I spend most days in the constant struggle of choosing between my will and God’s will. God is gracious enough to allow us to choose, which is why He never forces His will on anyone. Sometimes God’s way is not the easiest; it may be full of challenges, but there is always a glorious destination. Matthew 7:13-14 tells us that the path to eternal life is narrow and bumpy, but the path to destruction is wide and smooth. As humans, we tend to gravitate towards ease, which is perfectly normal.
When you feel like you are running late to an appointment, would you rather take the shorter route or the longer route? I’ll be surprised if anyone says they’ll prefer the longer route, because, humanly speaking, it does not make logical sense. Does God’s will always make logical sense in the moment? The short answer is no. The issue is that people tend to prefer what is logical and not what God designed. Otherwise, there is also the temptation of taking God’s will and adding a sprinkle of your will, so that it can make sense. For instance, God told Abraham that he would have a child with his wife, Sarah, who was well past her menopause. However, it didn’t make sense to Sarah, so she influenced Abraham to get her maid, Hagar, pregnant. Then Hagar gave birth to Ishmael, but that was Sarah and Abraham’s will, not God’s. Yielding to God’s will can be long, challenging, and painful, but think about this: would you rather wait for Isaac, God’s will, or would you settle for your will, Ishmael?
How often do you brush off that nudge to do something or talk to someone? Or do you actually succumb to the nudge, but try to influence it like Jonah did? God told Jonah to go warn the people of Nineveh to repent or face destruction. However, he knew there was a chance that God’s mercy would prevail if they repented, so he decided to run away from God’s will because his will was different. When he eventually went to preach to them, he did it with the intention that they still perish regardless of whether they repent or not (Jonah 4).
People often find it easier to trust their own will because it appears to be logical, quicker, less scary, or better, but that is just what it looks like on the outside. On the inside, the reverse is usually the case. Ultimately, God’s plan for us is for good and not for evil, and to bring us to an expected end (Jeremiah 29:11). So, when next you feel that nudge in your spirit from God, humbly succumb to it and trust God to lead the way.
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