WILL
OF GOD; CHOICES; LORDSHIP OF CHRIST

One of the problems most frequently encountered by serious-minded Christians is how to discover the will of God in a given situation.…

First, it is absolutely essential that we be completely dedicated to God’s high honor and surrendered to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. God will not lead us except for His own glory and He cannot lead us if we resist His will. The shepherd cannot lead a stubborn sheep.…

Put this down as an unfailing rule: Never seek the leading of the Lord concerning an act that is forbidden in the Word of God. To do so is to convict ourselves of insincerity.…

Now, a happy truth too often overlooked in our anxious search for the will of God is that in the majority of decisions touching our earthly lives God expresses no choice, but leaves everything to our own preference.…

Except for those things that are specifically commanded or forbidden, it is God’s will that we be free to exercise our own intelligent choice. The shepherd will lead the sheep but he does not wish to decide which tuft of grass the sheep shall nibble each moment of the day. In almost everything touching our common life on earth God is pleased when we are pleased. He wills that we be as free as birds to soar and sing our Maker’s praise without anxiety. God’s choice for us may not be one but any one of a score of possible choices. The man or woman who is wholly and joyously surrendered to Christ cannot make a wrong choice. Any choice will be the right one.

Proverbs 3:5–6; Isaiah 1:16–19; Isaiah 48:7; Matthew 22:37–39; James 1:5–6

The Set of the Sail, 75, 76, 77.