Making Sense of God’s Will

We need to remember that God’s will is good. It may not seem like it at times, but it is. His plan for us is good. However, He usually doesn’t give us a detailed blueprint. Usually, God reveals His will to us in bits and pieces. He sees the big picture, while we see just a little at a time.

If you had been the father of Joseph, surely, like all parents, you would have prayed for the welfare of your child. But when Joseph was sold into slavery by his own brothers, you could have easily said, “God, what are You doing? Why did You allow this?” Yet if God had not allowed it to happen, Joseph never would have been put into the position of influence that enabled him to save the country and his own family.

If you had been the mother of Moses, how your heart would have broken when you saw your child being taken into Pharaoh’s court! Yet it was all part of God’s plan to mold Moses into the person who would lead Israel out of Egypt and its bondage.

If you had been the mother of Jesus and watched your own Son hanging on the cross, how easily you could have said, “Lord, why did You let this happen?” But if Jesus had not died on that cross and taken our sins upon Himself, we could not know Him today.

The problem for us is that we have a limited perspective. We are confined by time and space. We can see only the things that are happening in the present and only things that occur in our vicinity. The future is obscured to us. And so is the big picture of God’s work.

The apostle Paul put it this way: “Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely” (1 Corinthians 13:12 NLT).

In the meantime, we can look to the past for reassurance. God has an unmatched track record for coming through for His people—not just in Scripture, but probably in your life as well. Think about those instances. Remember how He brought good from situations that seemed anything but good.

God’s history is why the psalmist was able to say with confidence, “Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!” (Psalm 34:8 NLT).

When you look at the will of God in progress, it may not always make sense. But you must believe that God knows what He’s doing. His will is good. Trust Him to finish what He has begun.

Reflection question: What unseen good might God be accomplishing in your life right now? Discuss this with believers like you on Harvest Discipleship!

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