We can begin to know God’s will when we discern the Bible and don’t lean on our own emotions or understanding. And not beginning with our own desires. This has to be the baseline authority in us for finding and doing the will of God. It’s tempting to see Jesus as the key to getting what we want, and not who He is. I’m not saying everything we want is bad. In fact, a lot of the things we pray for are good. But God doesn’t simply want what is good for us, He wants what is best.
When we are seeking to know God’s will, we can start in the Bible. The Bible gives us a few categories for understanding God’s will:
- God’s Revealed Will
What He shows us in the Bible. His revealed will is not a mystery. We don’t have to try to read the signs in our circumstances, we can just open the book and begin reading. God’s revealed will tells us:
- “Love one another – John 13:34-35, 1 Peter 4:7-11
- Confess our sins – 1 John 1:9
- Use our gifts to serve others -1 Corinthians 12.
- Love our spouses -Ephesians 5
- Rejoice in God whatever the circumstances -Philippians 4
These commands are all a part of God’s revealed will. We don’t have to ask God, “Do you want me to do these things?” He tells us, “I have already written this down in the Bible.”
- God’s Hidden Will
Deuteronomy 29:29 says, “The secret things belong to the Lord our God but the things that are revealed belong to our children and us forever, that we may do all the words of this law.” In other words, there are some things we either can’t know in advance or that we’re just not going to know in this life, they are secret things. Such as, “What’s going to happen in five years? , when is the world going to end?, Or why did a good friend die so young?
God is sovereign, and He’s ruling over all things, so we can trust Him. We may not understand His purposes, but we can trust His plan.
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future” -Jeremiah 29:11
When we don’t know God’s will, we can still pray for it.
We may not know our future but we can pray to be prepared for it. What if He calls us to stand in truth in the midst of persecution? One of my greatest fears is that I will not be strong enough to stand for His truth, when things get tough. But I know I can pray and ask for strength.
From Pity to Praise 