God Willing

Read Acts 21???????? ????? ????????

So when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying,
“The will of the Lord be done.”
(Acts 21:14)

Food For Thought… “God willing!” For the Christian, that is either a fundamental guiding principle of life or nothing more than a vacuous platitude.

You hear that phrase quite a bit in Christian circles. It has become a part of our “Christianese.” In many cases, “God willing” is used almost as an afterthought or as an exclamation mark at the end of a sentence, perhaps to give what has been said an added spiritual punch. The problem is, the person saying it probably doesn’t even bother to think what “God willing” even means, or what it will require.

When these believers in the city of Caesarea said this about Paul’s plans, both they and Paul knew exactly what they were saying, and what would be required of him. They had tried to dissuade Paul from traveling to Jerusalem. They knew trouble awaited him. One of the respected prophets in the church, a man named Agabus, had prophesied that Paul could be certain of much trouble if he continued to his destination.

Paul was quite aware of the potential for persecution, imprisonment, and even death. But he was ready for that: “For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” (Verse 13) What was behind Paul’s determination? The will of the Lord! Paul had made a similar declaration in the previous chapter:

“I don’t know what will happen to me in Jerusalem, but I must obey God’s Spirit and go there. In every city I visit, I am told by the Holy Spirit that I will be put in jail and will be in trouble in Jerusalem. But I don’t care what happens to me, as long as I finish the work that the Lord Jesus gave me to do. And that work is to tell the good news about God’s great kindness.” (Acts 20:22-24)

Paul was bound by a purpose, and that purpose was to fulfill the will of God for his life, come what may. It was not to be comfortable, to stay out of trouble, to be successful or to live a long, happy life. It was simply to declare the Gospel of Jesus Christ as strongly and strategically as possible, even it that resulted in persecution, imprisonment, and death—which ultimately is exactly what happened to Paul.

“God willing” was a way of life for Paul—in scorn of the consequences. I want that to be true of me as well! How about you?

The next time you are tempted to use that phrase, stop for a moment and ask yourself, “do I know what I am saying? Do I understand what God’s will is, and what it will require of me?”

If you do, then by all means, go ahead and boldly declare it: “May the Lord’s will be done!”

Prayer… Lord, not what I want, but what you want!

One More Thing… “The golden rule for understanding in spiritual matters is not intellect, but obedience.” —Oswald Chambers