Discerning the Will of God

It is within the heart of every believer to seek out the will of God., yet we often find ourselves baffled by its specifics. We counsel with ministers as if they possess the spiritual insight to know our future.  The purpose, or sovereign will for our life frustrates us as it seems to be a mystical mystery we much dig to discover. I believe this mindset comes from a generational miscommunication of what God’s will actually is.

We initially make that decision to accept Christ, but post-salvation there seems to be millions of other options.  Where should I work?  Who should I marry?  What college should I go to?  What classes should I take?  And as we peer through our flawed microscope at this mysterious object, God’s Will, we find the closer we look, the more it appears to be a kaleidoscope of confusion.  Ephesians 5:17 says, “Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.”  The writer focuses in on a simple fact,  God wants us to know his will even more than I want to know it.

But before we can know the will of God, we must first understand what it is.  The big picture includes the WORKS of God, fulfilled by his sovereignty, outside of any man’s control. No committee.  No government.  When God speaks, it just happens.  Within those works are the WAYS of God.  God’s moral law, and instruction for day to day life.  As we examine the pages of Scripture we find God’s ways to be both clear and complete.  Then, yet another subcategory appears,  the one we desperately seek to know.  The WILL of God.  God’s will is the answer to the Who, What, When, and Where.

Knowing that the purpose of my life is to bring God glory,  it stands to reason that glorifying God is equivalent with being in His will. 1 Corinthians 10:31 says, “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do; do all to the glory of God.” Here is where great freedom is found!  When I walk in God’s WAYS, He will lead me in His WILL.  Knowing that the ways of God are perfect (2Samuel 33:22) I can rest assured that when I am walking in God’s perfect ways, I will always be in His will.

It does not matter what your past looks like, or where you find your present,  today you are free to step back into the will of God.  God’s will is very much a present focus more than a future tense.  I cannot know the future, so for this fact I am glad!  God’s will highlights the motive of the heart more than the appearance of outward action.  And as a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart,  God is glorified in the person you become, more than the specific placement of your body.  You cannot know the will of God for the future outside of the will of God for today.  So when you begin to fret over the future, open of the scripture, and take instruction for today.  For anything you do can become God’s will when you do it God’s way.