Finding God’s Will – Part 2

Have you ever felt as if searching for God’s will is like a reluctant game of hide and seek as we hunt for elusive answers?

In Part 1 last week, I explored whether we really want to know God’s will. The post closed with this question: Can God trust us with His plans and purposes for us?

Once we determine to seek God’s will, He’ll use a variety of methods to reveal it to us. So let’s explore how God reveals does this:

Prayer

Regular time in prayer is critical for the child of God. Speaking through the psalmist, God said, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you” (Psalm 32:8). Pastor and author James Montgomery Boice once noted, “Clearly, if God is to guide us with His eye, He must first catch our eye. And this means that we must look to Him regularly throughout the day.” Do we?

Prayer is not monologue. An effective prayer life is more than just telling God our plans and expecting him to rubber-stamp them. It is not asking God for direction and then walking away with the expectation that He will direct us as He did the Israelites with a pillar of fire in the desert.

Too often we present God with our requests for direction, top it off with a firm “Amen,” and then go on our way, pleased with our spiritual discipline. We’re out the door and into our day, unmindful of the quiet prompting of the Holy Spirit. We can’t hear Him because our iPods or even our own thoughts are drowning Him out.

God’s Word

We want answers. The Bible has them. But they’re not always spelled out the way we’d like. For example, if you need a car, there is nothing in the Bible to tell you whether to purchase new, used, or lease. The Bible does not tell us whether to buy a Maserati or a Ford. However, there are a variety of passages that address stewardship principles regarding giving, saving, debt, providing for your family, and wise spending.

Still, it’s important to remember that, however else God might direct us, He will never contradict His written word.

Circumstances

Christians often watch for signs to indicate God’s leading. If the door opens, it must be God’s will, right? Maybe. Maybe not. While God may indeed lead by creating opportunities, we should remember that He isn’t the only one who knows how to open a door. Our enemy, Satan, can also open doors or manipulate events because he specializes in deception (John 8:44; 2 Cor. 11:14).

Counsel

Wise advisors can help us discover the gifts God has given us. They might help us identify resources we have or need. Advisors can also help us detect nudges we might be receiving from the Holy Spirit.

Author J. I. Packer warns, “Don’t be a spiritual lone-ranger; when you think you see God’s will, have your perception checked. Draw on the wisdom of those who are wiser than you are: take advice.”

Confirmation

If we are seeking God’s will unreservedly, praying—and listening, reading His word for applicable principles and seeking godly counsel, then God will confirm our steps. He does so by giving us peace through His indwelling Holy Spirit.

Still, don’t confuse God’s peace with the absence of trouble. The times when we’re obedient to God’s leading are often the times of greatest attack by Satan.

God’s will is neither mysterious nor is it a speed bump in the road of life. Teacher and author Oswald Chambers once said, “When you have a right-standing relationship with God, you have a life of freedom, liberty, and delight; you are God’s will….You are free to make decisions in the light of a perfect and delightful friendship with God, knowing that if your decisions are wrong He will lovingly produce that sense of restraint.”

God’s will is not a destination…it’s who we are in relationship to Him. And He will guide us and reveal His will for His glory!