Balancing Personal Desires with God's Sovereign Will
Balancing Personal Desires with God's Sovereign Will
The concept of balancing personal desires with God's sovereign will is rooted in biblical teachings that emphasize the importance of aligning human will with divine purpose. The apostle Peter exhorts believers to "live the remaining time in the flesh no longer for human desires, but for the will of God" [2]. This call to surrender personal desires to God's will is echoed in various biblical passages and has been interpreted by Christian traditions in their understanding of God's sovereignty and human agency.
The Bible describes God's sovereignty as absolute, with the Psalmist affirming that "whatsoever the Lord pleased, that did he" [11]. This understanding is reinforced by the notion of God's decrees as "his eternal, unchangeable, holy, wise, and sovereign purpose" [3]. In this context, believers are encouraged to submit their desires and plans to God's will, recognizing that His sovereignty encompasses all aspects of life.
John Calvin's commentary on Philippians emphasizes the importance of knowing God's will, which is revealed in His word. Calvin notes that believers should desire "the knowledge of the divine will" and that this knowledge is to be sought in Scripture [5]. This perspective underscores the need for believers to ground their understanding of God's will in biblical teachings.
Different Christian traditions have approached the balance between personal desires and God's sovereign will with varying emphases. The Reformed tradition, as represented by John Gill's commentary, highlights God's sovereignty in all things, including the dispensation of grace and the unfolding of providence [4, 6, 8]. In contrast, the Methodist/Wesleyan tradition, as seen in Adam Clarke's commentary, emphasizes the importance of submitting to God's will in a spirit of obedience and trust, particularly in times of suffering or hardship [7, 9].
The biblical basis for balancing personal desires with God's sovereign will is found in passages such as Romans 15:32, where the apostle Paul expresses his desire to come to the Romans "through the will of God" [1]. This sentiment is echoed in the prayerful attitude of the Psalmist, who seeks to live and praise God according to His will [10].
Sources
- Romans “that I may come to you in joy through the will of God, and together with you, find rest. -- Romans 15:32”
- I Peter “I Peter 4:2 (LEB) — in order to live the remaining time in the flesh no longer for human desires, but for the will of God.”
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Decrees of God — "The decrees of God are his eternal, unchangeable, holy, wise, and sovereign purpose, comprehending at once all things that ever were or will be in their causes, conditions, successions, and relations, and determining their certain futurition. The several contents of this one eternal purpose are, because of the limitation of our faculties, necessarily conceived of by us in partial aspects, and in logical relations, and are therefore styled Decrees." The decree being the act of an infinite, absolute, eternal, unchangeable, and sovereign Person, compre”
- Matthew (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Matthew 20:14: Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own?.... External gifts and outward privileges, such as enjoying the word and ordinances, are God's own; and he may, as he does, bestow them on whom he will, and when and where he pleases; as he gave them to the Jews, and continued them many hundred years, when the Gentiles were utterly with them destitute of them; and as he has bestowed them in a more abundant manner for a long time on the Gentiles, whilst the Jews despise and reject them. Special grace is his own, which he gives to whom he pleases; it is by his o”
- CCEL (Reformed) “Calvin, Commentary on Philippians, Colossians, 1-2 Thessalonians, section 25.2: be a hinderance in the way of their cheerfully making progress, and allowing what had been begun in them to receive an additional polish. But what knowledge does he desire in their behalf? The knowledge of the divine will , by which expression he sets aside all inventions of men, and all speculations that are at variance with the word of God. For his will is not to be sought anywhere else than in his word. He adds — in all wisdom; by which he intimates that the will of God, of which he had made mention, was the onl”
- Proverbs (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Proverbs 19:21: There are many devices in a man's heart,.... Some about civil things; to get wealth and riches: to obtain honour and glory among men; to attain to a long life, and to perpetuate their memories after death: some about sinful things; to gratify their carnal lusts and sensual appetites; and to do mischief to others, particularly the people of God, and the cause and interest of Christ: some about religious things; coming new doctrines, devising new ordinances and modes of worship; contriving other methods of salvation than by Christ; as by the light of nature; by the l”
- 1 Peter (Methodist/Wesleyan) “Adam Clarke on 1 Peter 4:19: Suffer according to the will of God - A man suffers according to the will of God who suffers for righteousness' sake; and who, being reviled, reviles not again. Commit the keeping of their souls - Place their lives confidently in his hand, who, being their Creator, will also be their preserver, and keep that safely which is committed to his trust. God is here represented as faithful, because he will always fulfill his promises, and withhold no good thing from them that walk uprightly. But they had no reason to hope that he would care for their lives and souls unles”
- James (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on James 4:7: To the will of God, with respect to worldly things, and be content with such things as are enjoyed, and be satisfied with the portion that is allotted; it is right and best for the people of God to leave themselves with him, to choose their inheritance for them, since by all their anxious cares, their striving and struggling, their impatient desires, wars and fightings, as they cannot add one cubit to their stature, so nothing to their worldly substance; and it becomes them to submit to God in all afflictive dispensations of his providence, and be still and know that he”
- John (Methodist/Wesleyan) “Adam Clarke on John 5:30: I can of mine own self do nothing - Because of my intimate union with God. See on Joh 5:19 (note). I week not mine own will - I do not, I cannot attempt to do any thing without God. This, that is, the Son of man, the human nature which is the temple of my Divinity, Joh 1:14, is perfectly subject to the Deity that dwells in it. In this respect our blessed Lord is the perfect pattern of all his followers. In every thing their wills should submit to the will of their heavenly Father. Nothing is more common than to hear people say, I will do it because I choose. He who ha”
- Psalms (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Psalms 119:170: Let my soul live, and it shall praise thee,.... The psalmist desires the continuance of his natural life, not for his own personal advantage, nor for the sake of his family, nor with any worldly, sinister, and selfish views; but for the glory of God, and for the sake of praising him: or his desire is, that his soul might be lively and comfortable; or that he might be in a lively and cheerful frame of spirit, and so be in fit and proper circumstances to praise the Lord; for it is the living man in both senses, natural and spiritual, that is capable of praising the L”
- Psalms (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Psalms 135:6: Whatsoever the Lord pleased, that did he,.... In creation, producing into being what creatures he thought fit; in providence, doing according to his will in heaven and in earth; in grace, predestinating men to grace and glory, according to the good pleasure of his will, and calling by his grace whom he pleased: so Christ quickens whom he will; and the Spirit dispenses his gifts and grace severally to men as he pleases. Sovereignty, or acting according to will and pleasure, is peculiar to the Lord; the heavens, the sun, moon, and stars, are at his direction, and act b”