20. The Will of God.

I. The will of God is that faculty in Him which determines the exercise of all His other powers. It is the cause of all things that proceed from God. It is free, intelligent, and sovereign. It is absolutely holy, righteous, and perfect. It cannot fail, it cannot change. God knows all good and evil that exists, or may exist; and He wills all good and in no way wills evil. He may permit evil in order to bring out of it greater good; and this is the explanation of all the misery that we find in the world. Whatever is willed by God is good. “God is not a man, that He should lie; nor as the son of man, that He should be changed. Hath He said, then shall He not do? Hath He spoken, and shall He not fulfill?” (Num. xxiii. 19). “I am the Lord, and I change not” (Mal. iii. 6). All things change around you; all is caprice and fickleness in men. You can rest only in the will of God. There is nothing firmer, truer, stronger, than the divine will. It is your foundation, your strength, your light, your law, your eternity. Unite yourself with it, study it, place all your trust in it. Then you will have peace.

II. Consider how worthy the will of God is of our esteem, reverence, and love. It is the will of One who is infinitely wise and knows all that is best; of One who is infinitely good and wishes only our good; of One who is infinitely powerful and able to effect His will; of One who is infinitely holy and can will nothing unworthy. How admirable and how consoling is such a will! And this will of God extends to everything: to our life and death, our joys and sorrows, our success and failure, our every step. Nothing escapes it. All is arranged by it. “Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and not one of them shall fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered” (Matt. x. 29). Nothing therefore happens by chance. Everything is directed by this loving will. Do not try to discover the reasons of God’s dealings with you; do not call them in question. There is reason enough in the fact that God wills them. Be persuaded that He knows better than you what is for your good. Confide in Him entirely.

III. The saints have all had an immense veneration and affection for the holy will of God. “Fiat voluntas tua!” was their watchword. They found peace and joy in it. All their strength lay in their submission to it. Try to form the same habit. Say often, “Fiat voluntas tua!” Say it especially when things go against you; when your plans are broken, your hopes destroyed, your life embittered, your strength exhausted, your prayers unanswered, your desolation complete. You are then nearest to God, because you are nearest to the suffering Christ. Let the will of God be for you the centre of your spiritual life. Say “yes” to all that He sends you. Let it be the food of your soul, the repose of your mind, the joy of your heart, the light of your path. When your work fails, your health breaks down, your friends forsake you, your powers fail you—say with resignation and confidence, “Thy will be done!” That is the grandest of prayers, the deepest of consolations, the most meritorious of acts. And when your end comes and the last struggle is over, say with your last breath, “Thy will be done!”