Overcoming disobedience: How our will needs to be restored in Christ just as much as our hearts and minds

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The human soul has three components: the heart, the mind and the will. We hear a lot about the heart and mind and how God restores them but rarely do we talk about the will and how God moulds it. What is the will and how does God restore it when it is broken?

The human will is the faculty of our being that enables us to make decisions. It is responsible for building desire, passion and drive to act according to the convictions of our hearts and the values of our mind. So many people have full hearts and renewed minds, but find that many times they do not - or sometimes even cannot - act according to them because their will is broken.

John 7:17 says, "If anyone's will is to do God's will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority." Every Christian wants their will to be according to God's will, but there are just some instances where we do not align our will to God's will and it throws us off God's perfect and pleasing purpose over us. We need our will to be restored once more so that we can be free to be passionate and hungry for God's ways and God's will.

The thing about our will is that just like our hearts and minds, God does not impose or manipulate it if we choose not to do something. That's what we call free will. It was the free yet broken will of man that caused sin to enter into this earth and it is our free and broken will that often stops us from experiencing God's goodness. So how can our will be restored?

The solution to our broken will is no different from the solution to everything - the gospel of Jesus Christ. Through the cross, we can now experience wholeness in every aspect of life. Because Jesus is the shepherd who "restores our soul" (Psalm 23:3) and the sacrificial lamb who bore the brokenness and sin of the world, He has the ability to restore our broken will.

Proverbs 16:9 tells us, "The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps." God can and will establish our steps, our decision-making, our will and our passions, only if we invite Jesus to do so. When we make Him Lord over every area of our live, including our will, He will come and will let His will become our will as well. We align with the Father who is the source of our ultimate will and purpose only because Jesus is now our way to the Father.

Today, you can surrender your broken will to Jesus in prayer and allow Him to put back together the broken pieces so that you may now walk in His wholeness.