Pr Joshua Yong

Psalm 119:105 – “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”

Believers often think of the will of God as something mysterious and elusive. Whether it concerns our studies, jobs or relationships, we approach these crossroads of life desiring to know God’s will. Hence, we often speak of how we want to “discover”, “find”, or “seek” God’s will. Yet, when we search the Scriptures, we notice that the Bible does not emphasise the idea of “discovering” or “finding” the will of God. While there is nothing wrong in expressing our desire to discover God’s will, in the sense of wanting to know God’s will so that we may obey Him, we must be careful not to do so as if God’s will is unclear or very difficult to find. Too often, we focus too much on an aspect of God’s will that God has not revealed to us, and we neglect the aspects that God has already revealed to us. Instead, we see how the Bible emphasises the need to do or obey the will of God. The Bible does not present the will of God as something vague or difficult to discern. Instead, the Bible tells us that we have a light and a guide to direct us in our paths.

The word “will” means “desire”. When we seek to understand God's will, we are  seeking to understand God's “desires”. Ephesians 5:17 tells us that we must “understand” the will of God. The word “understand” tells us that while we do not have to “search” for God’s will as if it is missing, we must consider and ponder upon God’s will to fulfil God’s desires. This means that we have to know, be conscious, and have a good grasp of God’s desires so that we might obey them. To this end, we must understand the different aspects of God’s will to accurately “read” the “clock” of God’s will. Rev Timothy Tow summarised the different aspects of God’s will in his book, The Clock of the Sevenfold Will of God. If we properly understand the different aspects of God’s will, we will then be able to obey and fulfil the will of God.

Rev Tow summarised the different aspects of God’s will in this manner: The General: 1) Preceptive, 2) Desiderative; The Specific: 3) Directive, 4) Cooperative, 5) Punitive and “Chastitive”; The Extraordinary: 6) Permissive; The Predetermined: 7) Decretive.

We begin our study with the preceptive will of God. 

1) God’s Word Revealed

The phrase “preceptive will” refers to God’s will revealed in His Word. The precepts, laws and commandments God has given to His people are all part of God’s preceptive will. The psalmist describes the Word of God as a lamp and a light. In times past, God revealed His will in part to His people through the prophets. As they received the Word of God through visions and dreams, they declared God’s will to God’s people and wrote Scriptures. In God’s appointed time, God used the Apostles to write the New Testament Scriptures, and with the completion of the 66 books of the Bible, the whole canon of Scripture was completed. We have all of God’s revelation, and there is no new or additional revelation to God’s Word.

Because God’s Word is God’s revealed will to us, the more we know God’s Word, the more we will know God’s will.

2) God’s Word is Rich

The psalmist describes God’s Word as a lamp to our “feet” and a light to our “paths”. God’s Word shines upon our feet and the paths we tread. This shows how applicable and relevant the Word of God is to all aspects of our lives. The word “precepts” (Psalm 119:109) means “mandates” or “commandments” or “statutes”. It comes from the verb “to visit”. God has visited the person who obeys His precepts. The believer also visits God when he obeys the precepts of God, i.e., when he receives Christ as Lord and Saviour that was the beginning of his experience of obeying God’s precepts. All the commandments and statutes in the Old and New Testaments belong to the preceptive will of God.  

God has revealed His desires for His people through His preceptive will. For example, God’s preceptive will tells us our sanctification is the will of God (1 Thess 4:3). God’s Word reveals His preceptive will that all Christians will suffer for Christ’s sake (1 Pet 3:17). The Ten Commandments are part of God’s preceptive will. Through the Ten Commandments, we know it is God’s will to remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy; we know we must not tell lies or covet. Through God’s Word, we know we must repent and return to the Lord when we fall into sin. Through the testimonies in the Bible, we draw principles on what to do and what not to do.. The principles drawn from these testimonies are God’s preceptive will. We learn how we must live through the examples of godly saints. Through the testimonies of wicked men, we learn what to avoid.

3) God’s Word Read

God’s preceptive will has revealed God’s will in many aspects of our lives. If we know that God’s Word shines brightly to guide our steps, then we must read and study God’s Word to know God’s will for our lives. And in knowing God’s will, we obey and our steps are directed accordingly.

Do you read God’s Word every day? One reason some Christians struggle to know God’s will is they do not read God’s Word. When we read God’s Word daily and meditate on it, we will grow more and more attuned to God's will. We may use devotionals such as Read, Pray, Grow to help us in our daily devotion, but we must ensure that we read not only the devotionals but also the Word of God.

Seek to know the preceptive will of God by diligently studying God’s Word. When we approach the crossroads of life, instead of focusing on the crossroads, we should focus on the light and direction that God has given us, which is His preceptive will as revealed in His Word.