Comments on: God’s Will Is Not a Place (a reflection to prepare for Advent) - by Susan Lawrence

By: Peter

Peter — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 13:37:21 +0000

Greg Koukl opened my eyes to this about a year and a half ago with an article he wrote entitled “Does God Whisper?”

It’s such a relief to know that when I make decisions I don’t have to strain to hear God’s whisper so I can stay under that elusive umbrella of his!

We can abide in him, make wise decisions, and trust him with the results : )

By: dani

dani — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 13:56:00 +0000

Hi Susan,
I have been thinking about the use of the word will as its so often used next to the word God. I also grew up in the church believing God’s will was a pre-set secret script for life that He had which i had to conform to.

I think this view depersonalizes God and dehumanizes me.

It depersonalizes God because I think it makes him seem more like a robot with a big boring book of the future than a real, living, loving, embracing Father and friend.

Doesn’t the word ‘will’ refer to the actual conscious deliberate action of or ability to make a choice? Not so much to the actual choice itself?

People usually think of God’s will as his ‘plan’ like its Gods to do list or some thing

But i think it refers more to his process of decision-making.

So when romans 12:2 says renew your mind so you can know what god’s will is, it is saying allow yourself, by the Spirit, to be transformed in your thinking so that you can think like God.

So then to conform to his process of decision-making is to conform to his way of thinking…

And I can CHOOSE to do this because I also have a will, or ability to make my own choices….he is not forcing me to do anything.

Even jesus had to CHOOSE to do his fathers “will” or align his life with his fathers desires or wishes. Mat 6:10, 26:42, jn 6:8

This is so freeing for me because for too long i saw God as a Mystery who was trying to make me DO something. But Jesus came to bring us to our Father. And this is a loving, freely chosen relationship.

Thank you for opening up this dialogue. So many are still under the weights of works-based living, not relationship-driven, love-compelled thinking.
2 cor. 5:14

By: Benjamin Ady

Benjamin Ady — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 00:52:40 +0000

Susan–thanks for writing. I like your criticism of the silliness of the umbrella paradigm.

I find myself wanting to translate that about which you are writing into my own understanding of the world, which by and large doesn’t include God. What you are saying makes a lot of sense to me. Happiness and fulfillment are not about what relationship(s) or work I pursue or don’t pursue. Happiness is about where I choose to be, attitudinally, moment by moment. This is a powerful and delicious belief, and it sounds to me like it is as powerful and delicious inside a belief-system which includes God as it is inside one which doesn’t. Hurrah!

Also–I want you to know I heard what sounded like gentle dislike on your part toward my responses not being about the central theme of your writing, so this is my best attempt to understand and engage that theme. =).

By: susan

susan — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 20:04:43 +0000

Amen to that. There IS so much more freedom in God.

Thanks for sharing, too, what your mentor said. Paricipating in decisions through prayer: that is a wonderful way to look at it. I’m reading George Muller’s autobiography right now, and I can see this truth played out in his life. That man prayed constantly, working out God’s will for his life, for his co-workers, for the orphans under his care…all through prayer and collaboration with God and His will.

VERY good things to think about.

By: susan

susan — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 20:01:48 +0000

Thank you, Kevin, for writing from your wealth of experience. I appreciate that, and thanks for pointing out that God is “grand enough” to take all our decisions–the great ones, the poorest ones–and remake them for His glory.

“Further up and further in,” indeed! I love that part of the Narnia story.