not everything that happens is God's will

Not Everything that Happens is God’s Will
4/8/06
Yesterday during a class lecture the Lord began speaking to me about a topic. He began with ”Not everything that happens is My will”. This was spoken in the context of the students who were not able to come to the School. I heard the school leader pray yesterday morning, saying that she believed it was God’s will for each one of the students to come. There was a heaviness because some had missed God’s will for their lives. Yet a guest speaker came later that morning, stating that, for those who had not been able to come, it must have been God’s will for them to not be a part of the school.

I’d like to share with you a few scriptures that came to mind when the Lord began speaking this yesterday. In them I see illustrations supporting what the Lord spoke when He said “Not everything that happens is My will”. The first was Jesus’ admonition to pray for laborers for the harvest (Mt 9:37,38). It is God’s will that there be enough laborers for the harvest, but He doesn’t guarantee there will be enough. He asks us to pray. The second scripture is when Jesus wept over Jerusalem’s desolation because they had rejected Him (Lk 13:34,35). It was God’s will that Jerusalem would be saved, but He didn’t guarantee that they would receive their Savior. And the third scripture is when Jesus was in his hometown. He was amazed at their lack of faith, and could only heal a few people (Mk 6:5,6). In other towns Jesus had healed many, if not all people who came for prayer.

Now I’d like to share the scripture the Lord brought to this matter today. It is spoken against the religious rulers who take things lightly and give poor advice. Jeremiah 8:11 reads “They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. ‘Peace, peace’ they say, when there is no peace”. And Jeremiah 8:22, “Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there: Why then is there no healing for the wound of my people?” The person who says that all things turn out according to God’s plan is offering a false peace, or a balm that will not heal. The school leader was right to pray for understanding about why we lost a battle with these students who could not come to her class. I believe there will be false comforters who will confuse our students and staff with their offerings of false peace, and perhaps there already has been. The bad fruit that comes from accepting false peace is that those persons will be tempted to not seek further for understanding of what happened.

When things go wrong, many people say that the unexpected outcome was God’s plan all along. This misperception of His sovereignty will bear additional bad fruit. Some bad fruit that comes to mind is
God didn’t speak to warn us
God is arbitrary, leading us one way when He knows we should go another way.
We mistrust His voice, thereby not seeking Him for wisdom, and our faith suffers.

In real war, if a battle is lost yet a soldier survives the defeat, he would be intent on finding out how to gain victory during the next battle. The experiences which led to defeat become truthes upon which wisdom is built for his next battle.

I believe that the Lord always has healing balm for His people. In every crisis, disappointment or setback, He is there with truth to bring us understanding (see Jer 30:17 for Israel’s healing). Since wisdom is built on truth, truth is essential when reviewing outcomes. The casualties of spiritual battles would grow, just as in physical battles, if men neglect to build on the truth. It may seem a very small thing to some speakers to comfort people with the concept that every outcome is God’s plan, His will. But the bad fruit will cause eventual defeat.