Will of God

To be "in the will of God" or to "live in God's will" is never an issue of one thing, one decision, or one demonstration of yieldedness. It is a matter of attitude--of a mindset according to which one lives his life.

To be in the will of God is to take His will as the general, governing rule and dominating principle of one's whole life. It is to be willing to do anything that God desires, when, where, and how God desires.

Christ is our example. He did always those things that pleased the Father (John 8.29). That was His attitude, His general rule of life, and the dominating principle in every decision He made. This is the "mind" that God wants in every one of His sons (Php 2.6-11).

Lewis Sperry Chafer gives a very succinct description of the elements of this mindset that should find immediate reproduction in the believer:

1. Go where God wants.

• Christ was willing to leave His comfort and glory as the Father chose for Him to do, and He came into this world to seek and save the lost.
• This element of Christ's mindset can be expressed this way: "I will go where You want me to go, Father."

2. Be what God wants.

• Christ was willing to become whatever the Father wanted, even to become of "no reputation" (which, sadly, seems to be the greatest fear among many pastors today; celebrity and recognition are forever sought as the stamp of approval on one's ministry, rather than yieldedness to God's will).
• This element of Christ's mindset can be expressed this way: "I will be what You want me to be, Father."

3. Do what God wants.

• In spite of His own human desires to the contrary, Christ chose to yield to the Father's will and do whatever He wanted Him to do (Mat 26.39). This obedience led first to a cross and suffering on this earth, but it later led to glory and reward in heaven (Php 2.8-11). We should expect the same if we choose His manner of living.
• This element of Christ's mindset can be expressed this way: "I will do what You want me to do, Father."

Since our heavenly Father is perfect and "omnibenevolent" (all good and only good), His children can rest assured that He delights only in that which is best for each child, and that He will never impose upon him or be careless. Because of this, living in the will of God as Christ did (with His mindset) is simply a matter of faith. Do we really believe what God said, so much so that we adjust our entire lives to live according to the same?

And let's always remember that this kind of life that is yielded always to the will of God is a "sacrificial" life, and therefore it is voluntary. Christ rescued us from slavery to sin; He Himself is no taskmaster. The rescued and redeemed, however, may willingly choose, by personal dedication to the Master, to serve as His bondslaves. Our words are those of Exodus 21.5-6: "I love my Master . . . I will not go out free . . ."

This type of sacrificial life yielded to the will of God isn't necessarily painful; but it is always good, acceptable, and perfect (Rom 12.1-2). Chafer said, "Some pain may lie in the path, but the prevailing note is one of joy and the experience of the heart is peace."

Reference:

Lewis Sperry Chafer, Pneumatology, vol. 6 of Systematic Theology (Dallas, TX: Dallas Theological Seminary, 1976), pp. 257-59.

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