Thursday 15 May 2014

Life's Decisions and God's Secret Will

Last night at the church prayer meeting one of our elders, Steve Tyrer, gave a short Bible study where he touched on the themes of God's secret will and God's revealed will. It's not a distinction that is spoken about that often, but it's a vital one that has some really important implications for how we go about making decisions in our lives as believers.

God's revealed will refers to God's written commands in the Bible. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength is God's revealed will for a Christian's life. So is "do not lie", "do not steal", "do not commit adultery", and "love your neighbour as yourself." These are all aspects of God's revealed will. If the opportunity for you to shoplift presents itself to you, God's will for what you should do in that situation is clear, it has been revealed in the Bible - don't do it!

But what about God's will for what jobs you apply for, or accept? Which church you attend? Who you marry? God's word reveals a certain amount about his will in these situations - don't apply for that pole dancing job, don't join a church that has chucked the Bible out of the window, don't marry an unbeliever, but that still leaves you with options. There are plenty of jobs that a Christian can do, there may well be more than one good church where you live, and you'll search the Bible in vain for the specific name of your future spouse! 

This is where it's vital to be aware of what is called God's secret will. 

Deuteronomy 29:29 reads, "The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of the law."

This verse refers to the "revealed" things, God's law, written in the Bible for us to follow - and we should follow it. But it also refers to "the secret things". The secret things are the aspects of God's will that we don't know - and can't know in advance because God hasn't revealed them in his word. God knows what his secret will is, but we don't (until it happens!). What we can know though, with absolute certainty, is that God will work his secret will out, and nothing can defy his secret will. He will also work all things (including his secret will) together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose (Rom. 8:28). That is tremendously reassuring, and it is also freeing when it comes to making decisions in life where God's revealed word doesn't narrow us down to just one option. 

So, say you have two job offers and there's nothing morally wrong about either of these jobs, God's revealed will (what the Bible says) doesn't rule either one out. It would be a good idea to pray about your decision, to ask for God's wisdom (James 1:5), seek the advice of some trusted friends too. But then feel free to make your decision about which job to take. You don't need to fret about whether you've plumped for the one that is truly "God's will" or whether you've missed out on "God's will". If God's revealed will gives you a choice, then prayerfully make your choice - you don't have to try and figure out all the details of what God's secret will is when he hasn't told you! And the fact is you can't ultimately defy God's secret will anyway - the decision you end up making will be the one that God intended.

In life, make decisions in accordance with God's revealed will. But when God's revealed will leaves you with a choice, prayerfully make that choice knowing that you won't be defying his secret will - he'll be working his purposes out through your decision.

No comments: