Knowing God’s Will for your Life

Introduction

What is God’s will for your life? How can you know his will? Especially if you are serious about giving yourself to Christ’s service, how do you find out what he wants you to do? Should you be a teacher of the Bible? A pastor in a local church? A Christian businessman? A traveling evangelist? A Christian teacher in a secular school? A missionary to Somalia or Papua New Guinea?

In terms of knowing God’s will concerning service in his kingdom, the experience of Paul the Apostle may be very instructive. Paul had a strong desire to go to Rome, the capital city of the empire. He writes to the Romans about his determination to visit them:

… I remember you in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God’s will the way may be opened for me to come to you (Romans 1:9c–10).

Paul prays, not “what” is the will of God concerning his planned visit. He has no expectation that God will make known to him what he has willed about his proposed trip to Rome. Instead, he prays “that” he may come to them “by God’s will.” Paul clearly indicates that “many times” he had “planned” to come to them, but had been prevented from carrying out his plan up until the present moment (Romans 1:13).

So Paul made plans. He repeatedly made plans. Even when hindered in fulfilling a specific plan, he kept coming back to it. Without knowing the specifics of God’s will about the matter, he made his plans. But he was often frustrated in his plans.

In concluding his letter, Paul comes back to this subject of God’s will regarding his planned visit to Rome. The desire of his life had always been to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, which had hindered his coming to Rome (Romans 15:20, 22). But now he has no more place to work in nearby regions. Since he has been many years longing to see them, he reveals his plan to visit them in Rome as he is on his way to Spain (Romans 15:23–24). Right now he is in process of delivering the gift from the Gentiles to the needy Jewish Christians in Jerusalem (Romans 15:25). But as soon as this trip is done, he declares:

… I will go to Spain and visit you on the way. I know that when I come to you, I will come in the full measure of the blessing of Christ (Romans 15:28–29).

So the Apostle has made a plan of action for himself. First he will go to Jerusalem. Then he will head for Spain. On the way he will stop off in Rome. Paul is quite certain about these plans. Yet nothing indicates that he has received a special revelation from God approving these plans.

At the same time, the Apostle understands the tendentious character of these plans of his. He urges the Christians in Rome to join him in prayer, “so that by God’s will” he may come to them in Rome with joy and receive refreshment in their presence (Romans 15:30, 32).

From these passages, Scripture makes it clear that “knowing the will of God for your life” is a matter that involves several dimensions working simultaneously. On the one hand, God’s servant makes plans—far-reaching plans that can stretch out for years into the distant future. On the other hand, God has a will that determines the life-course of his servants. At the same time, corporate and individual prayers function as a critical aspect of the realization of the will of God by his servant.

With this biblical background in mind, consider three essential distinctions for Christian decision-making. For whether you like it or not, you will eventually have to make a decision. Many decisions. Life-determining decisions. For this reason, it is good to understand more fully these essential distinctions whenever you are involved in making a plan:

1. Distinguish between revelation then and revelation now.
2. Distinguish between God’s will of decree and God’s will of precept.
3. Distinguish between emotional mysticism and the Holy Spirit’s wisdom.

1. Distinguish between Revelation Then and Revelation Now

Revelation when and revelation now? Revelation in the days of the patriarchs, the prophets and the apostles of Christ in comparison with revelation in the present age.

In the earliest days, God spoke individually to each person, directly revealing whatever he wanted them to know about his will. For at first no written record of his will for people existed. So he spoke to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. He communicated with them through dreams, visions and special manifestations of himself. He appeared in the form of a flaming torch passing between torn animal pieces (Genesis 15:17), a tall pillar of cloud and fire (Exodus 13:21), a swirling whirlwind (Job 38:1). But these revelations were rare, and experienced only by a few select people.

Then God began to communicate his messages in writing so that many more people could have ready access to a permanent record of his will. God wrote the Ten Commandments in stone with his own finger, so no addition or erasure could possibly occur (Exodus 31:18). Then he inspired Moses to compose the first five books of the Bible as foundational documents to constitute God’s people as a nation (Exodus 17:14; 24:3–4; 34:27; Numbers 33:2; Deuteronomy 31:9).

Later, the Holy Spirit of God inspired prophets, kings and statesmen to compose historical narratives, prophecies and poetry. As a consequence, not one word of Scripture had its origin in human invention. Instead, “men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” so that “all Scripture is God-breathed” (2 Peter 1:21; 2 Timothy 3:16).

Over a period of 1500 years, from Moses through the Apostles, the whole of the Bible was inspired of God. Have any more words been inspired of God and incorporated in the Bible since the last book of the New Testament was completed? Not a word! For the past 2000 years, not one inspired Word from God has been added to Scripture. The Koran and the Book of Mormon make claims of divine inspiration, but they cannot compare with the self-confirming character of the Bible. If no other God-inspired writings exist, what does that tell you? Clearly it confirms that there was “Revelation Then” in contrast with “Revelation Now.” For “Now” we have the completed Bible to guide and instruct us in the right way of faith and life, which the people of old never had. The completed Bible exists “that the man of God may be perfect, lacking nothing” (2 Timothy 3:17). No need exists for further direct revelation from God. All that is needed for faith, life and God’s guidance is found in the Bible.

But what about something slightly less than further written revelation from God? What about asking for a “sign” to guide you, such as “putting out the fleece”?

Have you heard that expression? Gideon wanted to be sure of God’s will for his life. Should he engage the Midianites in battle, or should he not? Would he be gloriously victorious or shamefully defeated? To provide his needed assurance about God’s will in the matter, Gideon proposed to the Lord that he “put out the fleece.” He asked that during the night the ball of wool he put outside should be soaked with dew while the ground all around remained dry. Then the next night, the ground all around should be damp with dew while the fleece remained dry (Judges 6:36–40). By this sign, Gideon could know God’s will for his life.

So should Christians today “put out the fleece?” To be assured you are doing God’s will, should you ask for a confirming “sign” that would clearly communicate God’s will for you?

If you are inclined to follow Gideon’s way, then follow Gideon’s way! Put out the fleece! Place a ball of cotton or wool outside. Ask for dew to drench the fleece the first night, but for the ground all around to remain dry as dust. Then repeat the exercise the next night, but this time ask for the ground to be soaked and the fleece dry.

Be careful that you do not test God with a concocted sign. Don’t simplistically ask as a “sign” for your phone to ring within the next thirty minutes. Otherwise you are fooling yourself. Unless you ask for a genuinely supernatural sign, you deceive yourself about discovering God’s will for your life through a miraculous sign.

In any case, the narrative about Gideon’s putting out the fleece is the wrong passage to learn how to determine God’s will for your life. Gideon was not seeking to know God’s will for his life. He knew God’s will. He was only seeking courage from God to do what the Lord had already told him to do. God had already told Gideon, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel …” (Judges 6:14). In response to Gideon’s humble hesitancy, the Lord repeated himself: “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites together” (Judges 6:16). Gideon clearly knew God’s will for his life. He was only asking for God’s assurance that he should do what God already had told him to do.

Don’t fool yourself about a matter as serious as knowing God’s will for your life. Don’t set up an artificial “sign” so that you end up basing a life-determining decision on whether the moon comes out from behind the clouds in the next fifteen minutes, or a bird lands on the third branch of a tree above you. Too much is at stake for you to trick yourself into thinking you have received a “sign” that tells you God’s will for your life. Remember the warning words of Jesus: “A wicked and adulterous generation seeks for a sign” (Matthew 12:39).

When you are trying to determine God’s will for your life, do not look for a special revelation to yourself, a voice whispering in your ear, telling you that you should go to this university rather than that one, that you should marry this person and not that one, that you should spend your day visiting with a friend rather than completing your task at work. In the past, says the writer to the Hebrews, God spoke to the fathers at many times and in various ways (Hebrews 1:1). But in contrast to then, he now has spoken through his Son, revealed in the Scriptures as the embodiment of all the wisdom and knowledge of God that you will ever need for life (Colossians 2:3). Study him as he is presented in Scripture, and you will find the answers to all the questions you have about life’s many choices. Be sure you use the Scriptures to the fullest as they reveal Christ to you. His will is that you be transformed more and more into the likeness of his Son.

So the first “essential distinction” that must be made in discovering God’s will for your life involves appreciating the difference between revelation then and revelation now. Don’t confuse the two. Moses and David could consult the Urim and the Thummim of Israel’s high priest as a way of learning God’s will, but you cannot. Neither David nor Moses knew about Jesus Christ the way you do. They did not have the inspired writings of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Peter, Paul, James and Jude, but you do. Revelation for you is found in the written words of the Bible, available to you day and night. This is the way you can learn God’s will for your life. With all this instant access to the Word of God, you have no need for the less clear forms of revelation such as dreams and visions, signs and wonders. Yet Christians today can be tempted into “setting up” a sign to guide them.

A young person was trying to decide whether or not he should go into the gospel ministry. During an evening inspirational service at a lakeside, he looked for a “sign” from God. A candle burned to the right and the left of the speaker. The candle to the right blew out. The young man prayed, “Lord, if it is your will that I go into the gospel ministry, please don’t let the candle to the left blow out.” He was asking for a revelatory sign. The second candle did not blow out, so he went into the gospel ministry.

But if he really wanted God to give him a sign, what should he have prayed? He should have prayed, “Lord, if you want me to go into the ministry, re-light the candle that has already blown out!” But he could not offer that prayer because he really did not believe in miraculous signs. He was only setting up a sign that actually required no direct divine intervention at all.

On another occasion, a person was in process of deciding between two schools to prepare him for the gospel ministry. One was a school approved by his church group, but had teachers that did not believe the Bible to be the infallible Word of God. The other school was firmly committed to God’s Word, but did not have his church’s full acceptance. The young man decided to ask for a sign. The next of these two schools that anyone mentioned to him would be a revelatory “sign” from God that he should go to that school rather than the other. A friend soon happened to mention to him the school with unbelieving teachers. He went to that school, and there he lost his faith.

So depending on “set-up signs” to reveal God’s will for your life is not a good idea. If you really believe God still gives miraculous signs today, then be sure your sign is a genuine, supernatural miracle. Otherwise, your “sign” may not be from God.

A much healthier way to be sure of God’s will for your life is to follow the principles taught in God’s Word. Consider just a few gems of guidance from the Scriptures:

“For this is the will of God, your sanctification” (1 Thessalonians 4:3). More important than doing certain great things for God is becoming a sanctified person. Make your decisions on that basis.

“Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Attitude is more important to God than accomplishments. Manifest your ongoing faith by always giving thanks however your decisions may work out.

“Bad company corrupts good morals” (1 Corinthians 15:33). This principle will provide a much safer guide for knowing God’s will for your life than any number of “set-up signs.”

“Everything that does not come from faith is sin” (Romans 14:23c). Guidance from God’s Word even includes directions about when you should or should not eat certain things.

“In an abundance of counselors there is victory” (Proverbs 11:14). Attempting to decide things on your own without the wisdom of others can often lead to failure.

“Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). Apply this criterion in all your decision-making, and you cannot go far wrong.

How many truths are found in the Word of God to provide the guidance you need! The whole body of God’s revelation in Scripture has been designed “that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:17). So in a time of making decisions, be sure you distinguish between revelation then and revelation now.

2.  Distinguish between God’s Will of Decree and God’s Will of Precept

“Lord, show me your will.” Have you ever prayed that prayer? Almost certainly every believer in Christ has prayed that identical prayer many times over.

Yet without a proper distinction in mind, this prayer can promote confusion. For the “will of God” you desire to know may not be knowable to you! As the Scripture says,

The secret things belong to the Lord our God; but the things he has revealed belong to us and our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law (Deuteronomy 29:29).

The “things (God) has revealed” refer to his precepts, “all the words of (his) law.” God’s will of precept refers to the commandments and principles he has revealed to his people. The words of his law found in the Ten Commandments you can know. Anything you do out of jealousy is contrary to God’s “will,” his will of precept or commandment. Be very sure it is wrong to make a modern-day idol out of a car, a computer or a cell phone. It is against God’s will to murder, to steal, to covet. Any time you break God’s law you are out of his “will.” If you speak to someone without love in your heart, you are sinning.

Sometimes the moral rightness or wrongness of a word or deed is difficult to determine. Is it right to buy a new set of clothes for work, or is it wrong? Are you in God’s will when you wait until another time to tell your friend the gospel, or must you tell him right now? “Lord, show me your will” is an appropriate prayer in those circumstances, if by the prayer you mean you are trusting God to provide the wisdom you need to advance his glory in every circumstance of life.

But sometimes the prayer, “Show me your will” actually means, “Tell me in advance what you have planned for my life. Let me know ahead of time whether I shall move to this town rather than to that one, that I shall work at this job and not that one.” By these prayers, you are asking God to reveal to you what he has predestined for your life before it happens.

But you cannot know what God has decreed in advance. You may think you know what will happen. But you cannot. As James says so clearly, “You do not even know what will happen tomorrow” (James 4:14).

You might pray, “Lord, show me your will. Should I be a preacher or not?” By this prayer, you may be asking, “Give me the wisdom to discern my gifts and calling,” which is an appropriate prayer. But you could be asking God to reveal to you what he has decreed for your life before it happens. You might say, “Lord, show me your will. Should I marry this person or not?” After offering this prayer, you may be fully convinced that it is God’s predetermining will for this particular person to be your marriage partner. But don’t be surprised if that other person says “no!” to your marriage proposal. Or you may even have the marriage day set. But while standing at the front of the church, you may receive a last-minute message that this person will not be coming to be wed to you! You were absolutely sure that you knew God’s will on this matter. You were certain God had decreed that you would be married to this person. But it never happened.

Through prayer you may be personally convinced that a certain course of action is the direction God would desire that you follow. You may be correct, as a consequence of God’s Spirit applying the truths of his Word to the concrete situation of your life. But be very careful that you do not expect God to reveal his will of decree in advance to you.

Indeed, you can know God’s will of decree after something has happened. Once you have been married to a certain person, you can be sure that God had decreed that you should marry that particular person. If it has happened, it is included in God’s will of decree. Of course, sin may be involved in your action, and you can never blame God for your sin. You are fully responsible for whatever you do. Yet once you have taken a certain action, don’t conclude you have stepped outside the realm of things God has decreed. Be fully accepting of whatever God has willed for your life.

So a clear distinction must be made between knowing God’s will of precept, understanding the thing that is morally right according to his revealed law, and knowing God’s will of decree, having a knowledge of what he has determined will happen in your life even before it occurs. You can know God’s will of precept, his will of commandment. So long as you are acting in accord with his commandments, you can be sure you are living in God’s will. But you cannot know God’s will of decree about the future of your life, what he has determined will happen to you. When you pray to know the will of God for your life, be sure you make a clear distinction between expecting to know God’s will of decree in advance, and to know God’s will of precept, the commandments he has given as they relate to your concrete life-situation. Do not expect him to reveal to you his decrees regarding the future, which you will never know until they actually happen. But freely ask him to enable you to know what would be right and what would be wrong for you to do.

3.  Distinguish between Emotional Mysticism and the Holy Spirit’s Wisdom

Often a long process of decision-making concludes with a strong emotional pull one way or another. “I feel” becomes the dominant factor in determining which option a person finally chooses. The various reasons that might lead you to go this way or that are finally overruled by the way you simply “feel” about the matter.

Indeed, feelings are important in the process of decision-making. Feelings may sum up all the various considerations that lie behind a decision. In most cases it would be unwise to totally ignore your feelings.

Yet feelings, emotional responses to an issue in your life, cannot be totally trusted. As a matter of fact, feelings can go directly contrary to the revealed will of God. A woman might “feel” she should have an abortion. Yet to take that step would directly violate God’s Ten Commandments. A young unmarried couple might think it would “feel good” to be intimate with one another. Yet their feelings could lead to fornication.

The Holy Spirit’s wisdom serves as the proper alternative to “emotional mysticism.” What is the Holy Spirit’s wisdom? It is the Spirit’s enabling a person to wisely comprehend life’s varying circumstances so that he can move forward fruitfully in the service of Christ. Over and over the Apostle Paul stresses the importance of living constantly and consistently in unity with the Spirit of God. Observe the number of times and the variety of ways in which he stresses this truth in his two short letters to the young churches of Galatia and Ephesus:

• You must “live by the Spirit, so that you will not fulfill the desires of the sinful nature” (Galatians 5:16).
• You must be “led by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:18).
• You must bear “the fruit of the Spirit” (Galatians 5:22).Since you “live by the Spirit” you must also “walk by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25).
• You must “sow to please the Spirit” since “from the Spirit” you reap eternal life (Galatians 6:8).
• You must not “grieve the Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 4:30).
• You must be “filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18).You must take “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17).
• You must “pray in the Spirit on all occasions” (Ephesians 6:18).

So living according to God’s will is not so much a matter of “knowing God’s will for your life” as it is walking daily in unbroken union with the Spirit of God. It is not so much a matter of accomplishing many significant things during your lifetime. Instead, it is constantly bearing the fruit of the Spirit by your lifestyle. For when you walk in the Spirit, everything else will take care of itself.

The Word of God is “living” (Hebrews 4:12), which means it constantly interacts with any environment in which it finds itself. God’s Word is anything but a dead code of stifling stipulations. As the living God is the constant source of all true life, so his living Word supplies the vitalizing energy for all true life. In the moment-by-moment life of every believer in Christ, God’s Spirit continuously applies the living Word of God to all the various circumstances in which the believer finds himself. The Spirit of God communicates with your Spirit by applying the truth of the living Word to concrete situations in your life. For this reason, the believer must develop a sensitivity to the truth of God as it is being continually applied by the Spirit to the daily walk of his life.

Obviously no one should regard as infallible his sense of the Spirit’s promptings. These promptings must be regularly tested by the objective standards of the lifestyle prescribed in Scripture. But the ongoing working of the Spirit in the life of the believer must not be minimized. When the Apostle says, “walk in the Spirit,” “live by the Spirit,” “please the Spirit,” “pray always in the Spirit,” “grieve not the Spirit,” he depicts a constant communication of God’s Spirit with the believer’s spirit that makes possible this moment-by-moment living in the Spirit. Not by some magical transmission of data, but by the Spirit’s enlivening the truth of God’s Word as it applies to the day-by-day walk of the Christian, this life in the Spirit becomes a moment by moment reality. Not by emotional mysticism, but on the basis of an objective analysis of reality rooted in the truths of the Word of God, each believer in the Christ may walk in his Spirit.

How exciting, how enriching, how refreshing is the life lived in the Spirit. How enlivening is this constant communion of the believer’s spirit with God’s Spirit through the mediation of the Lord’s Word.

Conclusion

On the basis of these essential distinctions, a person can make the multitude of decisions necessary for living a life pleasing to God. Not in response to special revelations through the vagueness of dreams, visions and “set-up” signs. Not by knowing in advance the secret things that God has determined in his eternal decrees. But by constant communion with the living and powerful Word of God through a vital connection between God’s Spirit and his spirit, every believer may “know the will of God for his life.” In this way, the believer in Christ can continually bear the “fruit of the Spirit” throughout his lifetime by living according to the will of God.

Seven steps for making significant decisions for life Seven steps can be suggested which may provide practical help for the believer in making significant decisions that will affect the course of his life. Where should you live? Whom should you marry? What should be your life’s ministry? Following these steps should help in making wise decisions about these and many other critical matters that every believer in Christ must face:

1. Commit yourself and the matter before you to the Lord by sincere and consistent prayer. Never make a critical decision for life without submitting yourself and the whole matter to the Lord through prayer. Get alone and commune directly with the Lord over the decision you must make.
2. Evaluate your motives. So far as possible, determine the deepest motives behind your proposed action. Is it truly for the glory of God and in service to Christ that you are considering making this decision?
3. Assess your own gifts and resources in relation to this decision. Obviously you should not consider being a violinist if you cannot distinguish a good tone from a bad one. You should not aspire to being church treasurer if you have serious difficulty with figures. But if you possess a natural gift of hearing out people’s problems and enabling them to find their best solution, then you might consider the role of a Christian counselor.
4. Determine any moral questions associated with the decision. If you are considering buying an automobile, be sure you do not overspend your budget by your purchase. A job that would require you to work on Sundays so that you had to regularly miss worship almost certainly should not be considered, unless the job involved works of necessity and mercy.
5. Seek the advice of godly friends and relatives who know you best. “In the multitude of counselors there is victory”(KJV) is a major theme in Proverbs (Proverbs 11:14; cf. Proverbs 15:22; 24:6). Learn early in life how to glean the best advice from the wisest of the wise among your friends and acquaintances.
6. Consider the course of your life up to this point. Generally speaking, the Lord does not re-direct a person’s life in a way that radically contradicts his previous experiences. It’s not very likely that a person who has been seriously committed to academic pursuits will suddenly be called of God to become a professional football player. Line up the previous landmarks of your life. Then draw a straight line through those landmarks and see what naturally follows. Not always but most often your next step will logically follow the previously set pattern of your life.
7. Ask the Lord for wisdom. Acknowledge that in yourself you do not have the capacity to properly evaluate all the issues at hand. Then follow the advice of James:

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind (James 1:5–6).

God promises to give wisdom to anyone who asks him. Whenever you have a decision to make, look to the Lord for the wisdom you need. He will grant his wisdom to all who ask in faith.

After going through this seven-step process, make a decision. Make a firm one. Sometimes the determination between two options may rest on a 60% to 40% basis. You may be 60% sure that the proposed action is a good one, and 40% unsure. Yet in faith you can make a firm decision.

Once you have made your decision, stick to it! Trust God to carry you through the consequences.

But what if serious difficulties arise along the path that has been determined by the decision? What if large problems develop as a consequence of your action? Should you conclude that you are “out of God’s will” for the rest of your life? Are you doomed to God’s “second best” for the remainder of your days? You may find yourself in a difficult marriage, or in a job that offers little satisfaction. What then should you do?

Clearly you are not out of God’s will of decree. For he has planned every aspect of your life before you were born.

Sometimes serious difficulties may arise that are not the consequence of any sin. William Carey’s wife suffered from a serious mental illness that hampered his ministry. His entire collection of hand-written Bible translations and dictionaries in several Indian languages burned up. Did these developments mean he was out of God’s will in his pioneer missionary work? By no means. Emerging difficulties are generally no indicator that you may be “out of God’s will.” Those “fiery trials” may be sent of the Lord to perfect you in your faith, your sanctification and your service.

Yet sometimes sin may have played a major part in your decision-making process. You may have married purely on the basis of physical attraction without proper consideration of the importance of a united commitment to Christ. Pride may have led you to choose the more prominent, the more high-paying job rather than accepting a lower position more suited to your gifts. You may have failed to humble yourself under the mighty hand of God that he might lift you up at the proper time (1 Peter 5:6).

So now what should you do?

God’s Word tells you exactly what to do. Repent of your sin, confess it to the Lord, submit to his chastening hand, and trust his immeasurable love, mercy and grace. Even after his sin with Bathsheba, David had many years of fruitful service as king in Israel, though he was required to live submissively under the chastening hand of the Lord. Though denying his Lord three times, Peter was restored so that he could strengthen his brothers as leader of the original apostolic band. So you also can trust the Lord to use you despite all the imperfections of your service at each point.

For “this is God’s will for you, even your sanctification” (1 Thessalonians 4:3). Whatever he brings about in your life he will use to this great end. As a consequence, you can walk in confidence throughout your entire lifetime, wherever God may take you. You can be confident of knowing God’s will for your life.

This excerpt is taken from Preaching Made Practical by O. Palmer Robertson (Evangelical Press, Welwyn Garden City, 2015), p. 81-101.