My way or...

Not long ago I was talking with a friend about God's will. Does His will always prevail or do I have a free will? If I want something and someone else wants the same thing, and we both pray that we will get it, then what's God's will? And what about my will? The conversation went back and forth, but I think we both agreed that God has given us a will and we can choose what we want. We don't always know the results of choosing our own way, but we can do pretty much whatever we want.

I've been thinking about it and praying about it for a few days now since this conversation got me thinking. This morning I was reading Jeremiah 41 and 42 and I think I achieved a conclusion. I can have my way or I can have God's way.

In these 2 chapters of Jeremiah, the people of Israel who weren't taken captive to Babylon decide to run down to Egypt and get asylum there. Before they go, they ask Jeremiah to talk with God and see what God says about their plan. They tell  Jeremiah that whatever God says, weather is good or bad, they'll do and obey. (Jeremiah 42:6.) So Jeremiah talks with God and 10 days later he tells the people of Israel God's answer. Basically God tells them to stay where they are and all will go well, but if they go down to Egypt they'll die there by the sword, plague or famine.

10 days might have been too long, because the people forgot what they had said about obeying God no matter what and basically start saying that Jeremiah was lying. They decide to go down to Egypt anyway. So they got their way. They used their free will to do what they thought it would be best. And not only do they go to Egypt, but they force Jeremiah to go with them!

But God was right...

Now could God's will been done? Can God's will be done in my life or are things up to me? I think this has 2 answers. I can choose to follow God's will in my life, but sometimes His will for my life is affected by someone else's will. Jeremiah wanted to obey God, but the people took him to Egypt by force. They used their free will to affect Jeremiah's will. We can say there was a change in plans imposed by other people.

Now following God's will doesn't mean that I won't have any troubles just like it happened with Jeremiah. In the middle of it all, God watched out for His servant Jeremiah. I remember once having an issue at work that I needed to take care of. I knew well what God's will was for my life. I also knew that if I followed His will I could loose my job. Still I wanted to do what He wanted for me and I trusted that He was taking care of me. In the end I kept my job and came out of the experience stronger because I trusted my God.

Still in my life I can choose to follow God's will and put my will aside. His ways are better than mine anyway. He knows the end from the beginning. He knows where I'll end up if I go my way. I also know where I'll end up if I choose His way. In Jeremiah 29:11 God says: "For I know the plans I have for you. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." That sounds pretty good to me. If I do what He wants, no matter what, in the end, all will go well with me.

That's an assurance I can't have if I do it my way. So to the question my way or God's way? Definitely God's way!