What is God’s Will For My Life?
In Christian circles this question comes up quite frequently.
What is God’s will for my life?
Haven’t you asked yourself that very same question many times over? This question isn’t just for young people but Christian’s of all ages.
Why Do We Ask This?
One reason is because we want to be obedient to the Lord in our life right? We also have been told from a young age, and it is true, that God has a plan for our lives, right? If there is a plan for our lives we want to be sure we are following that plan. Since the Lord doesn’t birth us with a road map about our life we need to be thinking about this plan in order to ensure we are going in the right direction.
No More Agenda
One great evangelists said that the first thing we need to do when considering God’s will for our lives is to clear our heads of our own agenda. If we enter into a time of prayer with our mind already made up what good was the prayer? Why even pray? There is no sense in praying for guidance when you don’t really want an answer. In order to find God’s will for your life you must clear your head of your own agenda and pray that God would show you His plan for your life and the surrender your plan to Him. Jesus said you must lose your life in order to find it. That Scripture is easy to read but hard to follow.
One way to know what God’s will is for you life is to know what is NOT God’s will for your life. If the decision you are about to make falls into one of these two categories you can be sure that it is not God’s will for your life.
1. Anything that does not align with Scripture is not God’s will for your life.
Consider King David looking down from his palace and lusting over Bathsheba. David was a married man but yet wanted what was not rightfully his. The act that he was pondering did not line up with Scripture nor did the murder he later committed in order to try and cover up what he did. Our own experiences should tell us that there was a moment where David was thinking about what he was about to do and should have realized that it does not line up with God’s plan for his life because it was contrary to Scripture.
2. If your decision does not bring glory to God it is not God’s will you life
Secondly, not only was it contrary to Scripture but it did not bring the Lord glory. This man, David, was God’s anointed. He was God’s chosen vessel on earth to represent the Lord as the ruler over the Lord’s people Israel. His decision to commit adultery and then eventually murder the women’s husband not only goes against Scripture but it also defames the name of the Lord. If your decision defames the name of the Lord as it did in David’s case, it is not the Lord’s will for your life.
God’s will for your life will always be in line with Scripture and it will never defame the name of the Lord. God will get the glory in your life if you are walking in his will.
In closing, consider this Scripture.
John 6:28-29
28 Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?”
29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”
The first step in our journey to be in God’s will for our lives is to believe in the one whom the Lord sent. If we believe in the one whom He sent our focus is no longer on ourselves but on Christ. When our focus is on Christ no matter what happens in our life our faith is built up because it is founded upon the rock Christ Jesus. We may not always have a clear plan and direction from the Lord when we pray, but if we are focused on Him we will have the faith to step out and know that God is interested in the details of our lives and is guiding us along even when we don’t know it.
Finally, if we are focused on the one the Lord sent, Jesus Christ, we will be more satisfied in Him and He will receive more glory from the acts we partake in on a daily basis. If our lives are focused on bringing him more glory and being more satisfied in Him we will no doubt be in the will of God. You can count on it!
2 Comments, Comment or Ping
JessePhillips
Brother, are you sure God has a specific will for my life? I mean, his will is laid-out in scripture, no? Make disciples of all nations, love God, love your neighbor, use your gifts to edify the body, use your talents and get a return on His investment in you.
I mean, that stuff is not that specific, but does he give us specific stuff? Like, “I want you to be a garbage man in Gallup, New Mexico.” or “I want you to be a supervisor at Target.”
Does he give us desires and interests of our own, or are those evil? If he does give them, are we to ignore them?
Brother, I’m struggling with this question b/c I’m losing my job soon, and I’m asking for direction, but have none, except my desires, passions, and interests - combined with my skills and gifts - and scriptural motivation to build the kingdom.
Also, I like your wordpress theme, where did you get it?
Jun 8th, 2008
Justin Driscoll
Jesse
I wanted to try and address a couple of your questions you left on my blog about God’s will for your life.
Jesus answered your question to a certain extent by saying in John 6
28 Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?”
29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”
The Bible doesn’t give us specific instructions like you should work here or you should not work there. We are left to deal with the details ourselves. Which I am very grateful for since we are not puppets of the Lord. He created us with free will and free choice to make decisions that would glorify Him.
If you feel like you are to work at Target then work at Target. Or if you feel like you are to be a garbage man in Gallup, New Mexico, then do it. As long as your decisions do not dishonor the Lord or go against the Word of God then do it.
12Therefore, my beloved,(A) as you have always(B) obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13for(C) it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for(D) his good pleasure. - Phillipians 2:12-13.
God bless you!
Jun 10th, 2008
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