Can God’s will for us change?

Understanding God’s will in our livesDoes God’s will for us ever change?  Can He definitely be showing it’s HIS will to be someplace, or do something, or live somewhere – and then change that on us some years later?  Some people say “no – God changes not.  He’s the same today, yesterday and forever” – another way of saying the “God who is, and was and is to come”.  I get that.

But does our great Creator ever change his will for each of us in our daily lives? 

Click on “Continue reading” for the answer.  It might give you a lot to think about.

My son-in-law and I were talking about this very thing a few weeks ago. He said some things that made me pause and think.  That particular time we were discussing whether we should sell our lovely home that – without going into all the details – seemed clear to me three years ago was clearly God leading us to this home.  I felt that for me to leave now, or sell this gift from God as I saw it, would be rejecting his will for us.  I was uncomfortable. I was feeling Yah might feel I was being ungrateful. We love this home so much and the almost 2 acres of park-like yard we have in the back, the privacy, the quiet, the safety of our long driveway for the grandsons, and so on. 

My son-in-law mentioned that God can change his will for us.  I started thinking and praying about that and this blog is the result of that contemplation. 

The first thing that came to mind was this: the really big overriding eternal things of God that show his will, such as his desire that all people come to repentance and salvation, will never change.  Or that God so loved that world that his own son came to die for each and every one of us, regardless of how despicable your or my sins were in the past. All of us sinned badly enough to warrant the execution of the son of God to pay for our sins, so don’t think you’re more righteous than that filthy “publican” over there. That kind of will of God is never going to change.  The same goes for many dozens of other examples I can give.  His overriding will is based on the fact that He IS love and that is never going to change.

But on specific day-to-day events where God is asked to show his will, and he does – yes, of course, over time—the conditions and circumstances can definitely change. Let’s think of a few examples where God’s will for our day-to-day lives can and does change.

It was God’s will for Joseph to end up in Egypt and be in a position to bless and save his greater family (Israel) alive.  Here’s what Joseph said to his brothers:

Genesis 50:19-21:   “Joseph said to them, ‘Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? 20 But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. 21 Now therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones." And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.

So at some point, Jacob (Israel) and all his descendants, ended up in Egypt. That was God’s will at that time.  But then hundreds of years later, God’s will of where Israel was to live – changed! Now it was time to leave Egypt, and hence the story of Exodus.  One time it was God’s will to go to live in Egypt. Another time it was God’s will to leave Egypt.  Same God. Circumstances changed, and so did his will for his people.

The same can be said of the young Yeshua (Jesus). At one time it was God’s will for Joseph, Mary and Yeshua to escape Herod’s purge of little boys by fleeing to Egypt.  Another time it was God’s will to get out of Egypt and return to Israel. An angel actually told Joseph and Mary to flee to Egypt (Matthew 2:13-15).  Then we read in Matthew 2:19-21, that once again an angel appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt but this time said to return to the land of Israel (Matthew 2:19-23).  He was even given further dreams into God’s will to specifically go the gentile region of Galilee. 

And maybe if we were more receptive to hearing God’s voice, we would also receive instructions from God as clearly as Joseph did.  I’ll give a sermon soon on how we decipher God’s will in our day-to-day lives. If you have some thoughts on that, send them to me or contact me. If you wish to learn more about “hearing God’s voice” – check out my sermon on that given around Feb 2009 and again Feb 2011 I think. 

So I began to realize that yes, I can see clearly how it was definitely God’s will to live in this house we’re in now for the past few years.  And now I can also clearly see, with peace in my heart, how we now must move – and all in the will of God.

I asked Yahweh to open the doors wide for us if he wanted us to move and slam them shut tight, if he didn’t want us to move. I prayed that I would be humble enough to accept his will for us either way.  The “For Sale” sign went up on the first day of this past week, and the next day we had a showing, then again to the same people later that day. They made an offer, we counter offered, and it was accepted.  The house still has to pass inspection and appraisal, so it’s not complete yet, but so far it seems God is showing us he wants us to move.  And since then some personal events have occurred that have made it even clearer to us that indeed we need to move.  

I could go on with many more examples from the Bible, but I think the two examples I gave are very clear:  God changes his will in our day-to-day lives and we need to be carefully tuned in to his direction in our lives.

I hope this helps.  I plan a more complete sermon soon on understanding God’s will for us in our lives.