Knowing God's Will

Photo by Susan Q Yin on Unsplash
We often struggle with knowing God’s will for our lives. What does God want me to do? Where does he want me to live? What career does he want me to pursue? Who does he want me to marry? How does he want me to handle this situation? Does he want me to adopt children? Should I become a missionary? Should I become a pastor? As a pastor, should I stay at this church or look for a new one? And the list goes on and on. Every day we are faced with a million different decisions we need to make. Some big. Most are small. But it’s the big ones that keep us up at night and cause anxiety or shingles. So then, what are we to do about it? How do we determine God’s will for our lives? This is an important question because many will be paralyzed in life, waiting for the clouds to part and a voice from heaven telling them which car to buy. But is that what we should do? Should we just think, wait, and pray about a decision until God gives us a neon sign? How can we know God’s will for our life?
 
The Bible makes clear that everything we need to know for living life in this world is found in the pages of God’s word. All the answers to life’s most pressing questions can be found in Scripture. The Bible tells us that God’s “divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us” (2 Peter 1:3). That is, everything we need to know for life--living life in this world—and for godliness--sanctification—has been given to us “through the knowledge of [God] who called us”—through understanding more about God and who he is. The more we learn about God, the more we read and meditate on his word, and the more time we spend in prayer, the more we will know God’s will for our life.
 
The Bible does clearly and unequivocally tell us what God’s will is for every believer. It is so clearly written that many Christians are shocked when they see it for the first time. And we find this clear propositional statement in 1 Thessalonians 4:3, which says this: “For this is the will of God, your sanctification.” That’s it. If you are a believer, God’s will for your life is your sanctification—to be shaped into the character of Christ, to pursue holiness and godliness.
 
Now in first reading that, you may think, ‘yes’ but that does not answer all the sorts of questions this article started with. How does knowing, believing, and living out 1 Thessalonians 4:3 help you know the answers to all the questions asked in the first paragraph of this article, and more? Well, the journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. And that first step is knowing, believing, and implementing 1 Thessalonians 4:3. Pursuing our sanctification, pursuing holiness, striving to become more like Christ means deeply praying for and spending copious amounts of time in God’s word toward the goal of loving God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, and loving your neighbor as much as you love yourself. These are the Two Great Commandments (Matt. 22:34-40) upon which Jesus says “depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
 
Becoming more like Christ (sanctification) means loving God supremely--above all else—and loving others sacrificially. And when we do this, when all our decisions and actions in life are determined by the answer to two questions, then all our decisions and knowing God’s will for our life begins to become much clearer. Those two questions are: (1) Which decision or action will bring the most glory to God and be most pleasing to him? And (2) which decision or action will be most beneficial to those around me, to those whom this will impact the most?
 
In other words, it’s about thinking biblically. It’s about thinking like Christ. The trouble is, as someone once said, “It is impossible to know God’s will if we are ignorant of His Word.” The old adage really is true and quite helpful—‘WWJD: What would Jesus do?’ However, we cannot know what Jesus would do, we cannot make decisions like Christ, if we do not have the mind of Christ, and we cannot have the mind of Christ if we are not steeped in God’s word, if we are not on our knees often in prayer, if we are not working on our sanctification, if we are not pursuing holiness, if we are not striving with every fiber of our being to become more like Christ. The more we become like Christ, the more we take on the mind of Christ, the more we are able to see the world around us and the people around us through the eyes of Christ, then the more we will know what to do in any given situation.
 
Sinclair Ferguson, in his wonderful little book, Discovering God’s Will (1892), offers six questions to help us think biblically through decisions we face. First, is it lawful? Does it violate a clear command of scripture? Does it violate federal or state law? Is it ethical or moral? This is obviously a good starting point. If the answer is no to any of these questions--don’t do it!
 
Second, is it beneficial? Will this decision or activity benefit me—physically, mentally, or spiritually? Keep in mind, we should not be simply asking if it is good, bad, or morally neutral. There are some things or activities which are morally neutral, such as watching baseball. And I happen to love the game of baseball. But while watching baseball games likely won’t harm me, it’s not going to help me either. Watching baseball is not going to help me become more like Christ. And remember: God will for your life is your sanctification. Too often we ask the wrong question. Too often we ask: Will this harm me? The correct question is: Is it beneficial? Will this help me physical, mentally, or will it help me become more like Christ?
 
Third, is it enslaving? “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be dominated by anything” (1 Cor. 6:12). To be sure, “everything created by God is good” (1 Tim. 4:4), but not everything is helpful for our sanctification. For example, I have known many parents who have their children in lots of extra-curricular activity, believing it will be good for building their character and creating memories. And while sports, in themselves, are not harmful or sinful, often these families become enslaved to these activities, missing mid-week studies or Sunday morning worship for out-of-town tournaments. “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful”—sports, TV, fishing, etc. Is it enslaving?
 
Fourth, is it consistent with Christ’s Lordship? Are the activities we engage in, the things that we pursue, idols within the heart? Are these things or activities or pursuits we must have in order to experience joy and contentment in life? If so, they are idols of the heart and must go. They are not consistent with Christ being Lord of your life.
 
Fifth, is it beneficial to others? Does this fulfill the second Great Commandment? Is this decision, action, or activity truly what is best and most beneficial—physically, mentally, spiritually—to those around you, to those who are closest to you, to those who will be impacted most? This does not just entail big decisions in life, but even small ones. When you have free time, what you do with that time often matters to others, especially if you are married, and especially if you are married with children. Is this decision beneficial to others?
 
Sixth, is it consistent with Christ-like character? WWJD. Is this what Jesus would do? Is this the decision Jesus would make? Now I freely admit that the Bible does not always clearly answer that question for us in every given situation. For example, as a parent, I have often wondered if Jesus would discipline or correct his child in the same way I do mine? While I cannot know with absolute certainly how Jesus would correct or discipline a disobedient or defiant child, if he were a father here on earth today, having spent over thirty years studying the Bible, studying the Gospels, and studying the character of Christ, I know what he would not do.
 
This principle applies to every area of life. The more we study God’s word, the more we study the character of Christ, the more our character is shaped into the character of Christ, and the more our minds take on the mind of Christ, the more we are able to make decisions in life that are pleasing and glorifying to God and a blessing to those around us. Thus, if you are longing to know God’s will for your life, here it is--your sanctification.