“Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is” (Ephesians 5:17)

No one sought to do the will of God the Father more than Jesus, God the Son. “For I have come down from heaven, not to do my will but the will of Him who sent me” (John 6:38). Even as He met the moment of the cross, the purpose for which He came and agonized over separation from His heavenly Father, Jesus submitted to the Father’s will. “Not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39). Romans 12:2 says we are not to be conformed to this world, but instead transformed by the renewing of our minds so that we may “discern the will of God”. Though the Bible tells of people who patterned obedience to God’s will, only one did it perfectly, Jesus Christ. He was obedient all the way to the cross.

God’s “hidden will” are those things He has chosen not to reveal. His “revealed will” are those things He has chosen to reveal in order to provide us a roadmap for our lives. If as Scripture says we were predestined to be conformed to the image of the Son, why should we think our wills are not to be conformed to God’s. We shouldn’t. Paul teaches that we are to walk as children of the light…and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:9-10). Jesus’ perfect obedience to the will of the Father doesn’t make our submission to God’s will unimportant. It’s the only proper response to His grace. And because God’s will is found in His Word, we are to search for it there. And as best we can, enabled by the Holy Spirit, we should seek to understand it because to do otherwise would be foolish.