My "will" is worth something sometimes, isn't it?

A friend of mine is struggling with notions of her will versus God's will. In fact, she's posted about it on her blog here >>.

I started to leave a comment off the cuff, but it grew long (surprise, surprise). These thoughts still aren't carefully considered--just quickly typed up in a single breath at the end of lunch.

~~~

I don't know if I can describe this concisely, but I'm willing to try.

"I wish I could somehow render myself completely without bias."

Why in the world would you want to do that? It sounds like you want to render yourself without personality, opinion, or passion--the very essence of who God created you to be.

I know that sounds cheekier than I mean it.

The longer I go the less convinced I am that God has a specific, discrete "will" for each and every decision made by each and every person. And yet that is what "Christianese" would have us believe--that every branch in the road has an "approved by God" option and a "well, screw that, I'm doing it my way" option.

And yet, we gladly extol how we are created in God's glorious image. We chase after the heart and spirit of God. We model ourselves after Christ. And we faithfully believe that the Holy Spirit can transform us from the inside out.

If all this is true then isn't it possible that our very personalities, proclivities and desire are part of God's will?

I would suggest that clearly when God wants something to happen--it happens. His sovereign will is absolute (see: Moses and the Red Sea, Joseph's life story or Paul and the early Christians for just a few examples). Additionally, God's moral law is also clear (mostly--I'll throw a caveat in there to cover those few grey areas subject to interpretation and culture and the like). But clearly we are called to live our lives subject to God's moral will. This is God's standard, but our responsibility.

That, then, leads us down to the daily nitty-gritty. Do I live in the US or Sudan? (We could all up and move if we really wanted, right?) Do I work for the Salvation Army or for Microsoft? (I hear Microsoft's stock is performing much better than most non-profits). What house do I live in? What car do I buy (do I even buy a car)? What sweater do I wear today?

Certainly some of those options could be immoral. But most of those choices are subject to our own personality, our own history, our own personal values.

I liked the Midwest better than California (but certainly not because of the weather or the scenery). So I now live in Ohio. But I think either would have been blessed by God and either would have been well within his "will."

The trick, I think, is to identify those places of rebellion within ourselves and diligently try to not make decisions subject to those aspects of our personality. But after that??? Roll the dice. Take some risks. Do what you want. The beauty of God's redemptive grace is that He manages to use us in spite of the apparent missed turns of our lives. God used a murderer to lead the Israelites, a son sold into slavery to protect those very same siblings and a persecutor to expand the very church he was trying to destroy.

So yes, subject yourself to God's moral law. Strive to identify and mitigate those shadows of rebellion in your soul. And then feel free to just blindly leap into whatever it is that your heart desires. Everything in my life (and the lives of so many others) indicates that God will gladly meet you there.