Finding your way: How do I know God's will?

by Dwight Munn • photos by Scott Greenwalt

Where should I go to college? Whom should I date? Should I go to that party on Saturday night? What is God’s will for me? Who hasn’t asked those questions? The truth, though, is that God’s directions for our lives are rarely that specific and direct. Instead, He asks us to rely on Him and trust Him to reveal His will. God certainly has a plan for you, but it’s a plan that will be revealed in relationship with Him.

Change your definition of God's will.
When we define the will of God, we tend to focus on the mind of God. We think the will of God is simply about His intentions for our lives. This certainly shows one aspect of God’s will. Yet, the Bible uses a word in the original language that tells us about how God’s heart is involved as well. The word used in Ephesians 1:9 that we translate “will” really means “God’s heart’s desire.”1 With that meaning in place, the verse would read this way: “He made known to us the mystery of His heart’s desire, according to His good pleasure that He planned in Him.”

You see, God desires and longs from His heart for us to experience a great life. He wants us to choose the plan best suited for us. The best plan, of course, is His plan. God takes pleasure in a person discovering that plan. God loves you. Because He loves you, He wants what is best for you. He gave His best in Jesus. This act was the ultimate act of love for you.


Get to know God.
So, how do you discover God’s will—both His plan and heart’s desire—for your life? The key is getting to know God. You grow spiritually by spending more time with God, getting to know Him in an up-close and personal way. Then you begin to appreciate just how much He does love you. As you comprehend more fully His perfect character, you can begin to know what decisions will please Him.
God wants you to talk to Him about your life. He wants you to spend time praying about what really matters to you. He has given you unique gifts that make you who you are. God certainly knows your gifts, and this knowledge influences His will for your life.

The Bible is one way God offers help in navigating the course of your life. God’s Word leads you to the destination of fulfilling His will for your life. Besides that, God’s primary way of speaking to you is through the Scripture. He makes clear what the life that pleases Him looks like. The Bible is an inspired (in a one-of-a-kind, unique way) account of how He has worked with His people through millennia of history. You can read how individuals and groups have gone through struggles, times of learning, and adventures to discover His will for their lives.

Be obedient.
The basics of a relationship with God are the first steps to finding out God’s overarching will for your life. One mistake we all make is attempting to answer the biggest questions first—where to go to college, whom to date, what job to pursue.

The truth? You need to respond in obedience to what you already know God wants you to do. He will then begin to reveal His bigger plan in time. In the meantime, you know that God wants you to:
• worship Him alone.
• spend time in His Word.
• live a life of holiness.
• serve others.
• share your faith.

In Micah 6:8, the prophet says, “What it is the Lord requires of you: Only to act justly, to love faithfulness, and to walk humbly with your God.” Practicing the basics listed above and what Micah wrote will help you know how He wants you to live. Learning how God wants you to live comes before discovering what He wants to do with your life. Knowing God’s will isn’t knowing all the answers; it’s living in a day-to-day relationship with Him and allowing Him to guide you along the path He has already laid out for you. Warning: that’s much easier said than done.

Accept reality and recognize your help.
Living a life of faith is hard. This life is full of questions. But God doesn’t leave you alone to wonder. Second Timothy 3:16 states, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness.” In every situation, God’s Word has something to offer. Stay connected to God’s Word. It will guide you to make wise decisions that keep you on course to fulfill God’s will for you.

• Another way God helps us stay on course comes in the form of input from parents, mentors, and the ministers He places in our lives. These adults in your life can give mid-course corrections as well as warn about wrong turns as you navigate through life. They have experience. They speak from a real-life perspective. God gives you these role models to encourage you to keep going in the right direction. Their input can be a real help in your life. Ask God to open your heart and mind to what they have to say.
• Parents and guardians are particularly important. Yes, sometimes they seem out-of-touch. Yet, the older you become, the more you’ll realize how smart they really are. Parents aren’t perfect, of course, but there’s something to be said for someone who is a little further down the road of life who can speak to you from experience.

Begin the journey today of finding God’s will—His heart’s desire—for your life. Be sure to hear from God every day through prayer and time in His Word. His big plan will unfold in time as you do the basics you know He wants you to do.
1. “Will of God,” Elwell, Walter A. and Comfort, Philip Wesley, eds., Tyndale Bible Dictionary, electronic source (Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers, 2001).

Free at last

July 4, 1993: While most of the country was celebrating our nation’s independence from Great Britain, I was declaring my independence from sin. That’s because on that day, I went down to the front of my home church and told everyone that I had become a Christian. Sure, I’d been thinking about it for months, but it was that day that I decided to make my decision known.

I wore a white dress and a red, white, and blue bow in my hair. I was all decked out for Independence Day. (Hey, I was 9, and it was the 90s!) I just didn’t know the freedom I was actually celebrating that day because to me at that age, faith was less about freedom and more about rules and consistent attendance at church, choir, and G.A.s (Girls in Action, for those of you who aren’t familiar with that acronym). Sure, I was learning about God (which is important), but I wasn’t really “getting” Him. I knew what I should and shouldn’t do, but why I should or shouldn’t was kind of vague.

We get caught up in the do’s and don’ts, don’t we? Don’t lie. Don’t steal. Don’t brag. Don’t cuss. Don’t drink. Don’t smoke. I know that I catch myself thinking: “As long as I’m not lying, stealing, cheating, having sex, drinking, and killing people, then Jesus must be pretty happy with me. I’m a good Christian!” Do you ever feel the same way? Or maybe you’ve heard someone say that Christians are free from legalistic rules. That’s true, but there’s more to the story.

The fact of the matter is that I’m very free—free to live as Christ’s slave. Kind of puts a damper on my personal liberties, hmm? While living as someone’s slave may not sound appealing, let me tell you that I’ve tried life my way. I’ve been my own master and ignored the rules and tried to live how I thought best (especially when I didn’t feel like I was getting any direction from God). And it left me distant from God. Finally, I got to a place where I was so tired of trying to figure out where my life was headed that I gave up. I told God that if He’d make it clear, I’d go wherever He wanted me to, even if I didn’t really want to go there. (I was positive He would send me to Ethiopia as a missionary. I have no clue why.) I was so desperate for direction that it didn’t really matter where He was leading me, as long as He was the one in charge of the navigating!

And you know what? His answer didn’t come immediately. I’ve spent more than seven years trying to make sure I was where God wanted me. I tried to get to know Him a little better in hopes that it would make my path clearer. But as a very wise boss and friend told me once, “You’re never quite sure that you were where you were supposed to be until you turn around and see where your path led you.”

The future is never quite as clear as we’d like it to be (at least for most of us). And while you’re living in that confusion of “What’s my purpose in life and what am I supposed to be doing?,” know that God hears your questions. He’s lining up the answers. You may not know them in a year, five years, fifty years, or even on this side of eternity. But one day, you will look back and be able to see where you were in the right places (and maybe where you weren’t).

It’s not really up to you to make sure that your life accomplishes what you think it should. Relax into the fact that if you’re loving God with all you’ve got and loving others as a result, then you’re probably in the right place. Embrace the freedom He’s given you to love. To be loved. To serve. And to enjoy this life He’s given you.

No matter when you became a Christian, I’d like to wish you a happy Independence Day (and a happy fourth of July!). You’re free from all that baggage you feel like you need to keep hauling around. Now get out there and celebrate!