Does God’s Will Always Happen?

muddy_shoes_cleaningadvices_blog_comWhat is God’s will?  How can we know God’s will?  Does God’s will always happen?  Can we look at the world around us and assume that everything we see is because of God’s will?  If we pray for something and it doesn’t happen, should we assume that it wasn’t God’s will?

The way that we understand, define, or think about the subject “God’s will” is very important.  This is one of those topics that will affect so many other things.  It affects how we view God’s character.  It affects the decisions we make every day.  It is difficult to overstate the influence this has on the lives of people that believe in God.

In this post, I hope to provide a way to think about God’s will that will be simple, helpful, and most importantly, biblical.

Defining “will”

When we talk about a person’s will, we are talking about something that person desires or wants. A person makes his or her will known by expressing it through some means of communication.  If you study this out in the Greek you will see this to be the case.  The Greek word translated “will” means just what we think it would mean…to desire or want.  A man’s will is something that a man desires…God’s will is something that God desires.

At this point I would like to offer a somewhat silly example to illustrate a point.

It is my wife’s will that I do not track dirt into the house after I have been outdoors.  It is her will that I take off my dirty shoes before I walk on the carpet.  She has made her will known by telling me.  She has communicated her will to me on more than one occasion, and that is how I know that it is her will.

However, even though she has communicated her will, this does not automatically guarantee that it will happen.  In this case, her will is directly affected by the choices that I make.  In order for her will to happen in regards to my dirty shoes and the carpet, I have to agree and participate.  If I choose to disagree or ignore her will, and walk on the carpet with dirty shoes anyway, then her will does not happen.

How God’s will works

God’s will works in much the same way.  He expresses His will by communicating it to us, and that is how we know His will. He makes it known to us either through scripture, or by communicating to us through other people, or by speaking to us directly, or a by variety of other ways.

Sometimes God’s will only involves something that He Himself will be doing, without regard to any other created being.  In these cases, His will always happens.  God is trustworthy, true, and powerful enough to accomplish anything He decides that He wants to do.  For example, it was God’s will that light appeared in the darkness during creation, and this absolutely happened (Genesis 1:3)

However, sometimes God’s will involves the choices that people (or angels or demons) will be making.  In those cases, He makes His will known by some means, and then the people (or angels or demons) choose to either agree and participate, or disagree and go their own way.  In these types of situations, God’s will does not always happen.  For example, God’s will is that you love your neighbor as yourself.  We know this because Jesus said it (Mat 22:39) and it is also written in the Bible in the Old Testament (Lev 19:18).  Unfortunately, this only happens on rare occasions.  For the most part, people do not love their neighbor as they love themselves.  So this particular instance of God’s will does not happen very often.

More examples where God’s will doesn’t always happen

Here are some other examples that demonstrate this aspect of God’s will:

1 Timothy 2:4 – [God] desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

It is God’s will that everyone is saved.  However, we know from many other scriptures in the Bible that not everyone is saved.  There are a multitudes of people that reject God’s truth.  Each time a person refuses to be saved, God’s will does not happen.  God allows people to reject Him if they choose to do so, but it is still His will that they believe and receive salvation.  (Note:  this does not contradict a proper Biblical understanding of “election” – see this post for more info)

2 Peter 3:9 – The Lord is not slow concerning his promise, as some regard slowness, but is being patient toward you, because he does not wish for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.

God does not want anyone to perish.  He wants everyone to come to Him and receive forgiveness and salvation.  But as I mentioned before, we know from the Bible that huge numbers of people reject His offer and die without being saved.  Each time a person dies without repenting and being saved, God’s will does not happen.

Luke 7:30 – But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the will of God for themselves, not having been baptized by [John the Baptist].

God’s will was that the Pharisees heed the warnings of John the Baptist, and repent and come and receive his baptism.  However, scripture clearly states that the Pharisees rejected God’s will, and did not participate, and therefore God’s will did not happen.  For this reason we cannot look at the actions of the Pharisees and assume that their choices were aligned with God’s will.  We cannot assume that what happened was God’s will.

Matthew 23:37 – O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!

Jesus clearly states here that he wanted to gather the Jews (the “children of Jerusalem”) to himself.  That was his will.  However, this did not happen.  For the most part, the Jews of his day rejected him.  The will of Jesus did not happen in this case.

Even more examples…

For a more general example, consider this:  over and over in the Bible God tells people not to sin.  Sin is not God’s will.  However, people still choose to sin.  Each time someone sins, God’s will does not happen in that situation.

You can turn to just about any page in the Bible and find an example of God’s will not happening because of the poor choices of people.  Here is a small sampling:

  • God did not want Adam and Eve to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:17) but they did it anyway (Genesis 3:6)
  • God did not want people to sacrifice their children to idols (Leviticus 20:2-5) but they did it anyway (Jeremiah 32:35)
  • God does not want people to commit murder (Exodus 20:13) but both the Bible and human history are full of examples of people committing murder
  • God does not want people to commit adultery (Exodus 20:14) but both the Bible and human history are full of examples of people committing adultery
  • God did not want the world to come to the state that it was in before the great flood (Genesis 6:1-6), as evidenced by the fact that He was sorry that He made man on the earth (Genesis 6:6).  However, the earth became that way because creatures with free will made poor choices that did not align with God’s will
  • God wanted the Israelites to enter the promised land the first time they came there, but the Israelites refused to go in (Numbers 14)

I could go on like this for pages and pages (and I may do that in a future post), but that is enough to make the point painfully obvious.  God’s will does not always happen.  Sometimes His will depends on the choices of the beings that He created with free will.

In the passage of scripture commonly known as “The Lord’s Prayer,” Jesus tells us to pray for God’s will to be done on earth as it heaven:

Matthew 6:9-13 (emphasis added)
Our Father in heaven,Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Jesus instructs his followers to pray that God’s will would be done on earth in the same way that it is done is heaven.  This implies that God’s will is not happening on earth in the same way that it is in heaven, and that the prayers and declarations of His people can have some effect on that.  If God’s will is always happening already, this this prayer makes no sense.  Why pray for God’s will if it is going to happen automatically anyway?

So what does this tell us?

Well, among other things, it tells us this:  You cannot look at things that are going on in the world and assume that everything is God’s will, because God’s will does not always happen.  Not everything that happens is God’s will.  God is not controlling everything.  He lets people make choices that affect the course of history to some degree.

If your circumstances are not very good, do not assume that your circumstances are God’s will, especially if those circumstances are the result of someone’s sinful choices.  You cannot look at some horrible tragedy and say that it was God’s will.  You cannot blame sin or sickness on God’s will.  If someone dies that you love, you cannot automatically assume that “God took them,” or that it was His will that they die.  It is very possible that God wanted something very different to take place.

God revealed his character and his will perfectly in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.  When we come across any event or situation that contradicts that revelation of God’s nature, we should be very careful before assuming that God wanted that situation…before assuming that it was his will for it to be like that.  Instead, remember that God’s will is good, pleasing, and perfect (Romans 12:2), and you can trust and take comfort in that.

36 comments

  • Drop the mic and walk off the stage!!! Good stuff.

  • I finally got an answer that really makes sense. Thank you!

  • Michelle Grienauer

    I am writing an journal about my pursuit of following God’s will and seeking him. I feel I need tools in my basket. I am using this as one of them. In the past, I feel as though I suffer with spirtual adhd. I hopes is this will help me more affectively keep on that path. Thanks for the article. It’s very insightful and helpful.

  • Very insightful and easy to follow. I met a guy who seemed perfect for me and after a yr and a half ghosted me. I’m disappointed and felt we were destined by God.

  • John Beckerink

    This is more Biblical than the extreme Reformed view that all that happens is Gods will. God is in charge but not everything is controlled by Him. Man makes choices.

  • Wow your explanation is so understood.Pastor Neal, God set HIS will, most time we choose to follow our own will. Thanks

  • So essentially, God is not sovereign over all affairs of men. What is the difference between His will of decree and will of command? Isn’t His sovereign will over all acts of men whether they chose to obey or disobey His moral will? The Lot is cast upon the lap but the outcome is of the Lord. So do we believe that God is sovereignly in control of every dice that rolls in Las Vegas or we believe that is just the luck of men?

    • Thank you for your question.

      I believe that God is absolutely, totally and completely sovereign. He can do whatever he wants to. If he wants to make a world where he is in control of every action that takes place, he can do that because he is sovereign. And if he chooses to create a world and populate it with creatures that have some level of free will, then he can do that too, because he is sovereign.
      If God wants to control every dice roll, then he can do that because he is sovereign. If he chooses not to control every dice roll, then also has the right to make that choice because he is sovereign.
      He is still just as sovereign, no matter what level of control he chooses to hold over his creation.
      I believe that our sovereign God chose to give us the ability to make choices, within limits, that affect things on the earth. And I believe that he is able to make this choice because of his sovereignty.

      • Amen! I totally agree that he gives us freedom to make choices. Although we pay the price for making bad decisions and run back to him crying for him to fix it. Just like we do to our natural father..

    • Yes, He is Lord and exercises His will in agreement with His predetermined plan. We can know His overall plan but the details of how they work out are often not known.

      • I agree. In my own simple way, I use an imperfect analogy of a chess match. Since God is all-wise, he will always win the game, no matter what choices the opponent makes. God does not have to resort to controlling the opponent in order to have the outcome he wants. He is wise enough to handle anything that comes up and still end up with his good, pleasing, and perfect will coming to pass.

  • Thank you for this teaching. You have not addressed why God doesn’t heal a sick person in spite of prayer and the fact that the person was a follower of Christ and did her very best to live by God’s will. Our prayers were not answered and I need help with specific reasons why not.

    • Hi Richard. First of all, I am very sorry to hear about the situation. Like you, I have experienced some extremely difficult times where prayers for healing did not seem to have any effect. In fact I am in a situation like that right now. I cannot tell you the reason for many of those. I can only give you my opinion on the matter, which may or may not be correct. So take this with a grain of salt, and know that my prayers are with you now as you are navigating the situation you are in.
      Healing does not depend on whether or not the sick person is a Christian, or if the sick person is good or evil. When Jesus was on the earth, he healed everyone that came to him, and none of them were Christians yet b/c he had not yet died on the cross. Also, healing does not depend on the faith of the sick person or the sick person’s family because Jesus healed people that were not even present (Mat 8:8-13), or when the family of the sick person was struggling with unbelief (Mark 9:24).
      Based on my study of scripture and my understanding of God’s character, it is my personal belief that healing is God’s will in every circumstance that I am aware of. However, God’s will is not the only factor in what we experience on the earth. I believe that there are other factors at play that affect the outcomes we see, and I feel like I only know a very few of those factors. This is something I am currently studying and seeking answers for myself. I have personally seen God heal 100’s of people, but I have also seen at least that many times when I prayed and there did not seem to be any improvement. I believe that if Jesus would have been physically present in those situations, they would have all been healed. As a Christ-follower, I have been commissioned to represent him the best I can. But I am still learning and there is so much I do not know and do not understand. I have to fall back to the position that God loves these people and wants them to be well, but there are factors I do not understand that are affecting the outcome and I do not yet know what those are. It is a difficult thing to deal with, but you cannot allow yourself to feel condemned, or to feel that God is not good. The one thing we do know is that God is always good, and the other thing we know is that we are forgiven and will never be condemned (Rom 8:1).

      • Hi Neal. First let me thank you for responding to me. Much of what you said is exactly my point. God seems to heal devout Christians and non Christians in equal numbers. And that is or seems to be contrary to Scripture. I’m not complaining, I’m trying to understand. I can spend a good part of my day just looking at His complex detailed creation and marvel at His power. There is nothing that will ruin my relationship with God. I know that we will all die and we cannot resent God for that. But when I ask why our prayers are not answered, I don’t get a clear precise answer. I know that God is perfect and He does everything for a good purpose and I would never be arrogant enough to criticize Him. I want to understand or just accept in faith. Richard

        • The best and most honest answer I can offer you is that I don’t know why some people are healed and some are not. It is something I pray and ask God about almost daily.

          That being said…in my opinion, the scripture in Daniel 10:12-14 give some insight into at least one possible explanation. Daniel prayed a prayer, and the answer was sent that very day. But due to some spiritual warfare that Daniel was not aware of, the answer was delayed in coming to him. This shows me that aside from God’s will, and aside from the things I see and know, there are many other factors in play that I am simply not aware of. So the way I deal with this personally is to choose to believe God is good, and that healing is still his will, even if that’s not what I experience when I pray. And I pray for him to teach me and train me so that I can represent Jesus more accurately when I pray for the sick.

          I hope that helps in some way. God bless you.

  • This is the simplest teaching on the will of God and yet deep. Thanks for the teaching. Blessings

  • One of our young ministers would always say” we will either be healed here or healed before we get to heaven. ” that gives me comfort, when I am sick😇

  • I have always believed what you just taught, and had many discussions for decades on this and related topics. But that only presents one sides’ argument. Could you please do a rebuttal and explain how those scriptures and concepts comport with these — Eph 1:11; Prov 16:9, 20:24, 16:33, 19:21; Jer 19:23; Amos 3:6; Lam 3:37; James 4:13-15? That might require a long answer, but thank you.

    • Hi Jim. Thank you for your comment and your question.

      I am not totally sure what you are asking, as those scriptures talk about many different things. I do not believe that God is not involved of the events of the earth. I believe that he is involved. I believe that there are some things that God causes to happen without any cooperation from any created being. For example, when he said “let there be light” then there was light, no matter if anyone else agreed or not. I also believe there are many parts of God’s will that depend on the cooperation of a creating being…human or angel, etc. For example, love your neighbor as yourself.

      As far as predestination goes, I have an article on that that may be helpful: Predestination – Short Version
      Here is one about election: Election
      Here is one about being chosen: Chosen in Christ

      If there is anything specific you would like for me to post about, please let me know. Be blessed!

  • Lauralyn Johnson

    Neal, you wrote this a long time ago but God used this today for me. Really appreciate your logic and use of scripture to make this clear to me. You’re doing the Lord’s work.

  • Thank you for teaching on God’s will. I have been studying predestination and God’s will. Your teaching has clarified many questions for me. Thanks again.

  • If God’s will is always done in heaven, it was His will for Satan to revolt. Struggling with this concept….

    • Hi Connie. That is a great question. I will share with you how I process this personally, but I am not dogmatic about it. This is just my own interpretation of scripture.

      In Genesis 1:1, it says that in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The word heavens is plural, indicating that there are multiple realms we could call heaven.

      In 2 Cor 12:2, Paul talks of being caught up into the “third heaven”, indicating that there are at least three realms we could call heaven.

      Combining this with other passages from the Bible, it seems to me that one way to look at it is this:

      Creation consists of the physical earth realm, and three “heavenly realms”.

      The first heaven could be the physical atmosphere above us, extending out from the earth.
      The second heaven could be the spirit realm where angels, demons, and other creating beings exist.
      The third heaven could be the highest heaven, a place in creation where God alone dwells.

      Assuming this is true, then I would believe that God’s interaction with Satan and demons and angels would take place in the second heaven. This is a realm where created beings can exercise free will.

      The third heaven would be where God’s will is the only governing influence, and that would be what the “Lord’s Prayer” would be referring to as heaven.

      I am sure there are many other opinions on this, but I wanted to share mine in case it was helpful in any way.

      Be blessed!

  • Thank you. For the dirty shoes analogy. Thank you for answering everyone’s comments. Thank you for your caring of others. I hear our Father’s heart in you. I _ feel_ the Father’s heart in your words.

    I’m thinking prayer opens the area to Holy Spirit to be able to enter. Also thinking on healing, there’s some understanding I’m missing. Or maybe it’s one of those mysterious seeing thru a glass darkly and the understanding isn’t available on earth.
    Which leads to trust and belief in what the Word says, to full circle to God isn’t in control of everything.
    This is a very new revelation for me, a Xn of 44 yrs. Thank you for taking the time to explain it

    • Thank you Janine for the kind words! That is the biggest compliment anyone could give me.

      (ps. thank you also for letting me know about the two typo’s in my other article)

      Be blessed!
      Neal

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