Many a time when we have a plan, we present it to God and He says, “No way”. We then say, “I know how to twist God’s hand”. We begin to fast, pray, seek His face and then finally, we come round and say, “Lord, what about that plan?” He could then say, “Go ahead”. You had better not go anywhere. As children of God, it is our duty to obey Him promptly and completely at all times.

In Numbers 22:12-22, a king asked Prophet Balaam to curse Israel. Balaam asked God and He said, “No”. The king then sent some other people to tell Balaam that he would promote and enrich him if he would curse Israel. Balaam then decided to check back with God and the Lord said, “Okay, if you want to go, go”. On the way, God sent an angel to block his way. It was Balaam’s donkey that saw the angel; the Prophet, blinded by greed, couldn’t even see what a donkey could. Whenever you are so interested in something that you manage to ‘twist God’s hand’ to permit you to have it, you would be blinded by it and may run into serious trouble because of your inability to see clearly and objectively. If you do a little research to trace the history of Balaam, you would see that he ended up dying by the sword.

One area where Christians often pursue God’s permissive will is in marriage and many of them have regretted it afterward. The fact that God allowed Hagar to give birth when Abraham went in unto her while Sarah was considered barren does not mean that the latter was the one through whom God’s covenant with Abraham would come to pass (Genesis 17:21).

It doesn’t matter how good the permissive will looks, you better go for God’s express will. Sister, that young man you like may be more financially secure than the one God says you should choose; don’t be fooled by today, God knows tomorrow, and He is instructing you based on that knowledge.

Ask the Lord to reveal His express will to you, because if you ‘twist His arm’ so you can have things your way, the end may be bitter.