The Daily Fountain Devotional of the Church Of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) 8 October 2024 — The Permissive Will Of God
TOPIC: The Permissive Will Of God
READ: 1 Samuel 8: 6-9 (NKJV)
- But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” So Samuel prayed to the LORD.
- And the LORD said to Samuel, “Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them.
- “According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt, even to this day — with which they have forsaken Me and served other gods — so they are doing to you also.
- “Now therefore, heed their voice. However, you shall solemnly forewarn them, and show them the behavior of the king who will reign over them.”
THE MESSAGE:
Samuel took the request for a king by the elders of Israel to prayer. Though He failed God in raising godly children, he still maintained a commendable life of seeking God’s face in prayer. The intention of Israel to be like other nations made God unhappy and He said they had rejected Him. This is because the correct thing they would have done was to ask God to appoint another leader since their judges were corrupt. God however allowed them to have their way as His permissive will. This means that not all answered prayers or manifestations of fulfilled desires are the perfect will of God for our lives.
God’s perfect will is always better than His permissive will and can be sought in all aspects of life. Unfortunately, the desire to be like others, delayed answers to prayers or the opportunity for gain in available alternatives have made some Christians to solicit and settle for the permissive will of God. Remember, there is a way that seems right to a man but its end is that of death (Proverbs 14: 12). God knows us better and also the end from the beginning; so we must avoid His permissive will. We must not be influenced by choices or behaviour of people around us, our desires, fantasies and circumstances. We must seek God and wait for His perfect will for it yields successful results.
PRAYER: Lord, help me always to seek and wait for Your perfect will.
