5 Ways to Know God’s Will for Your Life
What is God’s will for your life? Who knows, right?
Knowing God’s will for our lives has been a topic of great debate among the church. Can we really know what God wants us to do? Or are we just supposed to guess and hope for the best?
Firstly, I must state that sometimes we put way too much pressure on trying to ‘discover’ God’s purpose for our entire lives.
We go on a cosmic treasure hunt for our ‘purpose’ and we miss the point that God just wants us to have faith and trust in Him for the little things.
“Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” Matthew 6:10
Related Post: How to commit to the Lord, even during hard times
Not Right Now
The truth is that God may not reveal His plan for your career or life mission right now.
He may show you His plan in pieces. Step by step as you continue to grow in your relationship with Christ, He will reveal more and more what He wants us to do. So be patient.
Sometimes we can be impatient and greedy with God. We know that God knows the future, so we just want God to show us everything right now!
“Oh Lord, I want to know everything so I can make the right choice.”
But God is asking us to trust Him with our lives and wait on Him to provide the answers, in His timing.
We have to be willing to surrender our logic to God and have faith that He will guide us to exactly where we are supposed to be.
“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6
Willing to Grow
In order to know God’s will for your life or a particular situation, you must first know God. You must be willing to grow your relationship with Him and allow Him to guide you.
That being said there are some ways we can discern God’s will. The keys to knowing God’s will are prayer, spiritual growth and surrender.
Download Free 5-Day Devotional Guide to Understanding God’s Plan For Your Life
Here are 5 ways to know God’s will for your life:
1. Be willing to surrender
“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Matthew 6:33
A lot of times, we desperately want to know God’s will for our lives but when we get the answer, we aren’t willing to be obedient.
Sometimes we already know the answer but we pray hoping that God will somehow change His mind.
When we surrender our lives to God, our everyday choices reflect His love.
Surrendering the will takes practice and involves following God’s instructions for your lifestyle; how you treat your body, family life, communication with others and finances (just to name a few).
When we daily surrender our choices to Christ, we are opening our hearts to following the will of God.
2. Don’t leave it up to feeling and chance
“Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.” John 16:13
The Holy Spirit’s job is to guide us into all truth. He is the ‘something’ we hear when God wants us to go in a particular direction or step out in faith.
However, when we try to hear the voice of God without reading the Word of God, we can become susceptible to delusion.
Therefore, it is important when we ask God to reveal His will that we don’t leave it up to feeling and chance. But we listen to the Holy Spirit’s guidance and we back up what we hear with the Bible.
The Holy Spirit works with the Bible to show us the truth and therefore we cannot separate one from the other.
3. Obey what you already know
“For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.” 2 Peter 2:21
Did you know that we can hold truth in unrighteousness (Romans 1:18)? Yes, it’s totally possible for us to know the truth and still be lost.
We are held accountable for what we know and what we refuse to know. If God has already shown you plainly what He wants you to do for a particular area in your Christian journey, it is your responsibility to be obedient.
I have found in my Christian walk that God will not reveal further truth to me until I am obedient to what I already know.
It could be as simple as keeping the Ten Commandments or walking away from a relationship you know you’re not supposed to be in. God’s will has already been revealed to you, now be obedient.
4. Look at the circumstances
“Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.” 1 Corinthians 12:4
One of the ways we miss God’s will for our lives is by not looking at our current situation. God has given us gifts and talents that He wants us to use for His glory.
What are the gifts God has already equipped you with? Furthermore, what are the signs that God wants you to go in a particular direction?
5. Pray for discernment
“Pray without ceasing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:17
Last but certainly not least. We must pray. Pray without ceasing. This is especially important when you are getting ready to take a big step, like deciding if to quit your job or to get married.
Praying takes patience, especially when you’re asking God to do something miraculous or help you make the right decision.
So don’t rush.
We sometimes rush to make a choice when God is clearly telling us to wait.
Sometimes, we need to pray and fast in order to further surrender our will to Christ. We can ask Him for wisdom and He has promised to provide us with the knowledge to make the right choices.
Prayer for Today:
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for having a plan for my life. Help me to discern your voice. Give me the patience I need to wait for your guidance. Understanding your will for my life is sometimes so difficult but oh Lord lead me in the right direction and help me to trust you.
Amen.
Thank you for taking the time to read this article today. If you have a question, query or story you’d like to share with me, please leave a comment or email me using the form below.
