Entering this series we knew students would be impacted different across each topic. The last few weeks has been nothing short of amazing watching students evaluate their “real life” and how it correlates with God’s word and plans for them. Last night, we took this topic of God’s plans a step further and talked about what God’s plans are for their futures. No, we don’t know exactly what God has in store for their future but we know he expects amazing things from each of them.
There were two key areas we explored during our conversation last night.
- God has a plan for each student and God is the master planner. Even though God has a plan, how do we know our steps forward are of God and not of my own doing?
- The will of God. Have you ever heard, “Well that might not be God’s will for your life? What does that mean? How do I identify what God’s will is for my life? I broke down four key components or characteristics of his plan with the understanding of God’s will.
When Jesus spoke of God’s plan for all eternity, He spoke of God’s will. Likewise, when we speak of “God’s plan for creation” or of “God’s plan for the ages” we will sometimes refer to this as God’s will, and rightly so. But this “will” of God must be carefully distinguished from several other “wills.”
- The purposed will of God = God’s eternal decree
- The preferential will of God = God’s desire
- The prescriptive will of God = God’s standards for men
- The permissive will of God = God’s overriding will
The purposed will of God refers to God’s eternal decree. These are plans that will happen no matter what. Death will happen (unless Jesus returns of course). This purposed will of God will come to past no matter what.
The preferential will of God refers to what gives God pleasure or displeasure. Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane reveals that the cross of Calvary was not Jesus’ desire, but it was His purpose.
“God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” – 2 Peter 3:9
“He desires all men to be saved.” – 1 Timothy 2:4
Think of the analogy of a parent giving a child a spanking. Do you think it’s the desire of the parent to give the child a spanking or is it a parent’s purpose to teach the child? Our will as a parent is not to see the child hurt but to teach a lesson.
The prescriptive will of God is God’s will expressed as a standard for man’s conduct. Throughout scripture, God lays out commands, standards, and principles to help guide our lives. It’s God’s perspective that we will not steal, lie, and worship idols… Likewise, it’s his perspective that we will love him and love our neighbors.
God’s permissive will utilizes events even if they’re sinful to use those events for his will. When we fall short of God’s prescription for us, he will use those events in our lives for his will. God used the sinful actions of Joseph’s brothers to bring Joseph to Egypt, thus fulfilling his will.
While the students were processing the information, they quickly started to analyze God’s will for them. Asking questions related to listening and hearing from God. What happens if we don’t follow God’s will for our lives and do something different? A student even mentioned a desire not to pray for God’s involvement in her future because what if it didn’t align with her plans? Adults struggle with this same challenge. We think we got it all figured out; our house, careers, education, family and the list goes on. We take God out of the equation because we’re nervous of what he may say if it doesn’t align with our own desires.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” – Proverbs 3:5-6
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