Walking in God’s Will Courageously

“Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.” (James 4:13-17, ESV)

This week, I met a new friend for dinner. While praying to bless the food, I said something along the lines of, “Lord, give us the courage to walk in your will.”

When I finished, she asked me what I meant by asking for the courage to walk with the Lord. And I sort of paused, because it’s something I have been asking God a lot lately in my personal prayers.

Have you ever been praying to God for something, and in your own mind the path from A to B is obvious? Have you ever mistaken that easy, obvious path as God’s will? Or maybe God closed the door on that route and left you feeling confused. Why would God tease us with something that seemed like an answer to prayer, only for it to pass right over us?

Maybe you were accepted into your dream university with guaranteed pipelines to your ultimate career, only to find out there is no financial aid to help you fund your education there. If it weren’t for that one thing, you’d attend in a heartbeat, but without financing, it’s out of the question, so you have to go to a different, more affordable school. It’s not that you’ll never reach your goal of graduating with a degree and working in your desired field, it’s just that it might take extra steps. It might take a different kind of training. It might mean the steps are a little different.

Maybe you worked your tail off for a promotion at work. You killed it at every assignment, board meeting, and your clients were highly satisfied. You were working hard and felt like you were the obvious choice. Your higher-ups were singing your praises and recognizing your talent. But you were still passed over for the promotion. It doesn’t mean you won’t get it next time. Maybe you just need more time or experience, or maybe you’re meant for another position.

I’m sure we can apply this feeling to a thousand other things. Still, it rings true that there are times in our lives where we are traveling from point A to point B. In those times, do we depend on, wait for, and obediently walk in God’s will in getting us there, or do we strive towards and labor against it by insisting that our way is better?

Sometimes, we get caught up in the misunderstanding that God’s will is not for us to always have our will. 

Ouch. That’s a hard truth, but one we need to hear. 

Sometimes, God’s will is that our process takes longer or follows a different route. Sometimes, God’s will is for us to not receive our desires in our way, in order for us to be blessed beyond what we can see in our own perspective. Think about it: If God just answered prayers with the most direct or easiest solutions, we wouldn’t have testimonies that spoke to the glory and power of the Lord. Most of the time, when we walk in God’s will, it’s the more roundabout way so that we can’t take credit for it. If His will was exactly like ours, we would never get to experience His glory for ourselves.

How wonderful, to be able to see Him at work in our lives, simply by yielding to His will. Who are we to make plans outside of it? 

Yes, when all is said and done, our lives are but vapors. We are here and then gone. Life is but a moment and we don’t know when our moment here on earth will be over. So to toil and plan our lives as if we think we could live even one day longer than what God wills for us is beyond silly. It’s foolish. And that’s not to say that we shouldn’t plan, dream, or have long term goals. It’s actually quite the opposite. We absolutely should, but when we do, we should humbly submit to our God that has His own, ultimate will. 

If He wills it, it will come to pass. We can fight it, like Jonah; only to be swallowed up by a whale and spat out directly in the course of His will for us anyway. Or we could walk willingly within it, like Joseph as a slave in Egypt; knowing that God knows better than we ever could.

Our obedience to God’s will is everything. A lot of the time, it will take our own courage to walk in it because God doesn’t always ask us to do what is expected, say what is easy, or live where we are comfortable. The clear path that I see forward isn’t always the one that God has ordained for me. It is the same with you. We need to have faith that even though the road God wants us to take may be hard, harrowing, and full of hard work ahead, He won’t lead us into a dead end or leave us to struggle alone.

I like the way Spurgeon says it: “There are two great certainties about things that shall come to pass — one is that God knows, and the other is that we do not know.”

If you’re waiting on God’s will for something today, I am praying that you have answers soon, even if it’s just the next, immediate step on this journey. If you’re looking at a situation where God is asking you to take a crazy path, then I am praying that God gives you the courage to obediently follow Him. He has foresight we do not, friends, and His way is always better than ours. Those hard turns and heavy losses are always worth it in the end, and they all pale in comparison to seeing His glory coming to pass in our lives.

Take courage and allow the Lord to lead you in His perfect will. He cannot lead you wrong.