of permissiveness and will certainly bear the consequences of their disobedience- Ezekiel 14:4 Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the LORD will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols. Many only come to God in prayers to rubber-stamp their selfish will and decisions, and they seldom go away thinking and assuring themselves they had gotten divine permission. Alas, they go headlong into destruction and peril.
In another vein, many attribute the matter of knowing God’s will chiefly to decisions in choosing a spouse. This is not a totality of truth because the Lord desires not only to lead us in making marital decisions but He is interested in every iota of our living to guide and direct us by His Spirit in alignment to His ordained pathway. Moreso, how can you seem to hear from a God you are not conversant with before reaching the juncture of marriage? Whenever we seek the Lord even in the minutest matter such as our daily sustenance, we must come with an open mind to receive divine instruction(s) with submission and prompt obedience to His words. We shouldn’t have any preconceived choice of the decision to take nor of the way and manner to carry it out. If we seem to have a preconceived choice, we must stay on the altar of prayer enough for God to work on our will until we are purged from our self-empowered wisdom and then we can hear the perfect will of God.
Meditation
1. The path that I have trod,
Has brought me nearer God,
Though oft it led through sorrow’s gates .
Though not the way I choose,
In my way I might lose
The joy that yet for me awaits
Not what I wish to be,
Nor where I wish to go,
For who am I that I should choose my way?
The Lord shall choose for me,
‘Tis better far, I know,
So let him bid me go, or stay
2. The cross that I must bear,
If I a crown would wear,
Is not the cross that I should take;
But since on me ’tis laid,
I’ll take it unafraid,
And bear it for the Master’s sake.
Not what I wish to be,
Nor where I wish to go,
For who am I that I should choose my way?
The Lord shall choose for me,
‘Tis better far, I know,
So let him bid me go, or stay
3. Submission to the will
Of him who guides me still
Is surety of His love revealed;
My soul shall rise above
This world in which I move,
I conquer only when I yield.
Not what I wish to be,
Nor where I wish to go,
For who am I that I should choose my way?
The Lord shall choose for me,
‘Tis better far, I know,
So let him bid me go, or stay
