Permissible Versus Beneficial: The Wisdom To Know The Difference

Apostle Grace Lubega

1 Samuel 8:4-7(KJV); Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah, And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations. But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the LORD. And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.

Jehovah was the King of Israel. He had a plan to eventually give Israel a king but that would be in His own time.

However, Israel was impatient; they nagged and insisted until the Lord granted them their desire.

There is a fundamental lesson here child of God.

Not every answered prayer is in the perfect will of God. Simply because God said yes does not mean that He is pleased.

Israel got Saul for a king but Saul was not God’s choice.
How about our father Abraham? He and Sarah wanted a child. When they used human effort to fulfil divine purpose, they got Ishmael. Ishmael may have looked like an answered prayer but he was in the permissible will of God and not the perfect will of God.

The permissible will of God is His hand of grace in the face of our carnality.

However, many are indifferent to the fact that every time we are in the permissible will, we are outside the timing of the Spirit.

There was an appointed time for Israel to have an earthly king; there was an appointed time for Abraham and Sarah to have a child.

One might be outside the timing of the Spirit yet be in tune with earthly time.

However, the reality is that every time you are outside eternal time, you will eventually fall behind even in earthly time; you will slow your progress on the earth by years simply because you are operating outside eternal time.

You might want to build a ministry so badly at this moment but God desires that you do it at a later date after He has taught you certain things. If you start ministry now, you might think that you are in tune with earthly time and yet slow yourself down eternally.

You might want a marriage so much at this time because you feel you are getting older and have to catch up with your peers. If you do so outside the timing of God, you might spend years trying to undo a mistake and slow yourself in the eternal calendar.

God makes everything beautiful in His own time.

Always remember that the perfect will of God will always be tagged to the timing of the Spirit.

FURTHER STUDY: Ecclesiastes 3:11, 1 Corinthians 10:23

GOLDEN NUGGET:

God makes everything beautiful in His own time. Always remember that the perfect will of God will always be tagged to the timing of the Spirit.

PRAYER: My Lord, I thank you for the wisdom to know the difference between the perfect will and the permissible will. My spirit is alive to your timing and to your appointed times. I understand eternal time and constantly walk in line with them. In this understanding, I know I can never falter off the path you have set for me. In Jesus’ name. Amen.