The Number One Quality We Need to Walk in God’s Will

We need one key quality more than any other for exploring God’s will. This virtue is required to embrace Scripture and to win the wrestling match that often happens in our hearts with God’s will. This quality is humility.

The essence of Christian humility is captured in Romans 12:3, where Paul the apostle writes, “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.”

This verse comes in the context of the topic of spiritual gifts. We are all a part of the body of Christ, all used by God for his purposes, and we all need to remember that we are not the center of everything.

Why is that truth helpful when we study the topic of God’s will? Because we sometimes cross-examine God as though he were a witness in a courtroom and must answer to us.

When we seek God’s will, we need to be careful that, deep down, we aren’t just trying to figure out how to get our own will. We need humility to live out our purpose as Christians.

We see this warning throughout Scripture. In Romans 9:20, Paul warns us to be careful of pridefully presuming that we know God’s purposes for everything he allows or does: “But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God?”

In chapters 38–40 of Job, we find some of the most eye-opening views of God’s character. After Job hits a low point and basically argues that he is righteous and doesn’t deserve the suffering God has allowed, God responds by saying, “Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge?” He then goes on to say, “I will question you, and you shall answer me. Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?” (38:2–4).

It’s one of the most humbling moments in Scripture. God challenges someone who thinks he knows better than the Almighty. (We’re guilty of this too!) Job eventually responds by saying, “I am unworthy—how can I reply to you?” (40:4).

The picture we get is not of a mean and insensitive God who doesn’t care about our questions. On the contrary! The idea is that we can express ourselves to God and seek answers, but we must be careful not to indict him or alter theological truths to satisfy our prideful opinions or lower him to a puppet who answers to us as puppeteers.

We must maintain reverence when considering his will. We must be in awe of his sovereign power when considering his purposes. We must also be in awe of his lovingkindness and tender mercy, because he most certainly understands our struggle to comprehend his will. In all of these things, we must be humble.

Adapted from Walking in God’s Will: Demystify God’s Plan for Your Life and Make Decisions with Confidence by Costi W. Hinn.