(Rom 12:2) And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
I firmly believe God has a plan for each and every one of us. (Eph 2:10) For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. If we follow the Lord’s still small voice, we will be led to the specifics He has for us (1 Kings 19:12). That’s what I want. I want to be right where He wants me to be. Some people call that the perfect will of God. I don’t know the right term for it because terms and labels many times seem to fall short of the concept they are trying to categorize or clarify.
How can anyone be in the “perfect will of God?” We all fall short of God’s glory. The Bible says if I have ears I should hear (Rev 2:7). But what if I’m not listening? God has plans for me but maybe I’m scared of that plan and am avoiding what He is leading me to do. Am I now in the “semi-perfect will of God?” Yeah, that’s more like it. That’s more realistic. I’m probably in the semi-perfect will of God but prayerfully striving toward the ideal He has for me. I’ll just have to trust the Lord to work in my heart and life and be like Samuel who said to God, “Speak Lord, for Your servant is listening.” (1 Sam 3:9 NIV)
Israel went against God’s will in asking for a king. The prophet Samuel got mad at them for asking such a thing because God wanted to reign over them in a true theocracy. Samuel prayed to the Lord and God responded, “. . . Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them.” (1 Sam 8:7) Well, they got what they insisted from the Lord and God gave them Saul who failed miserably. That’s what happens when we persist in our own way. Like the old saying, “Watch out what you pray for. You just might get it!” (Psa 106:15) And He gave them their request, But sent leanness into their soul. You can call this the permissive will of God.
Oh, to be where God wants me to be. No fussing. No fighting. To be like Paul at his conversion and say, . . . "Lord, what do You want me to do?" Then the Lord said to him, "Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do." (Acts 9:6) To be like David and say, “I delight to do Your will, O my God . . . (Psa 40:8). To even do the will of God when it gets tough like our Lord. (Mat 26:39) . . . "O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will."
Doing the will of God. I don’t know if I’m exactly in the perfect will of God. I know I don’t want to be in the permissive will of God. But I trust He is leading me. The will of God is that secret place. It’s that real but mysterious place all in one. (Psa 91:1) He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I desire that “secret garden” of assurance and protection. I long for that sense of peace and the feeling that I am right where I need to be. No other experience in life can compare with it. “Lead me, Lord!”
Louie