Whose Plan is It Anyway? Part 2

My recent post "Whose Plan is it Anyway?" received the following comment from one of my best friends and fellow blog author Jason (check out his blog at www.jasonwarrenemly.blogspot.com):

"Good thoughts on God's will. To add a little bit, one other idea I have heard repeatedly on God's will is you should be afraid of missing God's will, not afraid OF God's will."

I wanted to respond to this comment like I usually do, but I kept having conflicting thoughts. This thought is something that I have heard many times before as well, even preached from the pulpit. But I wasn't really sure what I thought about it. You see, I have also been told by my childhood pastor that I shouldn't fear missing God's will; that He would show it to me in due time.

I have spent time since I read this comment trying to decide what I thought. And I believe that I have sorted through my thoughts on the matter.

1. You should not be afraid of God's will. 

This statement I agree with wholeheartedly and without any reservation. While there will be hard times in my life (just as there are in everyone's life), I do not need to fear God's will. He is a good and loving Father. There will be pain, trials, hard times, etc (Remember Job?) but He only has my best in mind and will ultimately bless my obedience (Remember how Job ended?). Also see Romans 8:28, James 1:17, and Matthew 7:11.

2. You should be afraid of missing God's will.

I agree that as Christians who acknowledge that God has a specific path, plan, way, or will for our lives, it is only natural that we would be concerned with following it. There are many tragic examples in the Bible of those who did not follow God's plan and the consequences they suffered because of it. (Think of Jonah, Samson, King David, Adam & Eve, and the list could go on and on...)

We should be continually seeking God's will. We should be living in constant obedience in what we already know to be God's will. The thought of "going astray" should concern and grieve us. We should fear the consequences of missing out on what God has in store.

Such Godly concern for not straying from God's will is well expressed in verse 4 of the song, "Come Thou Fount."

"O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above."

3. You should not fear missing God's will.

I also agree with this statement. I know you are thinking, "Wait, what?! You just said..." I know that at first glance I may sound like I am contradicting myself, but allow me to explain. I believe that if you are living in constant obedience and daily following God's known will for your life, then He will continue to show it to you step by step, day by day.

I know that there have been times in my life that I was weaker in my faith. I didn't trust God's goodness as I should have. I was picturing God as a stern, harsh, taskmaster who enjoyed watching me scramble around trying to figure out what pleased Him. I knew He expected me to follow His will, but I also thought He expected me to figure it out on my own. I thought that He would only reveal it to me if I begged enough or was desperate enough. I thought that me finding God's will was dependent on me. Basically it boiled down to the fact that I was afraid of missing His will because I was afraid He wasn't good enough to show it to me.

I needed to adjust my thinking of God. In reality, He is a loving Father. God is good! God is loving! He may need to discipline His children but He takes no pleasure in our confusion. Anxiety and worry are sins; sin can never please Him. He doesn't sadistically enjoy seeing us scramble around trying to figure out what will please Him. He is not waiting and hoping for us to fail so He can pounce on us and accuse us. He's not going to play "hide and seek" or make His plans obscure and difficult to interpret.

When my childhood pastor told me not to fear missing God's will, he was trying to remind me of God's goodness. Yes, God does want us to seek Him. And yes, there may even be times when He doesn't reveal everything to us right away. But ultimately He will show us what He wants.

He always has a reason when He chooses to delay revealing His plans. Perhaps we need to learn patience first, or maybe He is checking to see how serious we are. He might simply be testing our motives. I think sometimes He just wants us trust enough to relax and peacefully wait for Him to reveal His will in His way and in His time. He may want us to learn to just "be still." (Psalms 46:10)

So in conclusion I would say, "Be afraid of missing out on God's will; do not be afraid OF God's will. But never fear, He will show you His will in due time."