Good and Perfect Will

Did you know that if you are a follower of Christ, that even if you aren't in His perfect will, that you are still in His good will?

Some people seem to think that when they make a less than perfect choice or step outside of His perfect will for their lives that they are quickly and eagerly punished by a wrathful God.  Zapped by lightening while He sits up there glaring and fuming with smoke rolling out his ears.

I beg to differ.

The Bible tells us over and over that He wants good for us.  Everything that He made was good.  He sat back after having inspected his creation and declared it good.  Even us.  In his image, were created good.

Yes, there is decay and evil in all of us and all throughout the world that is rotting away at the beauty and perfection that was once our perfect world.

BUT!  If you are in Christ, you are a new creation.  And boy let me tell ya.  He makes all things new!  The moment we choose a life with Christ he steps in, holds an umbrella over us to block the hardest downpour of the rain and protects us like a momma goose.

So even IF we step outside of his perfect will, we are still in his good will.  Let me explain.  Romans 8:28 says that we know that in all things, He works for the good of those that love him.

He is able to take any circumstance, any mistake, any tragedy, and turn it around into something good in our lives.

I say this, not because I think it means that it's EVER ok for us to willfully choose to do what we know is wrong, but because I believe even if we sometimes are caught up in sin and get swept away in it making some terrible choices, that God's grace and love for us STILL covers us and protects us from the full force of what those choices COULD HAVE done to our lives/family/friends.

Also, let's face it.  Sometimes, even if we are trying with all our might to do what we believe is His perfect will, sometimes we make a mistake hearing him.  Sometimes it's just HARD to know the right choice to make.

When that happens, do we still have a mess to deal with?  Yes.  He doesn't step in and take it all away.  He allows us to experience a glimpse of the mess, but never we do see the full mess that He shielded us from.  And He does shield us!

You, O Lord, are a shield for me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.  Psalm 3:3

But just as an umbrella is no guarantee that we won't still get a little wet, having God on our side is no guarantee that we won't have repercussions for our actions and mistakes.

Satan wants to beat us over the head with our mistakes.  Christ wants us to learn from them and become a better people for His name.

The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy.  But Jesus came that I may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance.  John 10:10

So next time you find that you've made a wrong turn somewhere along the way, instead of thinking God is mad at you, remember that even IF you've stepped outside of His PERFECT will for your life, that you are still in his GOOD will.  Maybe not the best that He had for you, but it's still good.  Nothing will return empty.  It is all used for good if we love Jesus and seek Him with our whole heart.  Learn from your mistake and seek Him.  STRIVE for his perfect will, but know there's a safety net if we miss the mark.