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It’s incredible how one quiet Friday night at home can lead to an entire lesson learned. It had been a busy week, and I felt tired after a full day. I decided to prepare my 1-year-old for bedtime so I could have her in her bed by 7:30 pm. What most consider to be a simple daily routine was the very thing that God used to speak to my heart about the will of God.
Will Vs. Will
My daughter and I seemed to flow seamlessly through her bedtime routine. Washed face? Check! Brushed Teeth? Check! Then, it was time for her diaper change. On a normal night, this diaper change is pretty quick and simple.
Tonight was a bit different. As her mother, I saw the big picture. I knew the end goal. I’d change her diaper and be sure to put on her pajamas so we can read her bedtime story.
These things could be done easily and we could be punctual and meet the bedtime that I had planned for her. I knew the remaining steps we had to walk through to get her to the final destination.
However, she laid eyes on the digital thermometer and it grabbed her attention mercilessly. I was trying to do my will which was simply to finish getting her dressed at this point. She was now trying to do her will which was to obtain that thermometer.
My daughter was no longer working with me to do my will because she was determined to complete her own. She reached and stretched for the thermometer and was determined to have it.
That’s when I realized that she wasn’t going to give up. As her mother, I wasn’t going to physically force her to comply so I took a step back and watched her. I let her pursue what she wanted to obtain so badly, and understood that my will for her was inevitable anyway.
I knew that it would slow us down and delay the fruition of my will to read that bedtime story and kiss her goodnight. However, I gave her a moment to obtain and play with that thermometer and it made me think about God.
The Will of God For Your Life
God has a plan for us and in some ways, He may view it as pretty simple. He sees the bigger picture and He knows the end goal. In fact, every day of our lives was recorded before we were even born.
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You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. Psalm 139:16 NLT
God knows what things need to happen in order to get us to the final destination. However, sometimes we lay our eyes on things that capture our attention and our desires.
We want that new job. That person wins our devotion when we are single. We devise a plan for our own lives and we pursue it with everything we’ve got.
As God is trying to do His will in our lives, we are now trying to do our own will. We are trying to pursue what we want and what we deem important to us at the moment.
God is strong and powerful, yet gentle and patient. He sees that we are determined to make this work. He realizes that we aren’t giving up. While He gently encourages us to keep following His plan, He doesn’t force us and He takes a step back. He watches.
God lets us do what we want to do because He gives us free will. He knows His plan is inevitable anyway.
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He understands that it will slow us down and may delay the fruition of His will, but He loves us. He allows us to learn and develop along the way. While He protects us and gently guides us, He doesn’t force us.
Final Thoughts About the Will of God
At the end of it all, I was able to get my daughter through her bedtime routine. In the same way, God is able to get us where He wants us to be.
While we may take a detour off God’s path for our lives, His plan for us doesn’t change. He is able to get us back on the right track. The moment we realize it’s become our will versus the will of God, we must stop, surrender, let Him lead us, and have His way. After all, He’s God, and God knows best.
Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path. Psalms 119:105 NLT
Whew, surrendering my will for God’s can be a constant wrestle, but the Holy Spirit keeps reminding me that God is for me and wants the best for me. Thank you for this beautiful post … 🙏💕
Yes, it can definitely be hard sometimes! God knows what’s best for us. Thank you for commenting!
Such a good visual example you shared about your daughter to help illustrate the point of will vs. will. I love how you said no matter what she did, your will for her was inevitable. And so it is with God…even when we’re disobedient, go off track, or do things our own way, in reality we can’t mess up His ultimate plan for us. He uses every piece of the puzzle as He wills. Great post!
Praise God we can mess up His plan! He is so kind, loving, and merciful. Thank you for your comment, Shanna!
Accepting God’s will for our life can be difficult, depending if we are in agreement or not… but we have to trust that He knows better than us.
Yes it can be difficult at times. God knows best. You’re so right, we have to trust Him.
Surrendering to God and doing His Will in your life can be challenging. Firstly, not everyone knows what God’s plan is for their lives. And secondly, with the struggles and battles we face in our lives, especially between the flesh and spirit, we are constantly distracted. I believe that all of this takes time. We need to stay focused on God above and not on the things of this world. And if we don’t know what God’s Will is for our lives – fast and pray and continue to share the gospel with others!
Absolutely, yes, Amen! Theres no point even trying do do our own will, we won’t win!! It’s so much easier and better and freer to submit ourselves fully to him!
You are so right! It is better to submit fully to Him. Amen!