The Will

The will is capable of cultivation. By the exercise of our determination we can refuse to do wrong things, and thus strengthen our willpower. Men have attained extraordinary heights of morality by the exercise of their determination in right-doing and refusing to do wrong. This is noble and beautiful, but there is something more noble still and more beautiful. The moral man disciplines to do right because it is right, while the Christian chooses to do right because it is the will of God and pleases Him.

Although we cannot by the exercise of our willpower in right-doing evolve into a Christian, the discipline plays an important part in the formation of Christian character. It is true, the will is most usually led by the affections of the heart, therefore the writer of Proverbs said, "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life."(Proverbs 4:23) The heart must, however, get consent of the will before its desires are fulfilled. Here is a truth of vast importance to the Christian to ponder.

Many people’s desires have become so in bondage to the impure affections and desires of their depraved hearts that they have no will to do right and shun the wrong. The desires of the heart sway their scepter of power over the will, and it acts to granting the heart its wishes. This is a sad picture. A human being created to be free, but now enslaved by their lust. "When he wills to do good evil is present with him, the good he would do, he does not do, and the evil he would not do, that is what he does." (Romans 7:15,21) How miserable we can become. A person who has rejected the mercy of God and has yielded to the inclinations of an unholy heart until he or she has no power to accept the offers of mercy and shun the ways of sin, is an object of the greatest pity. To that person there is no hope of escaping hell, a place God never intended for any person to end up in. Hell was created for Satan and the fallen angels who rebelled against God.

There is a time in the life of every rational person, when they can accept the gift of salvation which God extends through His Son, if they will. God gives the Holy Spirit to operate upon the depraved heart, making it to feel something of the realities of a Savior’s love and goodness, and something of the awfulness of sin. The Holy Spirit does not take hold upon the will and compel it to serve God, or force it into right action. He just takes hold upon the heart, suppressing its love for sin, and awakening desires for a godly life, thus removing the unrighteous scepter the heart swayed over the will, giving the will freedom and power to accept or reject the mercies of God. While the impure affections and unholy desires of a depraved heart are being restrained by the power of the Holy Spirit, before the will is set the way of life and the way of death, each subject to choice. Now is the time for whosoever will to come and "take of the water of life freely," (Revelation 22:17) and whosoever will now "call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."(Romans 10:13)

Not only does the will act an important part in securing the salvation of the soul through the offered mercies of God, but it is the purpose of God that the will act an important part all along the Christian way. After the Christian enters through the "strait gate" and steps out upon the "narrow… way" (Matthew 7:13) that leads to eternal golden glories, we are not carried forward in a "chariot of fire" (II Kings 2:11) through the journey of life and crowned at the end with eternal blessedness irrespective of his will. Often it is true that the soul is carried blessedly onward in the way of life on the wings of joy, without any apparent exercise of the will, but how often Good seems to have deserted or forsaken us, Joy has hid her smiling face, and Good Feelings have departed, and we are left to serve God and attend to our Christian duties from choice of will. God wants our life service to be a willing service. It is necessary, therefore, that He apparently forsake us and permit dark powers to engage us. It is that our wills may be exercised. The Psalmist says, “I will run the way of your commands…. I shall keep your testimonies." (Psalm 119:32, 146)

The blessings and joys the Lord bestows upon us are the rewards of willing service, for which things we should be very thankful, but never let them influence us in our conduct toward God. There have been those, who, in the hour of seeming desertion, refusing to use their willpower, have turned back to the world.

Every faculty of the body or soul that is unused or unexercised will weaken and die. The muscles if unused will weaken, the mind if unused will grow lax, and the will if unexercised will lose its power. Should God always keep us soaring aloft on the wings of peace and joy and blessings, without the exercise of the will, this important faculty would degenerate into weakness and slavery. Therefore let us arise in the strength of our manhood and womanhood and use, in choosing and doing the right, the will God has given us. The tempter may come, yes, he will surely come, and endeavor to get some of the affections of the heart set upon the world, but we must reject all such temptations, and by the force of our will set our affections on things above. God does never will for us, but He gives us power to will if we will but use the power He gives us.

Scriptures exhort us to "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." (Philippians 2:12) The "crown of life" (James 1:12, Revelation 2:10) lies at the end of the Christian race. It is for this crown of glory, or blessed eternal salvation , that we are to watch and labor with fear and trembling. Let us be watchful and guard the affections of our heart with the strictest vigilance.

Here is something which will prove very valuable to us in our Christian life if we can only get to fully comprehend it: We can do nothing; our will is powerless without God and His grace, and God can do nothing in us without the consent of our will. God does everything, and we do everything: we are to worship God in spirit and in truth, and yet it is God who enables us to worship, we are to purify our hearts, and yet it is God who purifies our hearts, we are to make us a new heart, and yet it is God who gives us a new heart, we are commanded to work out our salvation, and God gives us power to do it. God furnishes the power, we are to do. Do not think that God will act for us. He will give us the power to act, but He will not do the act for us. Do not, therefore, say, "I can’t" You can do "all things" (Philippians 4:13) through Christ, who strengthens you. We can serve God in a way acceptable to Him, we can keep our mind stayed on Him, we can pray, we can sing and make music in our hearts, we can resist the devil and temptation and be an overcomer, we can endure unto the end—we can do "all things" by the grace and power of God, and He will always give us the power to do His good will. Do not serve and praise God only when He gives us blessings and joy, but serve Him and praise Him when the way is dark. Have a fixed decision of the will to serve God no matter what the feelings may be. Be thankful to God for the willpower He has given us, and use it nobly in His service. Do not cower and tremble before temptation. We are to fear and tremble before God, but never before trials, temptations, sin, nor the devil (Deuteronomy 20:3). God will cause us to triumph by giving us the power to will. Be steadfast, be faithful, fix our will unswervingly to serve God, and "in due season [we] shall reap if [we] faint not." (Galatians 6:9)

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