Six Myths Leaders Need To Know About the Will of God!
Our city has a deep history – literally. We have strip mines throughout all of Southern Illinois. As a matter of fact, the city of Cutler, Illinois where I reside was built on top of underground shafts. 
It is astounding how many millions of dollars in resources, equipment, manpower, and other wherewithal was used to get to one thing: COAL. Picking and digging around the clock to get to the carbon source which fueled locomotives, homes, factories, and entire industries. It seems some leaders exhaust themselves endeavoring to find that precious resource that fuels our lives – the will of God; however, being in his will is paramount in leadership.
I have labored in study over this subject for several months so it has become a recurring theme in my writing. I don’t feel bad, though, as it is the recurring theme of the entire Bible. Regardless of where you flip the page men are deciphering the moral will of God, endeavoring to understand the sovereign will of God, and pondering the particular will of God. I would like to share what personal revelation God has given me about the particular will of God for leadership, ministry, and the followers who journey with us.
There are some things that are simply not true about the will of God!!!
Saul was knocked off his horse and Elijah was surrounded by wind and fire and earth tremors; but,there does not have to be a “shaking” experience as proof that a particular direction is the will of God!
We must not forget that God has spoken his will to millions of called men and yet seldom did the earth shake or magical fire flare to the sky. Sometimes God chooses to shine a heavenly light, send angels, or shake the earth, but more often than not, he speaks his will in passing. You find him in I Kings 19 speaking with a ‘still small voice’. The will of God is a knowing that comes to us when we genuinely long to know his purpose and plan. In reality, God was showing Elijah where the will of God WAS NOT. Elijah found no will of God in the fierce wind, flaming fire, or quake – but he did find the voice of God in a whisper. How many times I have had the wrong motive or my heart was seeking my own "super showing" of God trumpetting to the world and beyond his perfect will for me. Maybe the key is more in seeking HIM, and somehow, by default, the will of God just happens to be a part of the package that comes along with intimacy with Jesus Christ.
Adam got to the point where he looked for that voice to take his daily stroll. Adam walked with the Voice of God in the cool of the day. If you walk with his voice, you will hear his will. You don’t need fireworks.
God truly detests the mundane and ritualistic. He is not interested in giving you a point by point, step by step, level by level synopsis to follow. Following God will never come from a road-map, but from relationship. How many preachers have gone astray from the will of God because they followed the, pardon the expression, “denominal” MapQuest to ministry: (1) Go to Bible School (2) Marry a wife (3) Pastor a church…. ???
The children of Israel are wandering in the desert. Remember when God calls Moses to the mountain and gives him a MapQuest?? – I don’t think so! He gave him the recipe that ends "wandering". He gave him guidelines on entering into a pleasing and holy relationship with Jehovah. Afterwards, he installed stop lights on their journey - a pillar of fire in the night and a pillar of cloud in the day. The only thing differently God could have done was shouted, "I want you to stop your wandering so why don't you start spending time with me, pleasing me, and following me daily!!! When I am your REASON for living, you will find yourself in downtown Metro Canaan! The Almighty reveals his will through the relationship you have with him. When you are following him, it seems, you will most definitely end up in Canaan – it is that simple; so, quit searching for Canaan and start search for God. (He knows where Canaan is!)
This is what makes the will of God so difficult for folks like me! How many leaders refuse to say, “Lord, I will do whatever you want!”, because they fear what his reply may be. When you refuse to make that declaration, you fail to be a leader. True leaders follow God - whenever, wherever, however...
After chewing up the Word on this subject for months, I am more certain now than ever that God wants you to know his will more than you want to know it. I am also more certain that even though, at first glance your "promise land" may include ‘giants’, once you pitch your tent there will be no place you would rather be!
What father, after his son has said, “Dad, I will do whatever you want?”, would look at his wife and say, “Wow, our son just surrendered everything to me and said he will do whatever I want him to. How can we make his life utterly unhappy?”? Your joy will be full when you follow God’s will, not destroyed!
Furthermore, God WANTS to show his will… He desires to reveal his will… He is passionately waving it in front of your face! I do not believe the will of God is lost – so I equally declare it is wrong to say you must find it!! It may be unseen by you but, as your relationship in him grows; the will of God becomes much clearer. You will walk in his perfect will according to the level of your relationship with God!
After study, it is my view that your life’s journey is the will of God. Often, because God intends for it to flow from our daily relationship, the will of God is revealed to us daily.
How often do you take steps? The obvious answer would be EVERY DAY – unless you are bound by some extreme handicap. The Bible says, “The steps of a good man are ordered of the Lord.” This doesn’t mean that you stand in one place by the car waiting for God to tell you which direction to walk toward the entrance of the grocery store!! It means that a man who seeks after God’s righteousness, right living, and pursues his relationship with God ever so passionately will one day realize that the will of God is nothing he has to find, but it has found him.
His steps have been ordered of the Lord as a result of his love for God.
The will of God may keep take you to a different landscape than where it has you today.
Let’s face it. Generally, the more materialism we gain, the more earthly authority we are given, and the more comfort we obtain, the less we can hear the whisper of God. The things of earth are cottonballs in our ears when we approach to hear his faint voice. God is interested in blessing us and taking us to new dimensions of physical prosperity; however, never at the cost of insensitivity to his loving voice and quality time.
I have erred in my thinking on these lines. I shouldn't be so foolish and arrogant that I believe if I am the assistant at one church then it is automatically God’s will for me to be the senior pastor at the next church. If we are pastoring 50 then, if God transitions us, we will pastor a greater number. The will of God is about your relationship with him and whatever gets him the most glory – that may just require you to shift gears downward, not upward. The beautiful thing is, as long as you walk in his will, you will always move to a greater dimension in the things that truly matter to God - intimacy and anointing.
Do not let anyone convince you that the kingdom of God is like the corporate world – God’s view of me moving “up” may not be what the corporate world signifies moving “up”. 
Often, God moves us to places of discomfort so that our dependence and trust is found in Him - alone.
Elijah is confronted by prophets of Baal and chased by Jezebel – in the will of God.
Paul has to continue as a tent-maker, is beaten, shipwrecked, and seized by barbarians and a viper – in the will of God.
John is boiled alive in oil – in the will of God.
Need I go on?.... In the will of God you will have peace, but God has never promised "smooth sailing". The will of God often takes us to storms. Storms have a way of stealing our independence. Storms shatter our human talents and they bring a quick end to our dependance on our abilities. Where we end, God begins. Where our natural efforts become useless, his supernatural work begins. Storms are the only place where you walk on the water with him. God’s men are generally ‘storm chasers’.
Some transitions toward doing the will of God are very smooth; but, more often than not, people, peoples'opinions, finances, the “ideal”, and a myriad of other variables will endeavor to cut you off from doing what God has spoken. Do it anyway – this is where true Apostolic power and anointing are born, in the womb of adversity. It was the will of God for David to slay Goliath, but he had to run toward him in spite of his esteemed elder brothers calling him nothing more than a lunchboy and trying to send him home. Sometimes, the people we love and respect the most insist on making the will of God a place of heavy burden - they insist on forcing us into that heavy and impossible armor.
(HERE'S A SEVENTH BONUS MYTH FOR THE ROAD...)
Myth Seven: Everyone will know it is the will of God.
Simply not true. It is understood that you will know it is the will of God – but no one else has to know. When my mother passed away the only one that knew her will was the executor of the will. All others could have fought what the executor stated - but that would have been foolish wouldn't it? It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks - God's will for you is, well - GOD'S WILL FOR YOU!
If a man checks his spirit and knows he has sincerely and genuinely sought the face of God, his heart is uncontaminated, and his motives are pure, then he should do what he knows God is calling him to do. Case closed.
I would like to speak to those who are leaders of other leaders. You will have the responsibility to prayerfully offer your viewpoint to those who are seeking the will of God. You are not a Lord over God’s heritage – you are an overseer of the flock of God. You must passionately and wholeheartedly deliver your soul to this person; but, it is imperative that you remember you can only give people two things (1) Godly direction (2) genuine love. 
If those people receive your godly direction but do not follow what you feel needs to occur, then all that remains is genuine love. Love them as they endeavor to do what they feel is the will of God for their life. It is not easy, especially when you feel they are making a mistake; nevertheless, often no one knows the will of God, except the one who KNOWS what God is speaking to them.
When I came to Cutler, Illinois there was no doubt in our hearts it was the will of God. The chain of events prior to moving to the Mexican border was ordered of God. The steps of a man who truly wants God’s righteousness always will be thus ordered. Those events left an open door through which God would bring us where we are today.
There were no fireworks or whirlwinds – one day my wife and I just had a “knowing”. Our hearts were sincere and genuine – and we found ourselves led of the Lord.
IT WAS NOT A WALK IN THE PARK EVEN THOUGH IT WAS THE WILL OF GOD!
We came to Illinois without income or a residence. We actually moved into the evangelist quarters. God provided from there. Many close friends insisted that this move was not the will of God due to the lack of earthly provisions. They said, “If it was the will of God, don’t you think God would have provided a job and a place to live? God just doesn't work like this!” At times those statements shook me, but all I could reply was, “I just know in my heart this is what I am supposed to do.” Regardless of how things look, the only thing a man can do is “know” with a pure heart that what he is doing is what God showed him.
My wife and I truly desired the will of God. I was a driven 24 year old man, very impetuous, and arrogant…but I was also very interested in doing what God wanted me to do. I have learned that even though a person is growing and developing in many areas that aren't so 'tip top shape' yet, if their passion to do the will of God runs deep - God already has a plan in mind to take care of the shortcomings. I'm a true witness that His grace is sufficient!
The leadership in my life at the time of our move to Cutler was in total disagreement with my decision. I was assured that I was off target and out of God's will. They meant well.
Many of friends did not understand what I was doing. For them, it seemed I was moving backward, not forward. I had already been involved in pastoral ministry and travelled for several years on the evangelists' field - through their eyes I was taking a ministry of ten years and trading it in for a move to a church where I was offered no salary, no position, no employment, no house, and to top it all off, the town only had 500 people in it and very little hope for a fairly successful future!! I had to be out of my mind!
You just can’t look at the will of God through your human eyes - your vision will blur every time! You have to do what you know God has given you to do. I have learned that if what I am about to do doesn't require faith and trust - then it probably doesn't involve God in the first place. Listening to human reasoning, "Job's friends", will get you to seeing ashes and sacloth every time.
Don't forget that when Peter ended his night walking on the water with Jesus, it wasn't their decision to be in that boat in the first place. Jesus initiated the trip to the other side! You may end up sailing toward what appears to be a deserted island – but God orders the steps of righteous men! The majority of people in my life were against it – and some were God-fearing and wise men. Don't be disappointed in them - God will work it all out in the end.
If I listed the reasons God brought us to Cutler, Illinois, that list would never end! God’s education program and training boot camp are premiere!
Don’t fret. Love God. Seek him daily and HE WILL order your steps. If you fail at doing what you feel is the will of God YOU WON'T BE THE FIRST! If you do sink, Peter, you will have already done a whole lot more than the others who sit in the boat and are uninterested in trying to walk on the water! Swim back to the boat and continue growing in your relationship with God.
Don't be fooled by those who are seasoned and may have forgotten the days they spent soaked to the bone. When you are running with the big ships it is easy to forget how you once shipwrecked in a John-boat... If every man of God walked always in the will of God then very few would have the wisdom to help others along!
Endeavoring to do the will of God has taught me incredible things – and somehow I just “know” I’m still right where he wants me!
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About Me-
- Jayson Pagan
- Salina, Kansas, United States
- Being raised in a home void of leadership, leading people does not come natural for me. After creating much havoc and chaos, it is my endeavor to share with others the lessons that I have learned along the way. I am a bilingual minister with the UPCI and have spent time pastoring, evangelizing, and have functioned for the last 8 years as the Administrator of a wonderful and growing Church in Southern Illinois. I have also been at the helm of successfully growing a small construction company to become a multi-million dollar industry. Space does not permit all the lessons learned!