The Will of God
Ash Wed Service Tonight at 7 pm @ Heritage Church
A Devotional for People Who’ve Blamed God for Parking Tickets, Hurricanes, and Overcooked Casseroles
Let’s start with a spiritual intervention:
Somewhere along the way, Christians decided God is basically a celestial event planner with an anxiety disorder.
Flat tire?
“God must be trying to teach me something.”
Got ghosted?
“God’s protecting me.”
A hurricane wipes out a coastline?
“Mysterious ways.”
Your lasagna comes out like a brick?
“The Lord has spoken.”
Friend… no.
That’s not faith.
That’s superstition with a Bible verse taped to it.
It’s time to grow up.
Because God is not a cosmic genie running around granting or denying wishes based on how many devotionals you did this week.
God is not in heaven going:
“Hmm… should I send Brenda a parking ticket today for character development?”
Relax.
“Everything Happens for a Reason”… Or Does It?
Christians love saying “everything happens for a reason” because silence is uncomfortable.
But sometimes the reason is:
someone was reckless
nature is chaotic
the world is broken
you made a dumb choice
or it’s just Tuesday
“Not everything is spiritual warfare. Sometimes it’s just poor planning.”
A More Mature Map: Three Ways to Talk About God’s Will
Here’s the metaphor:
God’s will is not a puppet show. It’s a rescue mission in the middle of a war zone.
If you walk through a battlefield and say,
“Wow, God must’ve wanted all these explosions,”
you have misunderstood the entire situation.
So let’s break it down.
The Intentional Will of God
What God Actually Wants
God’s perfect will is not a scavenger hunt.
It’s not hidden behind your missed exit on the highway.
God wants:
love
justice
mercy
healing
wholeness
reconciliation
And we know this because we’ve seen Jesus.
Quit saying I don’t know what God’s will is!
It’s in the Bible.
Can’t hear God?
Are you reading God?
Are you reading the Bible as much as you scroll your phone?
It’s in the life of Jesus. Imitate that life. Live like Jesus lived. That’s God’s will.
“If it doesn’t look like Jesus, don’t call it God’s will.”
God’s intentional will is not cancer.
It is compassion.
God’s intentional will is not destruction.
It is resurrection.
The Circumstantial Will of God
What God Allows and Works Within
Here’s the uncomfortable truth:
God gave humans free will, and we have used it like toddlers with scissors.
People choose violence.
Systems break.
Nature does what nature does.
Gravity does not pray before it pulls you down.
“God may redeem your mess… but He didn’t necessarily schedule it.”
God is not overriding every consequence like some divine helicopter parent.
Sometimes life hurts because life is fractured.
That’s not God being cruel.
That’s the world being unfinished.
The Ultimate Will of God
What God Will Finish No Matter What
Now here’s the hope:
God’s ultimate will is the final word.
Evil gets chapters.
God gets the ending.
Redemption wins.
Love wins.
The Kingdom comes.
“You can resist God’s will, but you cannot outlast it.”
The middle may be chaos.
But the end is not.
Stop Blaming God for Everything
When we say “it must be God’s will,”
half the time we mean,
“I don’t know what to do with pain.”
But blaming God doesn’t make suffering easier.
It just makes God monstrous.
God is not the one throwing darts at your life going,
“Oops! Hit another one with grief!”
“God is a Father, not a puppeteer.”
Free Will Is Real — and It’s Dangerous
Love requires freedom.
Freedom means people can choose:
kindness
cruelty
wisdom
stupidity
holiness
harm
Forced love is not love.
“If God controlled every action, we wouldn’t need salvation — we’d need software updates.”
God Works With What He Gets
This is where grown-up faith lives.
God didn’t cause the betrayal…but He can redeem it.
God didn’t ordain the accident…but He can meet you in it.
God didn’t design abuse…but He can bring healing beyond it.
“God doesn’t send the storm — but He refuses to abandon you in it.”
God is not the author of evil.
He is the redeemer of what evil tried to destroy.
Stop Sanctifying Chaos
Christians sometimes act like every inconvenience is a coded message from heaven.
You’re late because you hit snooze six times.
Not because God needed you at Starbucks for a “divine appointment.”
“Not every closed door is divine. Sometimes it’s just locked.”
Maturity is realizing:
Some things are spiritual.
Some things are random.
Some things are consequences.
And some things are just life being life.
The Cross Shows the Real Will of God
Want to know God’s will?
Look at Jesus.
On the cross we don’t see God enjoying suffering.
We see God entering it.
Absorbing it.
Carrying it.
Redeeming it.
“God’s will isn’t found in the tragedy — it’s found in how He refuses to let tragedy win.”
This Changes Everything
If you believe:
“Everything that happened was God’s will…”
You will eventually become:
resentful
terrified
numb
or emotionally exhausted
But if you understand:
God’s perfect will is good.
God’s circumstantial will is realistic.
God’s ultimate will is unstoppable.
Then you can grieve without blaming God.
You can suffer without accusing heaven.
You can hope without pretending.
That’s grown-up faith.
The Real Takeaway
God’s will is not:
every accident
every disease
every disaster
every heartbreak
God’s will is:
redemption
restoration
relationship
resurrection
Evil happens because the world is fractured.
But God is relentless in bringing good from it.
Final Word (With a Wink)
Next time something awful happens, instead of saying:
“Well, I guess God wanted this…”
Try saying:
“This wasn’t what God wanted — but I trust He’s not finished.”
That’s not denial.
That’s maturity.
And honestly?
It’s time the Church stopped acting like God is a cosmic genie with a mood swing.
Grow up.
God’s better than that.
The Best Is Yet to Come, Because God’s Ultimate Will Be Done
Rev. John Roberts
I have been guilty in the past of thinking this must have happened for a reason. Thank you, John, for this excellent reminder of the better way to think about things that happen and God’s will. I will endeavor to work harder at this!