Have Thine Own Way Lord, Have Thine Own Way

GREEK WORD WITH ENGLISH TRANSLITERATION: βουλη (boule)

PRONUNCIATION:  boo-LAY

STRONG’S CONCORDANCE #: 1012

MEANING: advise; counsel; will

BACKGROUND OF WORD (ETYMOLOGY):

there are two primary words that can be translated "will"; one of these focuses on the emotional aspect of one's will;  this word focuses on the mental aspect and the mind as in thinking thigs through; the application is a well, thought out decision

HOW TRANSLATED IN KJV, NASB AND/OR ESV:  counsel

# OF TIMES USED IN THE GREEK NEW TESTAMENT: 12

KEY VERSE IN THE BIBLE WHERE GREEK WORD USED:

Ephesians 1:11

 "In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel (βουλη) of His own will."

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

To know God’s will is something Christians have struggled with for years, and will continue to do so.  The word we are discussing today is different than another Greek word which focuses on knowing God’s will.  This particular Greek word has to do more with the thought of deliberate counsel, that is, thinking things through.  This word is used in Ephesians 1:11 where Paul states "In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who works all things after the counsel (βουλη) of His own will." 

So exactly what does this mean where Paul says of God, “being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who works all things after the counsel (βουλη) of His own will."  This is what I believe Paul is trying to communicate.  This comes to be not by God consulting His creatures, or conforming to their views, but by His own views of what is proper and right. We are not to suppose that this is by "mere" will, as if it were arbitrary, or that God determines anything without good reason. The meaning is, that His purpose is determined by what "He" views to be right, and without consulting His creatures or conforming to their views. His dealings often seem to us to be arbitrary. We are incapable of perceiving the reasons of what He does. He makes those His friends who we should have supposed would have been the last to have become Christians. He leaves those who seem to us to be on the borders of the kingdom, and they remain unmoved and unaffected. But we are not thence to suppose that He is arbitrary. In every instance, we are to believe that there is a good reason for what He does, and one which we may be permitted yet to see, and in which we shall wholly acquiesce.

The phrase "counsel of his own will" is remarkable. It is designed to express in the strongest manner the fact that it is not by human counsel or advice. The word "counsel" - ‎boulee ‎- means "a council" or "senate;" then a determination, purpose, or decree. Here it means that God’s determination was formed by His own will, and not by human reasoning. Still, His will in the case may not have been arbitrary. When it is said of man that He forms His own purposes, and acts according to His own will, we are not to infer that He acts without reason. He may have the highest and best reasons for what He does, but He does not choose to make them known to others, or to consult others. So it may be of God, and so we should presume it to be. It may be added, that we ought to have such confidence in Him as to believe that He will do all things well. The best possible evidence that anything is done in perfect wisdom and goodness, is the fact that God does it. When we have ascertained that, we should be satisfied that all is right. 

I love that old hymn of the faith, “Have Thine Own Way”.  In 1902, Adelaide A. Pollard, a Bible teacher and hymn writer, was hoping to go to Africa as a missionary but found herself unable to raise the needed funds to make the journey. Greatly discouraged, she attended a prayer service one evening and as she sat there, she overheard an elderly woman say "It really doesn't matter what you do with us, Lord, just have your own way with our lives." The elderly woman inspired Pollard and she contemplated the story of the potter from Jeremiah 18:3 and, upon her return home that evening, wrote all four stanzas before retiring for the night. She wrote these words,

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Thou art the Potter, I am the clay.
Mold me and make me after Thy will,
While I am waiting, yielded and still.

CHALLENGE FOR THE DAY:

As I write these words I need to remind myself of God’s design for I am frail.  I can write these words as if they apply to others and forget that they also apply to me.  My own challenge is that I stop trying to figure God out.  He is NOT to be “figured out” this side of glory and I need to stop.  The sooner I realize that, the easier the lessons are.  And right now He is showing me many life lessons.  What about you?  Are you letting God be God?  If not, turn that over to Him today.   What is it that you are not 100% trusting in God in today?  Commit that to him and watch what He does. 

PRAYER FOR THE DAY:

I thank you Father for the full counsel of your good and perfect will.  I thank you that you do not have to seek the approval of your creation to fulfill your good and perfect will.  Help me father this day to have a greater appreciation for you calling on my life and for those issues that arise where you are seeking to conform me into your image.  Thank you for working out your perfect plan and forgive me for when I get in the way.  Cause me today Father to allow you full reign to orchestrate your plan in my life.  I pray this in Jesus’ name.  Amen.