Can I Really Know God’s Will for My Life?
Can I Really Know God’s Will for My Life?
Have you ever wondered what God’s will is for your life?
Oftentimes, when people bring up the topic of discerning the will of God, they talk about things like whether or not God wants (or wanted) them to take a certain job, or to marry a specific person, or to move to a different country.
As a Father, God loves it when His children ask Him for guidance, and He certainly cares to lead us down the very best paths for our lives (Proverbs 3:5-6), in all areas of our lives.
But there are some aspects of God’s will for us as His children that have been spelled out for us clearly in the Bible. And when it comes to these matters, you and I don’t need to seek discernment or to “pray about it first” to make sure it’s really God’s will for us. We just need to know what Scripture says about these things and to trust the answers we’ve already been given.
Here are seven things that you and I can know for sure are God’s will for our lives right now…
1. It’s God’s will for each one of us to know Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord (to become a child of God).
“For this is the will of my Father: that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him will have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” – Jesus (John 6:40, CSB)
For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Anyone who believes in him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God. – John 3:16-18 (CSB)
Now without faith it is impossible to please God, since the one who draws near to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. – Hebrews 11:6 (CSB)
The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. - 2 Peter 3:9 (ESV)
[B]ecause, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. – Romans 10:9-10 (ESV)
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. – Ephesians 2:8-9 (ESV)
(If you’re reading this, and you’re unsure what it means to become a child of God, here’s some real good news just for you!)
2. It’s God’s will for His children to pray for others.
Not only does God want us to pray for other people; God wants us to pray all kinds of prayers, for all kinds of people!
First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” – 1 Timothy 2:1-4 (ESV)
3. It’s God’s will for His children to submit to and be respectful of those in positions of governing authority.
This includes Presidents and other elected officials, whether or not we voted for them or like them or agree with them; and this also includes law enforcement officers — the ones who serve well and deserve to be in those positions of authority, as well as the ones who abuse their power and oppress people.
I know this idea is not palatable to many in our day, but keep in mind that it wasn’t palatable in Jesus’ day either; and yet, this is what Jesus taught His disciples, and this is what they taught us in turn.
Ironically, the passage that goes along with this point was written by the Apostle Peter — you know, the guy who whipped out a sword and started swinging when the guards showed up to arrest Jesus. I guess the lesson Peter learned from Jesus that night changed his way of thinking…
Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor. - 1 Peter 2:13-17 (ESV)
4. It’s God’s will for His children to have grateful hearts and to express their thankfulness to Him.
You and I are called to give thanks to God in the best of circumstances, in the worst of circumstances, and in every kind of circumstance in between!
Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. – 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (ESV)
5. It’s (still) God’s will for His children to choose to live differently than the rest of the world when it comes to the matter of sex.
This is another unpalatable truth in our day, and one that’s almost taboo to talk about, at this point. (It shouldn’t be, though.)
As a good father, God cares about His children’s sex lives — not because sex is a bad thing, or because He’s trying to withhold something good from us. But because God designed sex to be enjoyed within certain parameters, for our good and for our protection, and for the good and protection of others.
Sex on God’s terms is meant to bring honor to him and pleasure to us. Sex is a good gift to humanity from a good and loving God, and anyone who teaches otherwise is not teaching the Bible!
But as with all gifts, we can misuse it. And you and I don’t have to look very far or very hard to see how humanity has misused sex, and how badly we’ve hurt one another in the process.
“For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you. - 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8 (ESV)
6. It’s God’s will for His children to do what’s right, to love His mercy, and to let Him be Judge.
In my experience, Christians (myself included) tend to mix this one up pretty badly. We love to receive God’s mercy for ourselves, and we want others to show us mercy; but when it comes to doing what’s right, we tend to worry more about what everyone else is doing wrong than about our own shortcomings; and we often feel justified in withholding mercy from others when they miss the mark.
But God’s will for His children is that we would live rightly ourselves according to His standard (even when others don’t); that we would love God’s mercy (both for ourselves and for others); and that we would remember that God is God and we are not, and that only He reserves the right to judge — especially when our idea of what justice should look like does not pan out.
He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? - Micah 6:8 (ESV)
But the LORD sits enthroned forever; he has established his throne for justice, and he judges the world with righteousness; he judges the peoples with uprightness. – Psalm 9:7-8 (ESV)
Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” – Romans 12:19 (ESV)
There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor? - James 4:12 (ESV)
7. It’s God’s will for His children to have a proper view of who He is, and to love one another.
We all have our own ideas about who God is and what He’s like. And if we’re not careful to let Scripture shape (and reshape) our beliefs about God, we’ll believe all sorts of things about God that aren’t really true. And one of the reasons this is such a big deal is because the way we see God actually shapes the way we see ourselves as well.
Case in point: in the book of Job, we find that Job believed he was sinless, and had some misbeliefs about God’s role in his life and what God “owed” him. Ultimately, Job accused God of being unjust (or at the very least, he suggested as much).
But afterward, Job saw God as He truly was, and this was Job’s response:
Then Job replied to the Lord: “I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted. You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.’ My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.” - Job 42:1-6 (NIV)
(Isaiah had a similar story, in which his face-to-face encounter with God not only changed his perception of God, but also, his perception of himself.)
When we see God as He truly is, we can’t help but see our great need for Him. But God never reveals Himself to us just to leave us in our state of need. No, in His great love for us, He made a way for us to know Him, through His Son Jesus (1 John 4:14-16). As it says in the Psalms:
The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant. - Psalm 25:14 (ESV)
To truly know God — our good Creator God — is to love Him (1 John 4:19)!
And when we love God, we will love others. This is God’s will for our lives. This is what you and I were created for!
The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.” – Ecclesiastes 12:13 (ESV)
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” – Jesus (John 14:15, ESV)
Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. – Romans 13:8-10 (ESV)
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