HOW I CAN KNOW God’s Will for My Life

 

HOW I CAN KNOW God’s Will for My Life

At its most basic meaning, the will of God is for all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (2 Timothy 2:4) Once we receive Jesus Christ as our Savior and submit unto Him as our Lord, we are God’s children (John1:12), and through the Holy Spirit who indwells us, God the Father leads us in the paths of righteousness for His Name’s sake, and to do that, He must teach us to do His will.

Not only is God’s will for our lives knowable, but it is also provable. Of the many passages that address God’s will, what the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 12:2 is the most definitive and directive. “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”  A child of God refuses to be conformed to the ways of the world, and he chooses to be transformed by the Holy Spirit to walk in the ways of the Lord.

There are three aspects to the will of God, and it is vitally important that we are able to discern the difference between them.

• • His Sovereign will – nothing happens outside of God’s sovereign will. In Ephesians 1:11, the Apostle Paul described God as the one “who works all things according to the counsel of His will.” While God doesn’t always “cause” all things to happen, He allows or permits things to happen in which He takes no pleasure. God allowed Joseph to be kidnapped by his brothers and sold into slavery, but in Genesis 50:20, Joseph told his brothers, “But you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is today, to save many people alive.”
  • His Revealed will – in Micah 6:8, the prophet wrote, “And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” God has revealed what He wants His children to do and how He wants us to live, but He also gave us the ability to obey or disobey. Adam and Eve could have obeyed God, but unfortunately, they chose to disobey God, and therefore inherited the consequences of their own choices. It was God’s will for Jesus to suffer and die, but those responsible for His death were still held accountable.
  • His Dispositional will – had God not desired all men to be saved, He would not have sent His Son to be our Savior. However, all men will not be saved. At times, God allows or even decrees something that gives Him no pleasure, including the death of the wicked. However, in His sovereignty, God can use even those things to bring about His purpose.

Basically, there are five general principles in discovering God’s will for our lives. However, rather than seeing them as individual steps along a journey, it is best to see them as an act of complete submission to the will of God.

• • Surrender your heart’s desires – rather than seeking God’s approval for what we want to do, or what we think is best, in so far as it is possible, we should seek to have no will of our own, but rather fully submitted to whatever God desires for us. Psalm 37:4 says, if we delight in the Lord, i.e., if our life goal is to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord, He will give us His desires for us. When our desire is to know God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and might, only then are we ready to hear from God.
  • Meditate on God’s Word – rather than trying to find a specific proof-text to support your decision, as you continue your daily study of God’s Word, concentrate on the character of God revealed in the Old Testament and the Person and work of Christ in the New Testament. Psalm 119:105 says God’s Word is a lamp to guide our feet and a light to show us the path in which we are to walk. When our heart’s desire is to please God, certainly He will show us His will and His way.
  • Ask God for His direction – rather than wanting to “know” God’s will so you can decide whether or not you want to obey it, ask God to show you His will, and assure Him you will gladly do it. James 1:5-6 says God is delighted to give us His wisdom, but only to those who are willing to receive it, and by faith, obey it. God’s will for our lives is not a secret to be discovered but rather an assignment to be completed.
  • Ask others for counsel – rather than running the risk of allowing your personal emotions to dominate your thought processes, seek the wise counsel of several mature Christians, beginning with those in positions of authority over you. Even if their counsel is conflicted because of their personal biases, God can use their perspective to reveal any blind spots you have overlooked. Proverbs 15:22 says our plans often fail because we fail to ask the advice of others.
  • Consider your present circumstances – rather than making a decision and then expecting God to work out the details, pause long enough to consider the life adjustments required for a new assignment and what impact this might have upon others, beginning with your family. The “open door” may or may not be God’s will, and the “greener grass” may or may not be where God is leading you. Think things through logically, as well as theologically, for just as the Holy Spirit can influence our emotions, He can also transform our minds.

Certainly, we must view this passage in its original context, but the application of Jeremiah 29:11 can be helpful to our understanding of God’s sovereign will. After years of disobedience, God allowed the people of Judah to be carried into exile into Babylon. How could it be God’s will for His people to become the slaves to the ungodly people of Babylon? But through the prophet Jeremiah, God told His people:

“I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

   God has a future and a hope for every one of His children. His will for our lives is always good, always pleasing, and always perfect, even though it may not appear to be that way to us at the time. God’s will for our lives is not only about our vocation and location, but it is also about our devotion and our dedication to Him, regardless of the circumstances of our lives. In Ephesians 1:4, 12, the Apostle Paul wrote, “Just as He (God) chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, (Vs. 12) that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.”

In May 1940, the Nazis invaded the Netherlands. Casper ten Boom’s family were devout Christians, and while they didn’t become involved in the political resistance movement of the Dutch Underground, they opened and renovated their home as a refuge for Jews. When the Gestapo learned of their “hiding place,” the Ten Boom family was taken to a Concentration Camp where they all died except for Corrie, who continued to lead Bible studies for the 700-women in her barracks.

After 10-months of hard labor, little food, no rest, and a “clerical error,” Corrie ten Boom was released from Ravensbruck, and for the next 30-years, she visited over 60-countries to tell everyone, “there is no pit so deep that God’s love is not deeper still.” When she told her story, she would hold up the backside of a tapestry and read this poem:

My life is but a weaving
between my God and me.
I cannot choose the colors
He weaveth steadily.

Oft’ times He weaveth sorrow,
and I in foolish pride,
forget He sees the upper,
and I the underside.

Then she would flip the tapestry around and say:

Not ‘til the loom is silent,
and the shuttles cease to fly,
will God unroll the canvas
and reveal the reason why.

The dark threads are as needful
in the weaver’s skillful hand
as the threads of gold and silver
in the pattern He has planned.

He knows, He loves, He cares;
nothing this truth can dim.
He gives the very best to those
who leave the choice to Him.

Never be afraid to trust in unknown future to a known God!