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This is an important subject. Many believers do not grow in their spiritual life because they do not know how to walk in God's will. They have many thoughts in their mind. This appears to be God's will, and that also appears to be God's will. They are lost concerning which way is the right way. Since they are not conforming to God's will in their walk, thoughts, and work, they do not grow spiritually. We would exhort those who are not seeking God's will to seek after God's will and to be free from self-confidence and self-will. God is our Redeemer, and He has the right to demand obedience from us. This is based on God's right; it is also based on His love for us. We are constrained to seek after His will because His love has touched our hearts. I would extend an invitation to those who do not know how to walk in God's will to read the following:
God's expressed will is the original will in His heart; God leads and guides us toward His original will. God's permitted will is what God permits as a result of man's pleading. For example, a father and mother may see a need for a picnic with their children and then take them on an outing. The children may be attracted by the country scenery and request another outing. The parents may not see the need for this, yet because of the request and their failure to dissuade the children, the parents grant the request. In the first case, the parents' expressed will was involved, while in the latter case, the parents' permitted will was involved. What a pity that many believers only ask God to permit them to do certain things, but do not come before Him to ask if He has expressly commanded them to do such things.
We can understand this point from a case in the Old Testament. In Numbers 22, Balak sent men to invite Balaam to curse the Israelites; he enticed Balaam with much gold and many benefits. Balaam was moved (Jude 11; 2 Pet. 2:15), and he wanted to go. Yet he feared God and thought that he ought to first inquire of Him before he should make any decision. God had told him clearly, "You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed" (Num. 22:12). This was God's expressed will. Balaam should have canceled his plans right there and refused to go. But he told the messengers, "Jehovah has refused to let me go with you" (v. 13). How reluctant was his expression refused to let me go! The reason for this reluctance was that he wanted to go, but the Lord would not allow him. When Balak baited him the second time with greater honor, Balaam again went to God. This was strange! Balaam, did God not clearly tell you His will the last time? Why are you asking God again? Has your heart been touched by the offer of honor? Has God been touched by the same thing? Do you think that God's will constantly changes? Do you not realize that He is the same yesterday, today, and forever? If Balaam was sincere in doing God's will, he should have told the messengers, "God clearly told me the last time that I should not go. Please go back. I will not go." But he was too greedy for gain, and he went to God again. The Lord then told him, "Rise, go with them" (Num. 22:20). This word means, "Since I cannot keep you back, go." Many people do not understand why the messenger of Jehovah tried to stop Balaam and kill him. They do not realize that his way before the Lord was a "crooked pathway." This is true of many Christians. They know the Lord's will in their heart concerning what they should not do. Yet their heart craves to do it. As soon as an opportunity arises, they bother God again. They may refrain for a while, but their heart is far away from the Lord. When they finally have the Lord's permission, they cannot escape the Lord's rebuke either. We should strive for the Lord's "best," not His "second best." If our heart is not in a matter, but we still pretend that we are seeking after the Lord's will, the result will be nothing but chastisement.
God's will has been fully declared in the Bible. All those who seek to know His will can find His intention concerning any matter through searching the Scriptures. But many believers take one or two verses and consider that to be God's will and act accordingly. They do not care what the Bible as a whole has to say concerning this matter. This is very dangerous. Consider Matthew 4:7: "Jesus said to him, Again, it is written." Again! Again! Again it is written! The devil can tempt by quoting the Scriptures. If the Lord was like believers today, He would have considered the devil's words the words of the Bible and followed them. Did He do this? No, He did not. He considered the teaching of the whole Bible. He said, "Again, it is written." Therefore, if we want to seek after God's will, we must not take things out of context. We must not choose some verses randomly and think that they are the teaching of the Bible! We must always consider if there are other teachings in the Bible that have more to say about the matter in view and not decide in a rash way. The devil is the same today as he was then; he will use many isolated verses to deceive man, cause man to listen to one-sided truths, and do many things which are against the Bible and God's will.
Some believers are quite peculiar in the way they quote verses out of context. For them, reading the Bible is a kind of fortune-telling. When something comes along and they do not know what to do, they open up the Bible and pray, "Lord, I am about to do something, and I do not know if this is according to Your will. I will open the Bible. The first verse that catches my eyes will be Your instruction to me." Some may say, "I will open the Bible, and whatever verse my finger points to will be Your will." Still others may say, "When I open the Bible, a certain number of verses down (or up) from my finger will be Your will." This kind of soothsaying style of seeking after God's will is bound to be filled with errors. Satan can easily make our fingers slip to the wrong verse or wrong page. He can devise many ways and supply many opportunities for us to fall into his traps. It may be that we should stay in a place, but the devil can make us move away. It may be that we should say something, but the devil can make us shut up. It is entirely against God's will to make the Bible a fortune-telling book. It is very difficult to know God's will with a method that is far from His will! We should never seek after the Lord's will this way. We have to spend much time in the Bible in our daily life so that we can know the teaching of the Bible concerning a certain matter. When things happen, we will not be caught by surprise and not pick a verse hastily, taking it as God's will and acting accordingly.
"And let the peace of Christ arbitrate in your hearts" (Col. 3:15). "You will keep the steadfast of mind / In perfect peace / Because he trusts in You" (Isa. 26:3). If we encounter some difficulty and do not know God's will, a good principle is to consider if we will have the peace afterwards. If we will not have the peace, we should not do it. The meaning of peace is not a sensation of peace. It means an unchanging and normal calmness in our spirit. If by doing a certain thing, we will lose the calmness in our spirit, it is better that we do not do it. However, this is not an absolute indicator. Sometimes we feel peaceful when we do things that we ought not to do, and we are restless when we do not do them. Satan can work in our feelings to give us a false peace or false restlessness and cause us to do what he wants. Therefore, in considering if a matter is according to God's will, we should regard the matter of peace as a partial factor for consideration and should not trust in it completely.
Many people consider their circumstances when they seek after God's will. Their circumstances are their only guide. The result of this practice is confusion and failure. We can look at the story of Jonah. God's will was for Jonah to go to Nineveh, but Jonah wanted to go to Tarshish. When he reached Joppa, he met a ship which was sailing for Tarshish, paid the fare, and went aboard. The Bible says, "But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of Jehovah, and he went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare for it and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of Jehovah" (Jonah 1:3). If Jonah had considered the circumstances, he surely would have thought that it was God's will for him to go to Tarshish! Otherwise, why else would the circumstances have worked out so well for him? The first part of verse 3 says that he intended to go to Tarshish, and immediately there was a ship going there (v. 3b). He had money in his pocket and could pay the fare. The circumstances were absolutely favorable for taking this way. If a Christian was put in these circumstances, he would surely say that he was walking according to God's will. "When I do this, my relatives agree with me, I do not lose my natural friendships, and I can serve the Lord. There is no need to spend too much time or money, and the accomplishments are great. I can go when I want to go and stop when I want to stop. There is no hindrance whatsoever in the environment. Is this not God's leading for me?" Little does he realize that he has gone astray from God's will. Truly I say, the ships to Tarshish are numerous, and money for the fare is plentiful! Yet neither the ship nor the money can guarantee that your journey to Tarshish is the right one. God's will is for you to go to Nineveh. Therefore, in seeking after the Lord's will, you must not merely consider the circumstance. Otherwise you will be led into the wrong path. Another great attracting force in the environment is certain needs. Many times, we think that there is a need or a lack, that we are well qualified to meet the need, and that we should go to render help to the situation. "I may be short of training in theology. But there is an opportunity to meet my need. Perhaps this is God's provision for me." A common mistake of most believers today is to take the need in the environment as their indicator. Their slogan is, "We have to do it, because this matter has to be done." Little do they realize that what is needed may not be what God wants them to do.
Consider Paul and his companions: "Having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia...they tried to go into Bithynia, yet the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them" (Acts 16:6-7). Before verse 6 of this chapter, they did many works in many places. Believers were edified and sinners received salvation. They were going to go to Asia (which is today's Asia Minor). It seemed as if there was a great need there. Many people had not heard the gospel of the Lord Jesus' dying for man's sin and on man's behalf. There were so many needs. It seemed that God was leading them to go to Asia. Yet in reality this was not the case. The Spirit of the Lord did not allow them to go. The same was true when they wanted to go to Bithynia; the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. Therefore, in seeking after God's will, we cannot depend too much on needs, and we cannot be attracted by them to the extent that we lose sight of God's will.
Many believers in the church today depend solely on supernatural visions as a guide for their conduct. This happens more frequently among women than men. They speak a great deal about their supernatural experiences. They tell others about their encounters with Jesus and what the Lord has said to them. They dream about heaven on certain days, and they tell others what the Lord has revealed to them concerning their future and what they should do. They claim that they have some visions or interpretations and that they should therefore do this and do that. There are many things of this nature. I cannot say that all of them are false. But these things can only be an aid in our seeking after God's will. We cannot fully depend on them to show us God's will. Satan can counterfeit many dreams and visions to deceive believers and distract them from God's ordained way. Many supernatural experiences of the believers are only Satan disguised as an angel of light. They catch many of God's children unaware and cause them to do many things that bring dishonor to God. "And a vision appeared to Paul during the night: A certain man, a Macedonian, was standing and entreating him and saying, Come over into Macedonia and help us. And when he had seen the vision, we immediately endeavored to go forth into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to announce the gospel to them" (Acts 16:9-10). Did they not become clear about God's will through a vision? No, they did not. If we read carefully, we will find that only Paul saw the vision, but "we" decided to go to Macedonia. It says, "And when he had seen the vision, we immediately endeavored to go forth." They went to Macedonia not because Paul saw a vision. It was incidental that Paul saw the vision first. After he saw it, they were led of the Lord. This is why there was the one accord to go to Macedonia. They did not consider it God's will to go just because of a vision or dream. Moreover, the word concluding in verse 10 has the sense of making a deliberation after investigation. They did not move rashly upon a dream. Rather, they made the decision based on some conclusion. Therefore, in seeking after God's will, we should not depend merely on supernatural experiences. Rather, we should investigate thoroughly to see if something is according to God's will.
The worst thing for a believer to be in seeking God's will is prejudiced. Once there is prejudice, he cannot hear God's voice. Paul said, "I thought to myself that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus the Nazarene" (Acts 26:9). This was Paul's thought when he was persecuting the church. He did not know the relationship between Moses and Jesus. He thought that Jesus was the chief culprit against Judaism. He made up his mind to eradicate this new religion even at the expense of killing others, shedding their blood, and chasing down believers. He was willing to stir up these clashes and act according to his conscience. He thought that these acts were proper. He was wrong. He thought he was doing everything according to God's will, but he was actually doing the opposite. His mistake lay in his prejudice and self-will. He considered that his actions were proper. So he did not see God's will.
It is very easy for us to be prejudiced and biased because of our self-will. Our heart cannot forgive people who hate us and tolerate the things that we do not like. We are not willing to calm down and seek a solution according to God's will. We boast in our own prejudice and self-will, and consider them as God's will. We may find out that we were wrong, but it may be too late when we do find out! Every time we come before God, we have to drop all our prejudice and ask the Father to guide us. Although many times His leading is contrary to our concepts and ideas, we should still willingly yield to it. We must not plan and make decisions, and then pray. If we do this, our prayer is a kind of wasteful ritual.
Some believers are used to making decisions on their own. Seeking after the Lord's will in everything and acting accordingly is like putting a bridle in the horse's mouth for them; it is not easy for them to be subdued. Sometimes they reluctantly seek after the Lord's will, but before the Lord tells them anything, they charge ahead anyway. Our flesh is too quick to move. We feel that seeking the Lord's will and following Him is too slow. In seeking the Lord's will, we want Him to speak to us immediately so that we can move. Our Lord is happy to reveal His will to us. For our benefit He often cannot show us His will immediately because we are either not ready or the time has not yet come. Under such circumstances we should not be hasty; we should wait in His presence. When the Lord sees fit, He will show us His will. It is unfortunate that we seek after the Lord's will in many things, yet we do not seek after His will in the very matter of waiting for His will. We ought to seek after the Lord's will in everything. Even in the matter of waiting for His will, we should seek after His will. We should wait for His timing to reveal His will to us. If we do not wait on Him or seek according to His timing, our seeking after His will is probably unjustified and vain.
Please consider one incident in the Bible. "And he tarried seven days, according to the set time that Samuel had appointed: but Samuel came not to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him. And Saul said, Bring hither a burnt offering to me, and peace offerings. And he offered the burnt offering. And it came to pass, that as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came....And Saul said...I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering. And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the Lord thy God, which he commanded thee....But now thy kingdom shall not continue" (1 Sam. 13:8-14). Samuel had made an appointment with Saul for seven days. Before the seven days ended, Saul offered the offering while Samuel was still on the way. After he finished offering the offering, Samuel arrived as scheduled. Because Saul did not wait, he went against the Lord's will and was rebuked by the Lord. Although it appeared that Samuel was late, Saul offered the offering on the last day of the appointed time; immediately after the offering was made, Samuel appeared. He did not miss his appointment. Otherwise, how could he have rebuked Saul in the name of the Lord and pronounced judgment? Saul was rebuked because he could not wait; he was too hasty.
Many people are like Saul. They are momentarily touched by something and think that they have to do this or that to worship God; they think that they should go to certain places to do certain works. The feeling can be so strong that they cannot wait any longer; they are desperate to exercise their arms and legs. Have you ever experienced a kind of fire burning in your heart, forcing you to do something? If you do, please go to sleep. Sleep soundly for a night, and you will determine whether the pressing feeling is from God. Rest for a few days! During your rest, God will show you His will. You must practice this. If thoughts are suddenly injected into your mind by Satan, they will quiet down after a night's sleep or a few days' rest. We should never initiate our work based on some feelings. We should be very sure of what we are doing before we proceed with our first step. Otherwise, we will suffer the Lord's rebuke. May the Lord preserve us so that we will not wait for six or more days and give up before the end. May the Lord keep us from doing anything rashly before we are very sure so that we will not offend Him.
"And whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tent, after that, the sons of Israel set out; and in the place where the cloud settled down, there the sons of Israel encamped. At the word of Jehovah the sons of Israel set out, and at the word of Jehovah they encamped; all the days that the cloud abode over the tabernacle, they remained encamped. Even when the cloud continued over the tabernacle many days, the sons of Israel kept the charge of Jehovah, and did not set out. Sometimes the cloud was a few days over the tabernacle, and according to the word of Jehovah they remained encamped; then according to the word of Jehovah they set out....or if it continued for a day and a night, when the cloud was taken up they set out. Whether it was two days, or a month, or a longer time that the cloud continued over the tabernacle, abiding on it, the sons of Israel remained encamped and did not set out; but when it was taken up, they set out" (Num. 9:17-22). Here we see a perfectly submissive life. Both the tarrying and journeying were completely up to Jehovah. Wherever they were, whether by day or night, whether for two days, a month, or a year, they followed God's will. They did not go ahead of the Lord, nor did they fall behind the Lord. They walked absolutely together with the Lord.
Many believers are not like this. Some walk ahead of the Lord, making many proposals ahead of time, prearranging many plans, schemes, and strategies. They first consider and decide on many things and then work out ways to carry them out. After this they kneel down and pray, "Lord! I am planning to do a certain thing. Please help me so that I can succeed." Although they address God as Lord with their mouth, they are really saying, "My Servant! I have decided to do a certain thing. I cannot do it by myself. My Servant, come and help me!" What a pity that many believers have made God their servant without even being conscious of it! Sometimes when we make ourselves the center, we should not ask the Lord for help. Asking the Lord for help then only makes the Lord our servant. May we not make ourselves the center, and may we not go before the Lord and force Him to come after us. Some Christians behave the other way; they fall far behind the Lord. They often shy away from the Lord's commands. The Lord has called them to some work, but they are fearful and give excuses, thinking that this is humility. They do not finish the daily course which the Lord has ordained for them. They are like Moses, who declined again and again even though he was called, and would not take up any responsibility. May the Lord preserve us so that we will not be ahead of Him, nor fall behind Him.
Once I asked a Christian, "How do you know that this is the Lord's will?" He answered, "Because I have prayed over it." I responded, "I wish you had done this without praying over it," because his action was absolutely contrary to the Scripture. Many believers think that as long as they have prayed over a certain matter, their actions will be according to God's will. But this is not true! There is no difference between doing something after praying and doing something without praying. (I am referring to the believers who act without becoming clear through prayer that their activity is according to God's will.) Some people think that the first thought that occurs to them after they pray, or the first voice they hear, is from the Lord. Little do they realize that it is very easy for Satan to come in at this time, exercise his deceptions, and deceive man. Some consider the thoughts and voices they receive during their prayer as being from the Lord. But if this is so, can we say that all the confused and wild thoughts we have in our prayers are also from God? Of course they are not. If we cannot say this, we should not consider everything we hear or think during our prayer time as being from the Lord.
Some people think that if they receive some answer to their prayer, it must be according to God's will. For example, you may pray for the Lord to open a way for you to do something. The way may eventually be opened and everything may be ready so that you can do that certain thing. Under such a circumstance, it is very easy to think that it is God's will for you to do that certain thing. This can be true at times. But this can never be a perfect guide and tell you for certain that you are walking in His will. Consider one example: the Israelites lusted in the wilderness and desired meat. The Bible says, "And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul" (Psa. 106:15). Did not God answer their prayer? Did not God perform a great miracle among them and give them meat? Yet their soul became weak (lean) because they were outside God's will. It is easy to be misled into thinking that since God answered their prayer, the provision of meat must have been according to His will. Yet this was the very reason for the leanness of their soul. When we beseech the Father in the name of the Lord Jesus, He hears us. But we have to be careful to not necessarily think that we are walking in His will because He has answered our prayer. Sometimes we should ask Him not to answer all of our prayers so that we may stand firm in His will.
Therefore, do not think that because we prayed for a certain matter and received some thoughts, voices, or answers, our request was according to God's will. We must discern God's will clearly and not be led astray by the answers. (Please note that I am not saying that answers to prayer are unreliable. I am only saying that we should not rely solely upon them.)
Many children of God are often not at peace with God. When their wild nature erupts, they follow their own will. To deal with the lawlessness of this group of believers, God, at times, has to use sufferings, pain, and even calamities to show them His will and turn them. They will not stop the advance of their self-will unless they see God's strong hand. When they make up their mind to go to a certain place, they will immediately act without waiting for God's will. They insist on charging forward until they reach the end of the road and all bridges are gone; then they realize that they have not followed God's will. They do not inquire about God's will. When they set their mind to do a certain thing, they will not stop unless God intervenes with a strong hand to make them sick, financially depleted, or faced with unexpected calamity. These are the most pitiful kind of believers.
We can take Balaam and Jonah's cases as examples. Balaam was not clear until the Angel tried to kill him; he thought that his journey was according to God's will and that he could reap both material gain and fame for himself. Jonah had to wait until the storm arose and he was swallowed up in the fish's belly before he repented. If we are willing to be taught and desire to seek after the Lord's will, we will avoid many ill-fated encounters in our daily life. Much of the suffering, pain, and sorrow in our life is unnecessary. Only our stubbornness and ignorance drive these things upon us! Do not think that this is the experience of a special group of believers. We have to admit that many times in our experience, if God had not raised His intervening hands, we would not have stopped doing what we were doing.
"I will instruct you and teach you concerning the way you should go; / I will counsel you; my eye is upon you. / Do not be like a horse or like a mule, without understanding; / Whose trappings consist of bit and bridle to constrain them, / Else they do not come near you" (Psa. 32:8-9). These two verses clearly tell us that God has no intention to guide us with strong hands. He does not want us to be horses and mules, who only obey when they are led with bits and bridles. His intention is that we fellowship with Him, understand His will through intimate fellowship, and walk accordingly. The Lord promises that He will guide us with His eyes. This means that we should look to Him all the time; we should look to Him continuously. He does not have to open His mouth. He can guide us with His eyes. How wonderful this is! In order for the Lord to guide us with His eyes, we should be in fellowship with Him so that as soon as there is the command, we can immediately act according to the command. Please remember that we must wait on Him, look to Him, and obey Him. If we do, He will not have to deal with us through bits and bridles, and we will not have to learn about His will through the use of bits and bridles.
Those who desire to walk according to the Lord's will should pay particular attention to these ten points. Please remember that if we want to walk according to the Lord's will, we should try to understand His will from many aspects. We should not follow one kind of guidance alone. If we do, we will fail. If we make a decision by mistake before we are clear about the Lord's will, we should resolve to stop advancing and give up our opinions as soon as we know it is not the Lord's will. If we are clear that something is according to His will, we should not be discouraged and doubt the Lord's will, even though there appear to be many oppositions and persecutions (which may not actually be real) that may push us down. We should pursue the Lord's will all the way to the end and "press on." Then we will realize that the sufferings and oppositions that come upon us are Satan's strategies, which try to go ahead of God's move; they are but empty threats. When we obey the Lord to take on these challenges, they will become nothing to us! Then we will regret and realize how meaningless were our fears and doubts. After we are clear about the Lord's will, we should proceed on and not hesitate. There may be many threats along the way. But we will know that they are only "paper tigers" put up by the devil; they cannot hurt us. Therefore brothers, "Rise, let us go from here!" (John 14:31).
