Why Did God Give Us Emotions? by Reneau Peurifoy

Author:Reneau Peurifoy
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Counsel, Christian Life, Emotions, General, Religion, Self-Help, Counseling, Personal Growth, Counselor
ISBN: 9780929437163
Publisher: Lifeskills
Published: 2009-09-15T00:00:00+00:00

THREE ASPECTS OF GOD’S WILL

God’s sovereign will refers to the fact that God is sovereign and His will can never be frustrated. This is also called God’s decretive will or efficacious will since God decrees what happens and His will is always effective in bringing about what He wants. Another aspect of God’s sovereign will is His sovereign plan or ultimate will. This refers to His predetermined plan for creation that He ordained from the beginning of time.

As discussed in chapter 7, God’s plan for creation was to have people, the crown of His creation, live in harmonious relationship with him, each other, and creation itself. This is obviously not the case in our world, so theologians also speak of God’s permissive will in conjunction with God’s sovereign will. God allows both humans and angels to make moral choices that are contrary to His sovereign plan. He also allows the consequences of those choices whether they are good or evil. As a result, God’s sovereign plan can also be described as His hidden will, since many of the details about how God is working to bring about His sovereign plan cannot be known by us at this time.

A second aspect of God’s will is His moral will. God’s moral will is also referred to as His preceptive will since it describes the precepts or principles that we are to live by. These are the things that are pleasing to God as described in the Law and demonstrated in the life of Christ. Since this aspect of God’s will is also a reflection of His character or disposition, God’s moral will is also referred to as His will of disposition.

Finally, one can speak of God’s individual will which is also referred to as God’s specific will or ideal will. God’s individual will is what Christians are most commonly speaking of when they talk about God’s will. God’s individual will is also the aspect of God’s will that is most often misunderstood.

Many Christians believe that God has an ideal, detailed life-plan uniquely designed for each person. People with this view then believe that it is their responsibility to find that perfect place where they are supposed to be—that one mate, one job, one ministry, etc.—if they are going to be “in the center of God’s will”. They often further believe that if they fail to discover these details, they miss out on what was meant for them. Here are two examples of Old Testament Scriptures used to support this type of thinking:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5–6)

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you. (Psalm 32:8)

When you look at these verses in context, you realize that path and way do not refer to every aspect of your life, but to your general course of life when lived according to God’s moral will.

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