God’s Will vs. Our Will — Part 3

The View From Above: Thoughts To Help With Everyday Life

September 10, 2026

Pastor Paul Stephens

God’s Will vs. Our Will — Part 3

That’s the question for the ages, isn’t it?

I’ve always loved the verse in Jeremiah. He’s a young man, probably a teenager, when God visited him and said:

Jeremiah 1:5

“Before I formed you in the womb I KNEW YOU; Before you were born I SANCTIFIED YOU; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”

Before he was born…before WE were born?

Really?

Yes! Really!

There is so much more to life than what we think. It’s not just about us and what we want to do. It’s about discovering what God’s purpose and plan is for our lives and desiring, discovering, and choosing that.

Moving forward in the will of God and experiencing His pleasure for our lives as we walk in obedience is the greatest adventure of life.

50+ years ago, this is what gripped my life as a new believer, having been recently saved…and then, hearing about and discovering that God knew me before I was born…and determined and fashioned a plan for my life.

I don’t want anything other than the purpose God ordained me for.

Life is about discovering and doing that.

What a thrill Renee and I have enjoyed over these many years of serving Him. When we first got saved, the will of God was unknown to us…we had no idea the plan the Lord had for our lives…and then, little by little, slowly over time, His will began to unfold.

We don’t know everything about the future. We don’t have a crystal ball…but we do know that our lives and our future are in God’s hands.

If we do our part, love, serve, and obey Him with what we know to do…the rest, the unknown, will take care of itself over time.

Psalms 37:23–24

“The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, And He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the LORD upholds him with His hand.”

God cares very much about leading you into His purpose for your life. It is what will be most fulfilling for you.

We stumble along the way. We make mistakes, errors in judgment…but there God is to pick us up, help us find our way in His will.

Much, so much of the future is unknown to us, but not to God.

He is taking us places only known to Him.

Let Him.

His plan is what is best for you, and you are safe in His hands.

The above verse is a beginning. Jeremiah is discovering what God has for his life…he chooses it and has a fruitful, lifelong, and very meaningful and necessary mission to fulfill.

Were there hardships?

Of course there were.

On one occasion things were so frustrating for him that he wanted to quit. Just because we are in the will of God doesn’t mean there aren’t going to be difficulties, setbacks, and seasons of frustration.

This was Jeremiah’s lament:

Jeremiah 20:9

“Then I said, ‘I will not make mention of Him, Nor speak anymore in His name.’ But His word was in my heart like a burning fire Shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, And I could not.”

No, he could not…

He came to himself, realized if I quit, I’m quitting on God, and I’m not willing to jeopardize my future just because of frustration now.

Then, he dove right back into doing God’s will for his life.

All this is something to think about.

Of course, loving Jesus with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength is the highest priority, but in the framework of that there will be the unfolding, day-by-day discovery of the plan God ordained for each of us before the world began.