How I Used Truth - Lesson 1 - Annotation 9
Explain fully the "will of God."
9. The "will of God" is God's plan of Absolute Good for man and all creation. It is God's will for His good to be expressed and manifested continuously through His creation. For every species of creation there is a unique pattern. For example, the plan for the rose is that is shall express and manifest as a perfect rose. For the bird, the plan is that it shall express and manifest as a perfect bird, according to the particular species. For man, God's will or plan is that he shall express and manifest his true spiritual nature, imaged for him at creation. "And God created man in his own image" (Gen. 1:27). We call this true nature our divine Self, the Christ, for it is the first phase of our threefold being (spirit-soul-body) , This was fully covered in the Annotations for Lesson Three of Lessons in Truth.
God's will or plan for us is also His purpose: "I said. Ye are gods, and all of you sons of the Most High' (Psalms 82:6). It is His intention or promise for us: "Ye therefore shall be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matt. 5:48). The "will of God" is also His pleasure for us: "It is the Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom" (Luke 12:32). It is God's loving inclination for us: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matt. 3:17). God's will is also God's law in each one of us: "I will put my law in their inward parts, and in their heart will I write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people" (Jer. 31:33). To these scriptural explanations of the "will of God" we can add that it is also God's choice for us:
"For we are a temple of the living God; as God said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. . . . And will be to you a Father, And ye shall be to me sons and daughters" (II Cor. 6:16, 18).
I AM is another name for the first phase of our threefold nature Thus we may say that I AM is the "will of God" in each one of us. It is the whole nature expressing in and manifesting through us.
Many have believed, and some still believe, that God's will must involve suffering or experiencing unpleasant conditions. This is far from the teaching of Jesus, who brought to mankind the message of a God of love. "I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn thee" (Jer. 31:3) is the word of Scripture. The flower, the tree, all phases of nature, allow God's will or plan to come forth without hindrance because they have what we term "subjective consciousness" and must adapt themselves to conditions. On the other hand, man as a self-conscious being has the right of choice and he makes conditions.
If we are not aware that God's will or plan is within us we will live our life without any definite direction or meaningful purpose. If through ignorance we do not seek God's guidance, then results in our lives will not be according to God's will. We need to remember that we are spiritual beings with an inheritance of all-good. We need to turn often in prayer to God for revelation of His will. The results will be health of mind and body, harmony, success, and abundance in our affairs.
A new world opens up to us when we understand the true meaning of "God's will." We no longer feel we are subject to circumstances and conditions that are unpleasant, in the mistaken notion that this is "God's will."
"Poverty is not God's will but man lays it to the charge of God to excuse his own feeling of inadequacy and defeat. God's will is health, happiness, and prosperity for every man" (Prosperity 111).
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Preceding Entry: What is the difference between a "reflection of God" and an "expression of God"?
Following Entry: Is "salvation" to be ours at some future time in a faraway place, or when is it acceptable? When is man really "saved"?
