Psalm 40:8 “I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.”

“It is the will of God.” These words are often spoken or written with ease, but understanding their true meaning can be quite challenging. Few theological concepts create as much confusion as the will of God.

One problem we face is rooted in the complex way in which the term will functions in biblical expressions. The Bible uses the phrase “the will of God” in different ways. We see two different Greek words in the New Testament (boule and thelema), both of which can have several meanings. They include ideas such as the counsel of God, the plan of God, the decrees of God, the disposition or attitude of God, as well as other nuances.

Augustine once remarked, “In some sense, God wills everything that happens.” The immediate question this raises is, In what sense? How does God “will” the presence of evil and suffering? Is He the direct cause of evil? Does He commit evil? God forbid. Yet evil is part of His creation. If He is sovereign over all of creation, we must confront the question: How is evil related to the divine will? Questions like this one make distinctions necessary—sometimes fine distinctions, even technical distinctions—with respect to the will of God.

Wise people say, “Whatever God wants for my life, I’m in. I may not understand it, but I’ll do his will.” Rick Warren