I’ve been sitting with a thought that feels both confronting and strangely freeing at the same time:

“You don’t have a free will… you have the responsibility to do God’s will.”

Now I know… that sounds intense. Almost offensive to our modern thinking. Because everything around us says, “Choose your truth. Follow your heart. Live your way.”

But Scripture gently, yet firmly pulls us back.

Yes, God gave us the ability to choose. From the very beginning, in the Book of Genesis, humanity was given a choice. Love cannot exist without choice. Obedience cannot exist without the option to walk away. So in that sense… yes, we have a will. But here’s where it deepens. Our will was never meant to be independent. It was always meant to be surrendered.

Because the truth is… we are always being led by something. Our emotions. Our fears. Our past. Our desires. Or… the Spirit of God. So the question is not, “Do I have a will?” The question is, “Who is shaping it?”

“Not my will, but Yours be done.” (Luke 22:42)

Even Jesus, fully God, fully man, modeled this. Not independence… but surrender.
And this is where we often misunderstand freedom. We think freedom means doing whatever we want. But biblical freedom looks very different.

It is the freedom to no longer be controlled by everything else. When my will is my own… I am actually more bound than I realise. Bound to feelings that shift, thoughts that waver, and desires that don’t always lead to life.

But when my will is surrendered to God… I am anchored. Steady. Free in the truest sense. And this is where the Word becomes everything.

Because if I don’t know His will… how can I surrender to it. We cannot live surrendered lives on occasional inspiration. It requires intentional education in the Word. Not as a religious exercise… but as alignment.
“Do not conform… but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Rom 12:2)

The more we know His Word…
the more we recognise His voice. The more we recognise His voice… the easier surrender becomes. So maybe the statement isn’t as harsh as it first sounds. Maybe it’s actually an invitation.

You don’t have to carry the burden of figuring life out on your own. You don’t have to be led by every emotion, every opinion, every shifting wind. You have the privilege… to align your will with His.

And in that place… you don’t lose yourself. You finally find who you were always meant to be.

Love,
V.L.