“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” (Romans 12:2 NLT)
“In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:9-10 NKJV)
“Going a little farther, He fell facedown and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me. Yet not as I will, but as You will.” (Matthew 26:39 BSB)
“But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord wills, and I will know, not the word of those who are puffed up, but the power.” (1 Corinthians 4:19 NKJV)
“Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business, and make a profit.” You do not even know what will happen tomorrow! What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes
Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business, and make a profit.” You do not even know what will happen tomorrow! What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord is willing, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your proud intentions. All such boasting is evil. Anyone, then, who knows the right thing to do, yet fails to do it, is guilty of sin.” (James 4:13-17 BSB)
In my ongoing journey with the Lord, I am learning that before I can move fully into the Land of Mystery (Faith’s Treasure-House), and enjoy the Kingdom treasures that were hidden for me, I must embrace the fact that the Lord’s Will is NOT a mystery. It is actually just the opposite. It takes work at times to understand the Lord’s Will (prayer, fasting, Bible study and meditation, reliance on the Holy Spirit, etc.), but His Will is meant to be known. God’s Word is His Will (both written and spoken to my heart by the Holy Spirit). I have asked myself, “If God’s Will is clear and knowable, then why do so many wonderful, dedicated believers live and pray as if we can never truly know it for sure?” In my life I have found that it is misunderstanding what the Bible teaches about the Lord’s Will and Mystery.
One of the most common phrases used in prayer (and as an approach to life for many) is “If it be Thy will…” Yet, this phrase does not exist in Scripture. Perhaps you are like me, and have at some point misunderstood some of the passages which have been used to come up with this “if it be thy will” approach. Let’s look at them.
When Jesus was wrestling with His imminent suffering on the Cross He prayed, “not as I will, but as You will.” He clearly knew God’s will and was fighting through the emotions of submitting to it. He was not praying to submit to the unknown will of His Father. Somehow we make the mistake of thinking this is an example of “if it be Thy Will.”
When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray He gave them a prayer pattern to follow in which He said, “Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.” Somehow many of us have taken this to be a vague phrase, and have unintentionally twisted it to somehow fit into ” If it be Thy will.” Jesus was clearly teaching that God’s will for this Earth can be known by simply looking at Heaven. If it is God’s will in Heaven, it is God’s will on Earth. If it is in Heaven, it belongs in my life today. If it is not in Heaven then it doesn’t belong in my life today. This is what the whole concept of “binding and loosing” is based on. No “if it be Thy Will” found here.
The closest thing that I have been able to find to the phrase, “if it be Thy Will,” is a phrase that both Paul and James used when talking about making plans for the future. Paul, when writing to the Church at Corinth about his desire to come see them said, “but I will come to you shortly, if the Lord wills.” James, when dealing with those who were boasting and arrogant about their greedy future business plans, wrote, “If the Lord is willing, we will live and do this or that.” In both cases the writers were not saying that the Lord’s will is a mystery which cannot be known. Actually, they are telling us to search out the Lord’s Will in our planning and follow His lead. “If the Lord is willing” is far different than, “if it beThy will.” The first implies that in my planning I can seek out and know His Will for me, the other implies His Will cannot be known in advance (if at all).
Finally, I am convinced that knowing the Lord’s Will is the first step into the Land of Mystery. Paul told us that when we renew our minds with the Word we will no longer be conformed to this world and “Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” No more “if it be Thy will” for me.
As we dig into what “Mystery” is really all about, get ready to have your socks blown off. For now, let’s keep moving forward from…
…Eric’s Life Lesson # 57: “Living in the Land of ‘Mystery’ (Faith’s Treasure-House) and ‘Impossible’ (Faith’s Playground).” Part 4: Mystery and the Will of God continued.