It’s a hot topic for sure. How can I know God’s will for my life? Our heart longs to “get it right” and we can labor long trying to figure it out. Here are some things that have helped in our family….
First, define the terms! What do we mean by “God’s Will”?
We need as our overarching premise to understand that God is sovereign and that He WILL accomplish His plan. Job 42:2 and Isaiah 43:13 are just two of many places in Scripture where God proclaims His sovereignty and declares that nothing can stop what He wants to happen. So take heart - we are not powerful enough to mess up His Will!!
What can happen, though, is that we can mess up our opportunities to enjoy the blessings of knowing and following His will. We miss rewards both here (joy, peace, satisfaction, excitement) and in eternity when we do not seek to discern and align ourselves with His will.
So, how can we know what it is so we can follow it?
In short, we must know that God’s Will is HIS WORD. Psalm 40:8 says that I delight to do Thy will, O my God; Thy law is within my heart. God has abundantly supplied the information we need in order to know and do His will - we just have to read the Bible!
While His sovereign will is ultimate and will be accomplished, His prescriptive will is for us to follow individually. Things like don’t marry an unbeliever (2 Corinthians 6:14) and what to do if you already have ((I Corinthians 7:20). And how to handle money (Proverbs 17:18, I Timothy 6:18-19). Instructions on how to treat others, including raising kids (I Thessalonians 5:14,15 and Ephesians 6:4). And how to live as a light in this dark world (Matthew 5:13-16). Just to name a few.
There are a few times where Scripture says specifically “this is God’s will for you”:
John 6:40 - to believe in Jesus
I Thessalonians 4:3 - to be sexually pure
I Thessalonians 5:18 - to give thanks in EVERYTHING
I Peter 2:13-15 - to submit and be willing to suffer for doing good
One final thought on knowing His will…
The pendulum has swung from the “follow your heart” philosophy to “do not ever trust your deceitful heart to know what to do”. I believe Scripture teaches us that neither extreme is how we discern God’s will for us. Ecclesiastes 11:9, written by the wisest man who ever lived, says Rejoice, young man, during your childhood, and let your heart be pleasant during the days of young manhood. And follow the impulses for your heart and the desires of your eyes. Yet know that God will bring you to judgment for all these things.
Wow. What a verse to end with. Whatever does it mean?
Taken out of context, read from a heart intent on self-pleasing, it can be thought to say we should follow our heart and do what we want! But that would be error that would lead to ruin. Solomon is telling us in this verse, after 11 previous chapters of saying that the things of this world will not ultimately satisfy, to let our hearts be aligned in the right way (“let your heart be pleasant/beneficial”). It’s his way of saying Romans 12:2 - instead of conforming to the world, be transformed by having your mind/heart renewed. When we do that, when we align ourselves to His Word, when we are faithfully seeking to please Him, then we can trust the desires and inclinations that He puts in our heart. When we are delighting ourselves in HIM, then the desires of our heart will be in accordance with His will.
And we can follow that with all joy!