Living in the good, acceptable, or perfect will of God.

God’s plan is captured in and expressed by his Word.  God has a plan for every human being. That does not mean that his plan will come to pass in everyone’s life. Why? He gave us a will to choose if we will live in his good plan, in his acceptable plan, in his perfect plan or outside his plan. Alas, certain people choose the last option and proudly defend it till death.

A man or a woman’s life changes immensely the day they realize God has a plan for their life and decide to follow it. They may have lived, five, twenty or even seventy years before realizing this but that does not change the fact that God had a plan for their life. Truncated. Delayed. But a plan remains till they exit earth. They may discover it early or late. Clearly, a plan discovered late is a plan that may be fulfilled partially or never be fulfilled.

Romans 12:2, says do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

There are numerous spiritual truths one can glean from this scripture but for the purpose of this subject I want us to focus on few. Firstly, we are the ones to decide to be in God’s plan and to the level we will allow his will flow in and through us. Secondly, we achieve this by being transformed by the word of God. Lastly and the main point I want to buttress is that we are the ones to evaluate, prove, examine (Synonyms of the Greek work Dokimazo) and allow the will of God in our life. The best illustration for the word dokimazo within this context is analogous to how custom officers or immigration officers at the border determine who and what gets into a country.

So, God has a perfect plan for you, but you are the one to examine, evaluate and permit it in your life. You are the immigration or custom officer at the border of your life. The plans you resist will be resisted. The plan you allow will be manifested in your life. The plans you partially permit will not be fully realized. The plans you plead with God to change, remove, or permit you to have will be permitted. But then, do you want his good will, acceptable will or his perfect will to come to pass in your life?

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Bear in mind God’s already declared us a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a dedicated nation, [God’s] own purchased, special people, that you may set forth the wonderful deeds and display the virtues and perfections of Him Who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. 1 Peter 2:9 (AMPC). As far as God is concerned, his plan is that we should live in and fulfill his perfect plan for our lives, but God is not in the business of forcing people. That will be tyrannical.

A Christian living in the good will of God, is one who is already in Christ that is living in the will of God that is partially expressed (good will but not perfect at the moment). An example, in the bible is when Peter was preaching the gospel but not to the gentiles. At that point he was in the good will of God.  It was good that the gospel was preached to the Jews but God’s perfect will was that all men will hear, receive the Goodnews, and be converted (Matthew 28:18). However, Peter did not function in this perfect will until he received the vision to go to Cornelius house (Acts 10).

There are times we want to do something that is good for us and good to others but its not God’s perfect will. David desired to build a temple for God. While this was pleasing to God it was not in God’s perfect will. If he had gone ahead to build the temple it would have been good or acceptable to God but not God’s perfect will. Are there good things we are doing today that is not in his perfect will?

The acceptable will of God refers to situations where a believer is living in the permissive will of God (well pleasing to God but not his perfect will). In many cases the believer may be aware of the perfect will of God but plead with God for something else and God allows it. There are several examples in the Bible but one touching one was when the Israelites rejected God as their King and pleaded with Samuel to give them a human king.  God’s perfect will and plan was to be their King, but they requested for someone else, and he permitted them (1 Samuel 8:7).

Finally, the perfect will of God is the complete or mature will of God (God’s desire for you to fulfill his will at a particular time). Knowing and working in the complete and mature plan of God for one’s life is where God wants all his kids to be. Jesus Christ is the perfect example of one who lived in the perfect will of God from start to finish. Even when he could have deviated in the garden of Gethsemane he said, “Not my will but yours be done” (Luke 22:42). The perfect will of God is doable though it will require you to die to self first. But guess what? We already died in Christ (Colossians 3:3). Having died in Christ, God now wants us to demonstrate our submission to his will daily – make it our lifestyle. You let go of that ambition, that relationship, that job, business, habit, hurt, and pride that had kept you from fulfilling your destiny in Christ for so long and submit to his will in every area.

Here is a key point. Living in the perfect will of God requires a good understanding of God’s word, fellowship with the Holy Spirit, faith, and total surrender to God’s will and plan for your life. Interestingly, all four attributes are available to any believer in Christ who is disciplined to study, fellowship with the Holy Spirit, exercise their faith, and ‘die’ daily to self.

Where are you today in God’s plan? Are you outside his plan, in his good plan, in his acceptable plan or in his perfect plan? If you are outside his plan, meaning you are not yet a Christian, then its time to be one. If you are in his good or acceptable plan, then it’s time to move to his perfect will. You can do it! If you are honest with yourself, the Holy Spirit has encouraged you for some time to upgrade to the mature and complete will of God. Its time. Move!

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