How
to Find God’s Will in Your Life
Many people are
seeking to find their purpose in life.
What is God’s purpose for them?
Frequently, the desires of our hearts are also the will of God. How can you find out what God’s will is for
your life? The answer to these questions
is of supreme importance, not only for believers, but for God as well. God wants you to know His will for your
life. A good place to start is in prayer,
reading the Bible, and in seeking counsel from Christian friends.
If you are not a
believer in Jesus Christ and have not placed saving faith in Him, then you are
out of the will of God for He desires that all to come to repentance and faith
and to be born-again. If you are not a
Christian, then you will never truly find out what God’s will is for you. For non-believers, God’s will is for you to
place your faith and trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior – to repent and
ask Him to forgive your sins.
The Bible is clear
about what God desires from Christians. God wants us to glorify His Son’s name,
Jesus Christ.
Biblical Purpose
for Your Life
The Bible is clear
about what God desires from Christians.
God wants us to glorify His Son’s name, Jesus Christ. He desires that we tell others about the good
news of the Gospel. Apart from these two
obvious wills of God for us, what other Scriptures tell us what God wants us to
focus on?
Romans 12:1-2
says, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to
offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your
true and proper worship. Do not conform
to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing
and perfect will.” When Paul says “I
urge you” the Greek indicative is to beg or plead with the brothers and
sisters. The word “urge” is more like a
desperate plea for your own sakes and in fact the word urge is from the root
word for “urgent.” This means it is of
critical importance. Also, notice in
verse two that it says, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be
transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
This renewing is the same Greek word that typifies the Transfiguration
of Jesus on the mount of Transfiguration (Matt. 17:1-6). This is where the Shekina Glory was revealed
to Peter, James, and John.
So we know that
God desires for us to not be conformed to the pattern of this world, but be
transformed by the renewing of the mind by the Holy Spirit. In Romans 1:2 it says, “Then you will be able
to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect
will.” It says that only then, that is
after the renewing of the mind and not being patterned after this world, that
we can know “his good, pleasing, and perfect will.” That’s it! This is His perfect will! God’s will for our lives is that we not be
conformed to the world but allow the Holy Spirit to transform our minds and
then we can “what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” How clearer can it be? That is God’s will for our lives. It is not for us to be rich, to never be
sick, and to not suffer, but to conform to His will and His will is a “perfect
will!” Wouldn’t you expect to know where
to find God’s will? Naturally you can
find it in the Bible, because God’s Word to us is the Bible.
So God’s will for
our lives is to be transformed by the Holy Spirit, to not be conformed to the
world, and maybe even to suffer.
Wait! To suffer? First Peter 3:17 says, “For it is better, if
it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.” Jesus had to suffer more than anyone else in
human history and just before Calvary Jesus “fell with his face to the ground
and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet
not as I will, but as you will” (Matt. 26:39).
There it is. Jesus wanted to seek and do God the Father’s will over His
own. And what was God’s will for Jesus?
The prophet Isaiah tells us what God’s will was for Jesus just before
the brutal Calvary: “Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to
suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his
offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his
hand” (Is. 53:10). Yes, this was God the
Father’s will for Jesus. His will for
Jesus was to “crush him and cause him to suffer” and to make “his life a guilt
offering” for those who would believe in Him.
It should not surprise us then that sometimes God’s will is for us to
suffer and this suffering is for God’s glory!
I realize that for some who are reading this article about how to find
God’s will for your life would not ever think about it being to suffer, but
this is from the Bible and the Bible is God speaking to us from His Word (2
Pet. 1:20-21, 2 Tim. 3:16).
Seek Godly Counsel
Another way to
find God’s will in your life is to seek the counsel of an adviser, a friend, a
pastor, or teacher. The Bible says that
“in the multitude of counselors there is safety” (Prov. 24:6b). Proverbs 11:4b also says that “there is
safety in having many advisers.” The key
word in these proverbs is many. Asking
your best friend may not help you find God’s will for your life. It may be good advice but it may not be God’s
will.
It’s not like God
is trying to hide His will from us or that He will not help us find His will
for our lives. Just read Ephesians 1:11,
“In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of
him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will.” Everything will work out for our best and
things in our life will be according to “the purpose of his will.” Romans 8:28
confirms “that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who
have been called according to his purpose.”
Trust God’s Sovereignty
As we read in
Romans 8:28, Christians can rest in the fact that God is sovereign over
everything that happens in this life. He
directs events, He puts people in our paths, and essentially He enables us to
be in the right place at the right time.
Proverbs 21:1 is one of my favorite Scriptures for reassurance when I am
praying for God’s will in my life, “The king’s heart is like channels of water
in the hand of the LORD; He turns it wherever He wishes.” If God can direct the king’s heart to “wherever
He wishes”, then surely He can direct you to the right employer, to the right
woman or man, to the right ministry, or whatever His will is for you. The key here is that your will must be
aligned with His will or you will be frustrated.
We already know
that God’s will is for us to not be conformed to this world, to be renewed in
our minds by the Holy Spirit, and to seek godly counselors, but He also wants
us to know that He is directing your life in His good and pleasing sovereignty
for what is best for you (Rom 8:28). He
wants you to trust Him in this directing.
Proverbs 16:33 indicates that “The lot is cast into the lap, but its
every decision is from the LORD.” This
clearly means that if we cast some dice, God not only knows where they will
land, but what their sum total will be.
That “decision is from the LORD.”
The question is, will you trust Him with it?
Daniel 4:35 says
“All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases
with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him:
“What have you done?” If God does what
He pleases with the nations of the world, and “no one can hold back His hand”,
then surely you must know that He can help you find your will for your life
which will also be His will for your life.
An important lesson here is that God’s will for your life should be what
you are seeking as your will for your life.
You do not want to seek your will unless it is also God’s will. To seek
a will for your life that is different from that of God’s will for your life
will be a continual frustration.
Aligning Your Will
With God’s
The true joy in
your life will be finding God’s will for it.
Anything short of this will not be pleasing to God and will not please
you in the end. God’s will for your life
is also revealed in these Scriptures.
1 Thessalonians
4:3-5 “It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid
sexual immorality; that each of you
should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not
in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God.”
1 Thessalonians
5:18 “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in
Christ Jesus.”
1 John 2:17 “The
world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives
forever.”
Matthew 28:18-20
“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has
been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and
teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you
always, to the very end of the age.”
God’s Will is
Found in the Bible
God doesn’t want
to frustrate us in seeking His will for our lives. As it says in Deuteronomy 19:29, “The secret things belong to the LORD our
God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we
may follow all the words of this law.“
We can see that finding God’s will for our lives is found in the
Bible. His words to us are His Word in
print – the Bible. You will be amazed at
how much of God’s will for your life will be plainly revealed to you by simply
reading the Bible every day. God is not
trying to hide His will for your life.
That is not His way. He wants you
to know His will and the will of God are in the words of God – in Scripture.
Final Thoughts on
Finding the Will of God
This is not an
exhaustive list, but we can sum up some of the know will of God for your life:
Do not be
conformed to the pattern of this world.
Be transformed by
the renewing of your mind by the Holy Spirit.
Suffer for doing
good.
Seek a multitude
of godly counselors.
Trust in God’s
sovereignty.
Abstain from
sexual immorality.
Live a holy,
sanctified life.
Being thankful to
God for everything.
Read His Word, the
Holy Bible.
God’s will for
your life is much more than an occupation (a teacher, a janitor, a painter, an
accountant, or a carpenter) – it is for you to live a life pleasing to Him,
allow the Holy Spirit to renew your mind, suffer for good, trust in Him, live a
holy life, and read His Word. This is
the will of God for you and for every Christian’s life.
I hope u are blessed by this teaching in Jesus name.
We shall continue with this topic if the lord tarries,
your friend,
Pastor mike.
