Second best?

Sometimes, as I read the Bible, I wonder about how much is God’s perfect will, and God’s permissive will.

God’s perfect will, of course, is when everything is done exactly as he desires.

God’s permissive will is when he allows something but is not exactly happy about it.

The fall of man is a perfect example of this.

It was God’s perfect will that Adam and Eve have free choice.

But out of that perfect will we also see God’s permissive will.  By allowing them to have free choice, he also had to permit them to go their own way.

Was he happy with their sin?  No, but he permitted it.

So you could say that the fall of man came out of God’s will that they have free choice.

His perfect will would have been that they followed him.

But his permissive will respected their right to say no to him.

There are clear cut examples of God’s perfect will and God’s permissive will, such as with Adam and Eve.

But other cases are not so clear.

When the descendants of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh decided to make their home outside of the land God had promised the people, was that within God’s perfect will or permissive will?

Moses certainly permitted it, so long as they agreed to fight with the rest of the Israelites until God had given them the land he had promised them.

But was it God’s perfect will?

At a guess, I’d say no.

And I wonder if in taking the land on the other side of the Jordan, these people gave up some of the blessings God had intended for them?

I can’t offhand think of anything they lost.  I can’t prove that they did.  But I do have to wonder.

They were happy with what they had on their side of the Jordan, but would they have been happier if they had taken the land God had promised them?

How often do we settle for second best in our lives?

How often has God offered us something wonderful, and we settled for something less because we were satisfied with what we had?

God may permit it, but we may miss out on the blessings he wanted to pour out on us.

Sometimes we settle for second best because we’re impatient for God’s timing.

Or maybe we settle for second best, because we’re comfortable where we are, and we have no idea what God’s best for us looks like.

Both were probably true for those Israelites that wanted to stay where they were.

They didn’t want to wait any longer to settle down.  And they had no idea what kinds of blessings were waiting for them on the other side if they waited.

I have to admit that I probably settle for second best too much in my life not because of impatience, but because of satisfaction with where I am.

Satisfaction and contentment are not bad things if you are where God wants you.  But they can be bad if they hold you back from where God wants you to be.

I guess that’s the question I’m asking now.  Am I where God wants me to be?  Am I settling for second best?