GOD'S WILL

GOD’S WILL

 

What does God want for your life? Sometimes it’s clear; sometimes not.

The better you know God, the better you can discover His will.

 

Here are some principles to guide you as you seek God’s will for both

large and small decisions:

 

Know that God cares about all your decisions and wants the best for you.

But He is more concerned about the kind of person you become than He is

about any particular decision you might make. So seek His presence

rather than just His plan for your life, because the most important part

of His plan for you is to have a close relationship with Him.

 

In the Bible, God has revealed His general will for all His children.

His specific will for you as an individual will never contradict

the principles He mentions in Scripture. But to discover God’s specific will

for your decisions, you need to consult Him with the understanding

that God is willing to guide you, you’re capable of receiving His guidance,

you must want to hear what God is saying, you must demonstrate

your sincerity by doing what God has already asked you to do

and you must be open to acting upon whatever new guidance

God gives you.

 

When facing a decision, use at least these five ways to consider

how God wants you to act: Bible reading, prayer, advice from

mature Christians, an assessment of your circumstances and

a sense of inner peace. It’s best to consider a decision in light of all

these elements to be sure of God’s leading. Don’t act just on the basis

of just one or a few of these elements unless you are in a crisis situation

that must be handled quickly.

 

Remember that seeking God’s will is a process and that you need

to be patient through it. God will act in His way and in His time.

Often, God will reveal only enough for you to take the next step

He wants you to take rather than showing you a long-range plan.

That’s because He would rather be your guide - walking beside you

and asking you to trust Him during your journey - than simply

hand you a map for you to use alone.

 

Don’t routinely look for supernatural signs from God to show you

what He wants you to do. Know that most of the time, God works

through the natural world that He has created, using ordinary means

to speak to you. Sometimes He will use “signs and wonders,” but only

when He deems them necessary.

 

Think through every aspect of your decisions thoroughly, asking questions

such as whether they will likely honor God and help you grow spiritually.

Know that it’s normal to have doubts, so don’t feel guilty about having them.

Instead, use them to help you investigate each facet of your decisions.

 

Invite the Holy Spirit to speak to you about each decision about which

you’re seeking God’s will. Also ask the Holy Spirit to renew your mind,

so that you begin to think more like Christ.

 

Once you’ve discovered God’s will for a particular decision, be courageous.

Act on it quickly, and don’t second-guess yourself afterward. Know that

if you’ve made an honest mistake, God can always transform your situation

to accomplish His purposes.

 

 

By Whitney Hopler, Live It channel

 

Gordon Jackson is the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at Whitworth College

in Spokane, Washington, where he has taught journalism since 1983.

 

Adapted from A Compact Guide to Discovering God’s Will, copyright 2001

by Gordon Jackson. Published by NavPress, www.navpress.com, 1-800-366-7788.