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God's Will

God's Will

61 6.6
A plan or wish of God that guides what happens
  • noun
translation icon : voluntad de Dios
  • "Father said it is not God's will that any should suffer."
  • do God's Will
  • carry out God's Will
  • accept God's Will

Examples

  • Many people find comfort in the belief that it is God's will that determines the events of their lives.

  • Job believes that he would gladly let God's will be done, and he would still not deny God.

    Academic text (2006)
  • Something about being against God's will or something.

  • If this is God's will then it's his will.

  • Sometimes, we just have to accept it... ...as God's will.

  • You just have to say to yourself it was God's will.

  • I received the answer that is no answer: "It is God's will."

    Fiction book (1994)
  • God's will has a purpose, but we may not know it.

  • God's will is a powerful thing.

  • It is an inquiry concerning God's will and the nature of men.

Synonyms

providence
vsGod's Will
  • Literature
3 9.3

Protective care and guidance believed to come from God or a higher power

focuses on the powerful intent that directs and determines events
divine guidance
vsGod's Will
3 7.2

Special help from a god for someone deciding or acting

emphasizes an intent that directs or determines events beyond personal guidance

Surface Forms

God's Will singular

Morphology

God's + will

The meaning 'the power and intent of God directing events' is directly compositional from 'God's' (possessive of God) plus 'will' (intention or determination), so a learner who knows both constituents can infer the MWE meaning. This construction is cross-linguistically common (e.g. Spanish 'voluntad de Dios', French 'volonté de Dieu'), supporting immediate comprehensibility for B1 learners.

Etymology

God's Will comes from the simple religious idea that God has a plan or desire for what happens in the world. The word Will here means 'wish' or 'plan', so saying something is God's Will means people think it was guided by God or should be accepted.