How Should I Know God’s Will? (Part 3)
Christians
constantly ask: How should I know God’s will for my life? There is also another
important question goes along with it, that is, How should I do God’s will? Along
with that, there is also another aspect of God’s will, that is, being contented
with the will of God. Knowing and doing God’s will, and being contented with it
should be the earnest desire and endeavor of every Christian. This can be
possible only when man falls in line with what God has intended for him. Man
has to acknowledge that God is his creator and he belongs to Him. He has to
follow God and His ways for his life. King Solomon says in Proverbs 20:24, “Man's
goings are of the LORD; how can a man then understand his own way?” Without
entrusting our ways unto God to follow Him faithfully, we will never be in a
position to please God with our lives and enjoy Him forever.
We began
considering the topic of God’s will by asking, “Why should I know God’s will?”
We have addressed this question in Part 2. We need to know God’s will for our
lives because: (1) Man’s will and ways are corrupted and limited. Man, with his
unregenerate heart, will never choose that which is right before God (Romans
1:29-32). King Solomon in Proverbs 14:12 puts it this way: “There is a way
which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” (2) God’s
will is perfect. The Apostle Paul says in Romans 12:1-2 that God has good,
pleasing, and perfect plans for His children. He is a good and faithful God,
and He does only that which is good for His children. Therefore, we are called
to know and follow His perfect will for our lives. (3) God has His ways for His
children. Though God cares for everyone through His general providence, He has
a special providence by which He specially cares for all His children, the
elect of God, the ones who truly and faithfully follow Him. When God’s children
draw near to Him in faith and trust and with consecrated lives, He guides them
according to His blessed plan for them (Psalms 103:7; Exodus 33:14, 17-19). And
(4) God’s ways are higher than man’s ways. God, through His prophet Isaiah,
reveals in Isaiah 55:6-9, “Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon
him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man
his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon
him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher
than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your
thoughts.”
God’s Word and
Knowing God’s Will
Concerning knowing
God’s will, the crucial question is, How should I know God’s will for my life?
Earlier we have learned that God directs the path of His children through His
written Word, the Bible. The Psalmist says, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet,
and a light unto my path” (Psalms 119:105). God’s people are to understand that
His Word is the revealed wisdom of God, and it is sufficient for everything in
life. God’s Word is able to make one “wise unto salvation” and “perfect” before
God. God’s Word instructs us to follow the correct path; rebukes us when we disobey;
corrects us when we err; and restores us when we go astray. God’s Word is His
complete counsel for us to lead a life pleasing to Him (2 Timothy 3:14-17; read
also Psalm 19 and Psalm 119).
Prayer and
Knowing God’s Will
Along with the
Word of God, prayer is crucial in knowing the will of God for a Christian.
Prayer expresses our complete dependence on God and total surrender to His will
for our lives. All through the Bible, we see that Christians depend upon God
through prayer. All those who followed God through prayer never went wrong in
their lives. Prayer was their weapon of warfare, facing the mighty men of the
world, and even the devil. Their prayer life expressed their faith and trust in
God, by which they knew what the Lord had installed for them, no matter whether
it was life or death, which they willingly accepted (Hebrews 11 is a blessed
record for this). The Early Church Christians too were praying Christians, that
helped them to be in line with God’s will for them, “And they continued stedfastly
in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in
prayers” (Acts 2:42).
The Psalmist
says in Psalm 37:1-7, “Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou
envious against the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like
the grass, and wither as the green herb. Trust in the LORD, and do good; so
shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he
shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust
also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy
judgment as the noonday. Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not
thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who
bringeth wicked devices to pass.” When Christians are surrounded by
unsurmountable problems, not knowing what to do, the Psalmist says they must
trust in the LORD; they must delight in the LORD; they must commit their ways
unto the LORD; and they must rest in the LORD. Truly, this is prayer!
Walking Closely
with God and Knowing God’s Will
A Christian who
walks close to the Lord knows God’s way and will for his life. In other words,
holiness or a close relation with the Lord is a prerequisite of knowing God’s
will. We read in Proverbs3:5-6, “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and
lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he
shall direct thy paths.” The author of Hebrews adds, “Follow peace with all
men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14).
God has set a very high standard for our lives, and we must follow that
standard in order to perceive God’s will for us. The Apostle Paul says in 1
Thessalonians 4:1-7, “Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you
by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to
please God, so ye would abound more and more.
For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus. For this is
the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from
fornication: That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in
sanctification and honour; Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the
Gentiles which know not God: That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in
any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have
forewarned you and testified. For God
hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.”
A Surrendered
Life and Knowing God’s Will
A surrendered
life is a life of obedience to Christ. God’s will be known to a person who is
willing to surrender his life to Christ. Surrendering to Christ means placing
our desires and plans absolutely under the will and plan of God for our lives.
In other words, Christians should not walk ahead of Christ by proposing to God their
selfish plans and ambitions, but willing to accept God’s sovereign and perfect
plans for them. Quite often God’s will for us contradicts our plans for our
lives. The primary reason for this is that our plans come from our selfish and
lustful desires. We are carnal in our mind and thoughts which affects our
decision-makings. In order to deal with this, our minds and hearts must be
brought under the control of the Spirit of God. We need to be humble enough to
accept God as the Supreme Commander of our lives by willing to place our lives
under His sovereign plans. The Apostle Paul says in Romans 12:1-2, “I beseech
you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a
living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of
your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect,
will of God.”
Godly Men’s
Counsel and Knowing God’s Will
In Proverbs
11:14 King Solomon says, “Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the
multitude of counselors there is safety.” A godly, experienced, grey-haired, person
is a blessing to the church. He, with the wealth of his experience, will be
able to make right judgment and give right counsel to the people who come to
him. This counsel from Solomon also calls for collective decision makings. A
difficult matter to be brought to the company of matured and experienced,
godly, men who would be able to help in the decision making process.
Solomon’s Book
of Proverbs is a collection of wise sayings from an experienced godly father to
his beloved son, telling him that he has to follow the parental instructions as
it comes from experienced, godly, parents. The father gives the instruction to
his son, “My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law
of thy mother” (Proverbs 1:5). This was the practice at the Hebrew homes as we
see King David advising his son Solomon in 1 Chronicles 28:9, “And thou,
Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect
heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and
understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will
be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.”
God Ordained
Circumstances and Knowing God’s Will
Our God is a
God of providence, and He leads His children through His providential ways.
God’s providence means He orders and guides our steps; He prepares the path for
us; He arranges the circumstances in such a way that that would fulfill His
will for His children. The Psalmist says in Psalm 37:23, “The steps of a good
man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.” This does not mean
that the road will be smooth and easy for us, but God directs our path, and He
has a perfect plan for our lives. There are numerous examples in the Bible that
the Lord providentially led His people through circumstances. God led Eliezer,
Abraham’s servant, as he set to find a wife for his master’s son, Isaac. It was
a difficult journey, but as he followed the LORD, He led him. We read in
Genesis 24:27, “And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham, who
hath not left destitute my master of his mercy and his truth: I being in the
way, the LORD led me to the house of my master's brethren.” These were the
words of Eliezer, indicating how the providence of God led him to the house of
Bethuel, the father of Rebekah. We later see the same providence leading Joseph
from the land of Canaan to Egypt where he became a savior for his brethren, who
earlier sold him to the Midianites due to rivalry at home. Joseph later
acknowledged the providence of God in this by saying, “God did send me before
you to preserve life” (Genesis 45:5). The same story of providence continues as
we run through the pages of the Bible, in people’s life like Moses, Daniel, and
many others. In the New Testament too, the Book of Acts is a blessed record of
God’s providence, God leading the Apostles, in the midst of many challenges and
struggles, to establish the Church (read Acts 16:6-10).
Conclusion
Knowing the
will of God and faithfully following it is the most blessed thing for a
Christian in this world. Is it difficult to know the will of God? Our brief
study of this subject has shown that knowing the will of God and doing the will
of God go hand in hand. This means if Christians are committed to the Word of
God and faithfully follow the Lord Jesus Christ through a prayerful life,
holiness, humility, self surrender, and sensitive to the circumstances, they
are in the will of God, and they will never go wrong. When we seek the Lord
with an obedient heart, the Lord reveals Himself to us; His ways are ever
before us, and He guides us accordingly. Therefore it is an imperative that
Christians need to be always close to the Lord in holiness. They need to be
connected to God through His Word and prayer. They need to be in the company of
good Christian friends and godly mentors. They need to spend time in Bible
Study, prayer, and Christian fellowship, and that way, they would be tuned with
God, and His will for their lives. May the Lord help us!
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