what I said earlier I think makes more sense.Heber13 wrote:So I guess as I've thought about it, I see God's characteristics as unchanging, but how He reveals His will to us as we see through a glass darkly, I think it will be unpredictable to us. Perhaps what I see is being taught is that we should develop the faith that even when His will is unpredictable, the obedience to His Will will always lead to a predictable outcome...blessings and happiness, and that is enough to have peace even as His will is revealed to us individually and in pieces (surprising us at times).
Once again, I think that aligning our will with God's is more an exercise in turning inward. swimordie is right on, I think. God's will is found within because the struggle to align one's will with God's is an internal struggle. Until we come to this point we are full of pride (pitting our will against God's) which, of course, is the root of all evil.Euhemerus wrote:it seems like having expectations of God would be even worse as God's will is rather unpredictable, especially if you think he is bound in any way shape or form by a set of rules characterized by humans. I think this is why, in Mormonism, we put a lot of focus on accepting God's will. We bend to Him, not the other way around. In a more general sense however, this form of surrendering our will to God is the ultimate ideal for personal growth (I'm in Maxwell's camp on this issue). It has much less to do with God than it does with ourselves. In this light, I think the answer to your question is to turn internal to self, rather than external. Your expectations of God should consist of God doing whatever God sees fit and your accepting His will as your own. In a theological light this makes a lot of sense as God knows what's best for us.
No, I don't. I think even saying something like "obedience to His will will always lead to blessings and happiness" is short sighted. The truth is, no matter how you slice it, some decisions in which you thought you were doing God's will will lead to unhappiness. Try telling a depressed faithful LDS orthodox member that obedience to God's will leads to happiness. I have lived with such a person my entire life. No amount of obedience will lead her to happiness. But prozac and CBT willHeber13 wrote:IMO, the disappointment comes when we thought we understood His will, had faith in an outcome, and we were wrong in seeing the outcome or in setting the timeline for the expectation, or we just flat out misunderstood His will. This seems to be part of my current problem with obedience, however. Do you think we can really predict even the outcome of obeying God's will?
There are really two issues at play here though. We're talking about "obeying God's will" and "aligning our will with God's." I think those are two different, but related concepts. I prefer the latter as it is empowering, and emphasizes my relationship with God. Simply obeying God's will feels more like a one-sided authoritarian relationship which I don't care for.
Incidentally, one of the great things about Islam is that Islam means "surrender of oneself to God." What a great name for a religion huh!