As a child, it’s important to know the will of the father. Because if a child knows the will of the father, then the child knows exactly what to do and what not to do. The child knows what makes the father happy and what makes the father angry or upset. This also applies to you as a son of God (both males and females). The Father has made His will known through His Word and His Holy Spirit and as a son of God, you ought to know the will of God and submit to His will and walk according to His will, so that you’ll live in His will. But what if God’s will is not your will?
In the Old Covenant God made His will known through the law
In the Old Covenant, God made His will known by giving the law. Because God made His will known through the law, sin was also revealed by the law. Sin is doing something or things, that go against the will of God. If you know what the will of God is, but you don’t do His will, then this is a sin (a.o. Romans 7:7, James 4:17).
Therefore, those, who belonged to the house of Israel but refused to submit to God and obey the law, were disobedient to the will of God.
Due to their disobedience to the will of God, they received the punishment that came with their disobedience. Because God had warned His people and revealed to them what would happen if they chose to disobey His commandments.
They received this punishment because God is righteous and holy and can’t have communion with evil, the people would have a fear of the Lord, and to prevent that evil; rebellion and disobedience to God, would influence the others and they would adopt the evil behavior. Because if one person does something others will follow.
God knew the old man, who is carnal and therefore God had to deal according to the flesh with the evil works of the old man.
The people, who belonged to the house of Israel, were in a covenant with God and in that covenant, there were rules (commandments), which were written in the law.
Only those, who truly loved God and remembered the covenant stayed faithful to Him and obeyed the law (Read also: ‘The secret of the law‘).
God also made His will known through His prophets
God not only made His will known through the law, but God also made His will known to His people through His prophets. Since the spirit of His people was dead and His people were carnal and were spiritually separated from God.
God spoke to His prophets and made His will known. However, God’s will was not always in alignment with the will of the people.
The people of God were carnal and relied on their own insights and many times, they thought they knew it better than God and refused to go the way God wanted them to go.
Because His people were prideful, rebellious, and disobedient to the words of God and went their own way, God removed His protection and gave them into the hands of their enemy. Because of disobedience to God’s will, the people sinned and brought mischief upon themselves (Read also: ‘The evil that will come’ and ‘The mischief people bring upon themselves’)
The will of God has not changed
The will of God has not changed. God’s will in the Old Covenant is still God’s will in the New Covenant. However, because of the restoration of the position of fallen man and the peace that is restored between God and man by faith and regeneration in Christ, and because of the coming of the Holy Spirit, the law of God is now written upon the heart of the new man (a.o. Jeremiah 31:33-34, Hebrew 8:10-11; 10:16-18).
If you have become a new creation, then you know that it is the will of God that you love Him, with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength.
You know that it is the will of God that you keep yourself from fornication and that you don’t engage and defile yourself with (sexual) uncleanness. If you refuse to submit to the will of God and commit fornication, then you will disobey the will of God and sin.
If you know, that it is God’s will to stay faithful in marriage and stay faithful to your spouse, then you shall stay faithful, and despite your feelings and temptations and/or difficulties and obstacles you shall not commit adultery and don’t divorce your spouse. Since God hates covenant breakers, which you are if you commit adultery and/or divorce.
A son of God walks after the Spirit and not after the flesh and stays faithful to the marriage covenant he entered (Read also: ‘May a Christian divorce?’)
And so God is clear about many things in daily life and you can find His will in His Word
The Holy Spirit reveals God’s will
But God can also speak directly to you by His Holy Spirit about something that will happen in the future and He will make His will known to you. But what if God’s will is not your will? Because the words and revelations of God are not always positive. The words of God can be hard and confronting, but the words of God are the truth and shall always come to pass.
Words that go against the will of people and ominous prophecies are not always coming from the devil, as many believe, but can also come from God
Paul yielded to the will of God
Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia, After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not. And they passing by Mysia came down to Troas. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us. And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavoured to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them (Acts 16:6-10)
When Paul and the others had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, Paul was not hindered by satan, as satan hindered Paul to return to Thessalonica before, but it was the Holy Spirit, Who forbade Paul to preach the word in Asia. It was the Spirit, Who didn’t allow them to go into Bithynia.
Paul was born again and walked after the Spirit in the will of God and discerned the spirits. Therefore Paul knew that it was the Holy Spirit, who forbade him and not the devil.
Paul didn’t strive and battle spiritually and didn’t oppose the will of God, but Paul submitted himself to the Holy Spirit and obeyed the Word, and kept walking in the will of God.
Because of Paul’s obedience to God and submission to His will, there appeared to Paul a vision in the night. In that vision, a man of Macedonia stood and asked Paul to come to Macedonia and help them. Paul immediately responded to the vision by going to Macedonia, because Paul knew that it was God’s will that Paul would go to Macedonia to preach the gospel.
Paul had made his own will subject to the will of God and walked in the will of God despite the consequences. Because Paul knew what was ahead of him.
Paul had not received positive encouraging words and wonderful prophecies about his life from Jesus, but Jesus had shown Paul what he would endure and that he had to suffer because of His Name. Paul didn’t react indignantly and rebuke His words. Paul didn’t go against the words of Jesus and the will of God, but Paul accepted the words of Jesus and submit himself to Him and His will.
When his fellow believers warned Paul and asked and begged him not to go to Jerusalem, because the Holy Spirit had revealed that Paul would be taken captive by the Jews and would be handed over to the Gentiles in Jerusalem, Paul remained faithful to the words of Jesus and followed the words of Jesus instead of the words of people. Paul was prepared to die for the Name of the Lord Jesus.
Although the Holy Spirit had revealed Paul’s captivity, Paul knew that it was the will of God to go to Jerusalem (Acts 20:22-21:15).
‘Not My will, but Thy will be done’
Just like Jesus, Who knew what was ahead of Him and the sufferings, He had to go through and as He went to the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed to the Father and said, “Not My will, but Thy will be done” (Read also: ‘The crucifixion of the soul‘ and ‘The battle in the garden‘)
Because it is the will of God, that His will be done on earth as it is done in heaven. And everyone, who belongs to Him shall submit to Him and do His will.
Those, who refuse to submit to the will of God don’t belong to Him. They can call Jesus their Lord and go to church, have a ministry in the church, and/or even be a preacher in the church and do signs and wonders, but if they don’t obey the words of God and don’t submit to God’s will then they don’t really know Jesus and don’t belong to Him but are workers of iniquity.
What do you do if God’s will is not your will?
What do you do if God speaks to you and/or reveals something to you that is not so positive and goes against your will? Do you submit to the will of God or do you go against the will of God and enter the spiritual battle, because you believe that these words are not from God but from the devil?
What do you do, when God warns you about something that is going to happen or reveals something that is not so positive and is not according to your will and shall change your future? Do you consider this as a lie and an attack of the devil and do you apply all kinds of prayer technics to prevent it from coming to pass or do you submit yourself to His will because it’s God’s will?
What do you do, if God’s will is not your will? Because sometimes God’s will is not your will. But even if God’s will is not your will, then the same words of Jesus should echo in your mind so that you shall say, just like Jesus said, ‘Not my will but Thy will be done’, despite the sufferings, pain, and grief.
‘Be the salt of the earth’
