I have been reading a book by Osman entitled, “God Doesn’t Whisper”. Then, tonight, I had a conference with some dear friends in Christ and read Psalm 105. In verses 16-24, which is the context of God’s care for Israel who declared Him before the Nations, we are given the example of Joseph. His being sold and serving under Potiphar in Egypt was used by God to get Israel or Jacob and his brothers in Egypt. A question that arose in my mind for your consideration is whether God caused these things to occur in Joseph’s life or if God uses the circumstances that occurred in his life to accomplish His purpose.  The reason for pursuing this question with you is to emphasize the goodness of God.
First, let’s not confuse the characters of the Bible as God unfolded his scheme to redeem man with ourselves. This is not to say that God is not involved in our lives or that He is not interested in our choices. But, to equate my life with Joseph’s in fulfilling the purposes of God is a bit overboard. Most of our decisions are made by applying the wisdom of Scripture in our lives, but we are often concerned about our decisions being the will of God when God is often indifferent about the decision we make.  I understand that we do not want to do anything that is against the will of God, but we have the best guidebook to ensure that we make wise decisions.  All of us have been faced with different pathways that we could have taken. Some are never a consideration, but many more doors could have been opened that would have altered our lives. One is not necessarily any better than the other and one is not the will of God, while all the others are against God’s will for us. Once we make a career choice and location to work that does not violate principles of truth, God will walk with us in that chosen path. Too many people think that God’s will is involved in every choice that we make.   Admitting to these things does not negate the possibility of God’s will being accomplished through us.  However, we do not always know that God used us to accomplish something good. James tells us that we should pray, “If the Lord wills, we will go into such city and buy and get gain.”  Such a person should aim to go, unless something comes up that hinders his or her plans.  It may be God’s will, or it may be Satan hindering the plan (1 Thess. 2:18).  But, one thing is for sure — He is in control.
Second, whether you or I decide to initiate some plan of action that God may use to accomplish a good thing does not mean that God couldn’t have done it without you.  Like Mordecai said to Esther, “Who knows but whether God has chosen you for such a time as this?” We know He did use her but she had a choice and God’s plan could have been accomplished in some other way if she had decided not to go.
Third, God is the giver of every good and perfect gift (Js. 1:17) and as such, he cannot be the source of pain, sickness, and death. The hardships that Joseph endured is amazing. It appeared that for many years Joseph would reach a pinnacle of accomplishment only to fall back down in the pit.  Was God bringing this on him?  The answer must be, “absolutely not.” Yet, he allows bad things to happen to people sometimes without intervening because good will be accomplished (cf. Genesis 50:20).  The thorn in the flesh that Paul had was a messenger of Satan, not God. Yet, God did not intervene and remove it from Paul because of the good that he got from it (2 Cor. 12:7-10).
Fourth, admitting that God’s will for healing, or any other request of prayer may be accomplished through us does not mean that we should wait for God’s answer.  Too many are relying on the voice of God to give them the green light to act. Unless there is some biblical precedent that requires authority from God before taking action, we should make the best decision available to us and not be worried as to whether it is God’s will. If it isn’t, you will not be going. But, often, He doesn’t care if you decide to do a thing or not. If you are waiting to hear from him, get real comfortable because you’ll be still waiting when you breathe your last breath. To you who are hearing him, be very cautious that you are not reading into events and circumstances that are not really there. Subjective approaches to hearing God’s voice are a dangerous thing because we are often unaware that we are seeking for confirmation to do what our emotions dictate to us.