Your Way or His?

a new beginning

Everything is permissible for me, but not everything is beneficial. (1 Corinthians 6:12)

This issue of our will versus God's will is what hangs up a lot of Christians and non-Christians alike. We think that God only allows this and that, and that He's a tough task master and party pooper (no disrespect intended). This is far from truth. He gives us free will ~ the will to choose freely on our own who we will love, trust and obey ~ what we will do ~ how we will do it.

Ah, but here is a glitch. There IS a distinction between God's permissible will and His perfect will. Say what? Let me quote Oswald Chambers:

"Always make a distinction between God's perfect will and His permissive will, which He uses to accomplish His divine purpose for our lives. God's perfect will is unchangeable. It is with His permissive will, or the various things that He allows into our lives, that we must wrestle before Him. It is our reaction to these things allowed by His permissive will that enables us to come to the point of seeing His perfect will for us."

His permissive will steps back and freely gives us the choice whether or not we accept His love and salvation, wisdom and direction. His perfect will reflects a purpose and a passion for us that is beyond anything we can do or imagine for ourselves. However, it is only by acquiescing or surrendering our free will to Him that we tap into His good and perfect will for us.

So here we are, at 362 days of new beginnings. Do you take this journey on your own, totally absorbed in expressing your free will, or do you tap into His perfect will as a guide your journey? That's what I love about God. He doesn't force Himself or His way on us. He lets us choose.