God’s Word vs Man’s Will
Isaiah 66:2
But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at My Word.
It is always a marvel to me that God created a being that would so try His grace. All through Scripture, there are accounts of men and women who professed to love God and want to serve Him and yet, their actions spoke loudly about their commitment to accomplishing their own will rather than living out God’s Word.
It is significant that I capitalize the word ‘Word’. Throughout Scripture, Jesus is referred to as the ‘Word’. In Genesis 1, we are told that, “In the beginning was the Word’. 1 John 1:1-3 reiterates this.
John 5:39
You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me.
Since then, we know that all of Scripture is a reflection of Jesus, and written to help us know Him better, we can confidently believe that what is written is for our benefit and worth reading and learning.
2 Timothy 3:16
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction and for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work.
So what happens when our will conflicts with God’s Word? It is essential to recognize where this conflict originates.
Ephesians 2:8
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast.
To begin at the beginning, apart from God’s grace, which is a gift, we are lost. We need to recognize that all that we are and do and have is a direct result of God’s grace and there is no room for us to be proud or to boast.
1 Peter 5:5
Clothe yourself with humility.
Humility is defined as a freedom from pride or arrogance.
“FREEDOM FROM”
In our society, all too often, we equate freedom with strength, power and control, but God’s Word tells us that freedom is actually found in relinquishing our pride.
Pride leads us to believe that great decisions, responsibilities, power and control lie with us. It deceives us into valuing our own importance.
Philippians 2:3
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves.
Proverbs 13:10
Where there is strife, there is pride, but wisdom is found in those who take advice.
“Oh, Lord, forgive the pride in our hearts as we destroy one another.”
Over and over again, the Word tells us to love one another. Ruth 1:16-17, is a beautiful example of self-sacrifice in the process of loving someone else.
John 15:12-13
My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
Ephesians 4:2
Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.
If being humble is directly linked with loving and serving others, and we know this (because we read it in God’s Word), why are we so often struggling with discord and conflict?
The answer is simple – although not necessarily easy. We need to go back to God’s Word.
There are key verses that we all learn in Sunday School or when we first become Christians. It is wonderful to memorize these and hide them in our hearts (Philippians 119:11) so we can draw on them as we grow. However, we cannot stop there.
Ephesians 5:12-6:1
For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food. Everyone who lives on milk is still an infant, inexperienced in the message of righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. Therefore, let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith in God,
We need to dig deeper.
I didn’t grow up as a Christian. Learning God’s Word was something I didn’t begin to do until I was an adult. Even as a new believer, I continued in sin, not knowing what the Bible had to say to me about the Word and His role in my life and my role in His plan.
Joshua 1:8
Keep this Book of the Law always on your kips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.
How can I keep God’s Word on my lips if I do not know it?
Romans 15:4
For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.
All Scripture.
The easy passages are not enough. Revelation 22:18-19 warns us that we cannot take away (leave out or overlook) or add to God’s Word without serious consequences.
In order to keep our will from usurping God’s Word, we need to know what His Word says.
Psalm 119:15-16
I meditate on Your precepts and consider Your ways. I delight in Your decrees; I will not neglect Your Word.
Whatever struggle you are facing, whatever discord, strife, or broken relationship; seek God’s Word for the root.
Proverbs 13:10
Where there is strife there is pride,
What is your pride doing in your situation? Do you believe that your carnal knowledge outweighs God’s Word? Are you using the world’s wisdom to make your spiritual decisions or are you rooted in God’s Word?
Luke 1:28
Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and obey it.