How can we discern God's will? Knowing the will of God can only be found in the Scriptures through the Holy Spirit. This article gives practical ways to find God's will for your life.

Source: Faith in Focus, 2012. 3 pages.

Guidance: Practical Principles for Finding God's Will

Have you ever heard the story about the woman trying to discern God’s will? She would frequently open her Bible to a random place and blindly place her finger on the page. She read the verse where her finger landed, and then inter­preted that verse as being God’s voice speaking to her directly. Well, one day, this woman needed some urgent guid­ance. Instead of seeking godly advice, or making a decision based on bibli­cal principles, she resorted to her old standby method... However, this time she got the shock of her life. She flipped open her Bible and placed her finger on Matthew 27:5, “So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.” Ob­viously, this couldn’t be God’s message for her, so the woman tried again. This time she found Luke 10:37b, “Jesus told him, ‘Go and do likewise.’” By this time, the woman was quite disturbed, and she frantically tried to get some more clarity from her Bible. But she was thrown into despair when, on that third time, her finger landed on John 13:27b, “What you are about to do, do quickly.”

For all I know, that story is fictional, but it realistically illustrates how super­stitious and silly Christians can be when they are trying to find out God’s will. I know a young man who tries to find God’s will in this exact fashion. When I shared this story with him, he replied, “God would never actually do that to one of His children. He would never let that woman turn to those three verses in a row.” I think God would give someone an experience like that – if only to show them how foolish they were being! My friend was flabbergasted and asked me, “How could a loving Father do that to His child? Would you do that to one of your children?” I believe his last ques­tion was intended as a rhetorical proof and conclusion ... but I honestly replied, “Yes! I would certainly do that to one of my boys in order to show them that was NOT the way to find God’s will!”

I can almost see some of you squirm­ing in your seat as you read that conver­sation ... you are thinking, “But if God allowed that lady to read those verses, what would happen if she went out and hanged herself?! Wouldn’t God have been responsible for her suicide?!” No, He wouldn’t be responsible – she would be! You see, most of us would agree that if we randomly placed our finger on 2 Samuel 13:14 (where Amnon raped his half-sister) that God is not telling us to do the same. In fact, even most supersti­tious Christians would automatically start over, and try to shake better advice out of their magic eight-ball, I mean, Bible. And that goes to show that such Chris­tians recognise that there is a standard by which Christians must judge any evalu­ation of God’s will. The clear teachings of God’s Word define what is and is not acceptable in the life of a believer, and that is a principle that you most likely already know and practise!

Perhaps that example doesn’t particu­larly apply to you... Perhaps you aren’t one to be superstitious in the way you turn through the Scriptures. However, do you see the opportunities of life (open/closed doors) as God’s guidance? When a new job opportunity comes or you meet a potential spouse, do you view those opportunities as God divinely leading you? On one hand, we must admit that God has sovereignly ordained that op­portunity to be there, but on the other hand we must be careful how we inter­pret God’s providence. Just because an opportunity is available, doesn’t mean it is the best option or even a biblical option. For example, there will be oc­casions when you have the perfect op­portunity to steal from your employer or friend. They might leave a large amount of money on the desk; there are no cameras, no one watching ... they may have even told you that it is an unknown amount of money. You have the perfect opportunity to steal, and yet, from God’s Law you know that you shouldn’t steal! So, is that a God-given opportunity or not? Yes, God put you there, but not to encourage/tempt you to steal (See James 1:13-15). I use such an obvious example to help you understand that not every opportunity or “open door” is a valid door through which to walk. Sometimes, God places us in situations with the in­tention of refining and strengthening our faith as we resist that tempting oppor­tunity (see Genesis 39 & Judges 3:1ff).

Are you superstitious in the way you seek God’s will? Do you believe God gives new revelation through the way you read the Bible, or by the opportunities available to you? Do you believe that God speaks to you in a still small voice in your head? If you are quiet enough, can you hear God leading you? All of these questions are intended to highlight any errors in your thinking BEFORE we look at the Biblical principles of finding God’s will.

Before we can ask how to find God’s will, we first must ask, “What is ‘God’s Will?’” There are two common uses for that term: 1) God’s declared/revealed will (ie the Bible); 2) God’s secret will (whatsoever comes to pass in time/space).

God’s revealed will is His Law and Gospel. The Bible gives us God’s stand­ards and expectations for mankind – es­pecially for His redeemed people. This is the part of God’s will which we can know for certain. The Bible even defines God’s will for us in two ways. First: we must repent and believe in the Gospel – that is the greatest aspect of God’s revealed will (see Mark 3:35, John 6:28­, 29, Gal. 1:4, 1 John 2:17-25). Second: as believers, we must humbly and grate­fully obey God’s law (see Rom. 12:2, Eph. 6:6, 1 Thess.4:1-8, Heb. 10:36, 1 Peter 2:15ff).

God’s secret will is His specific plan for all things – that plan which He created before the foundation of the world which He is implementing in time/space. There is no “Plan B” with God. God is in control of all things (Psalms 104,105). What man intends for evil, God intends for good (see the life of Joseph, Gen. 50:20). He can work all things together for the good of His people (Rom.8:28).

When we come to making decisions in life, we ask: “What is God’s will for my life?” We are often asking God to reveal His providential plan to us in some way. But God has already told us that we can’t know His secret will. In Deu­teronomy 29:29, God says,

The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.

Therefore, we must base our lives completely on God’s revealed will – not speculation about His secret providential plan. Part of the reason we are so worried about “finding God’s will” is because we mis­understand His providence. God doesn’t have two wills for you. There isn’t (as some wrongly say) a “best life now” version of God’s will, and then a “you screwed it up” version of God’s will! Sadly, too many teach that you can “fall out of God’s will for your life.” No, you might disobey God and receive God’s just chastisement for your errors, but you can’t escape God’s overarching providential will for your life. If you get married, then you know for certain that God intended you to marry. It may have been an unwise choice, but you can’t divorce your spouse or annul the marriage because you came to the conclu­sion that you were “out of God’s will.” That kind of approach to the Christian life will result in all manner of sin and dishonour to the name of Christ!

So, how are you supposed to find or follow God’s will for your life? The most fundamental thing is to base your life decisions on God’s Word through faith in Christ. If you aren’t a Christian, then you have no hope of finding God’s guid­ance for life’s decisions. You must first and foremost obey God’s clear guidance to repent and believe. Only then will you have the presence of God’s Spirit in your heart/life, and through the Holy Spirit the Bible will come alive to your understanding. Through the Spirit, you will gain wisdom from God’s Word to guide in life’s decisions.

Some of you are thinking, “OK, that is nice and all ... but the title of the article is ‘Practical Principles for Finding God’s Will.” Where are the practical princi­ples?” Good question. Up to now we have merely been preparing the ground and laying the foundation – now it is time to build the house. We most often recognise our need for God’s guidance when we are faced with a particular question, such as: Which job should I take? Which university should I attend? Which man/woman should I marry? Which house/car should I buy? And so on... The best way to make such de­cisions is to use the paradigm of the “three legged stool” of God’s will. A three legged stool is an ideal illustration, because if you remove any of the 3 legs, the stool falls over. The three legs are: 1) Biblical Principles; 2) Opportunities, Abilities and Desires; 3) Godly Counsel and General Wisdom. The Seat (which holds everything together) is Prayer.

The First Leg: Biblical Principles🔗

To rightly evaluate this first “leg,” you must ask questions of God’s Word – such as: What does God’s Word say about this decision? Is this action/opportuni­ty forbidden by God’s Law? Are there any questions about my stewardship of finances, time, or other resources? Can this action/work be done to the glory of God? If this is a valid option, are there any other options that are more God-honouring? What does the Bible say about my motivations/goals with this de­cision? Such questions can be difficult to ask/answer if you don’t know God’s Word very well! This is yet another en­couragement to be diligent in studying the Bible daily. Furthermore, as we will see in a moment, this “leg” of the stool is connected to both of the other legs.

The Second Leg: Opportunities, Abilities, and Desires🔗

Sadly, most people place far too much emphasis on “open/closed doors” in life. However, as we have already seen, not all opportunities are valid. Neither are all abilities valid. Some people have great skills in lying and fighting, but that doesn’t mean they were destined by God to be a criminal! Romans 7, James 1 and James 4 are all passages which show that we can’t trust our desires either. There­fore, when we evaluate our opportuni­ties, abilities, and desires we must first test them by the Word of God. Before making important decisions, write down biblical reasons why you should: take/ deny a particular opportunity; cultivate/ mortify a particular ability, encourage/ repent of particular desires. Only count as valid those options which have not been struck down by God’s Word.

The Third Leg: Godly Counsel and/or General Wisdom🔗

AFTER doing all the hard work of search­ing the Scriptures, and evaluating your opportunities, abilities and desires – take all that information to a number of trusted Christians for advice. Depending on how important the deci­sion is, you should talk to your elder/ pastor, your parents, your siblings, re­spected older members at church, and your wise friends. There is safety in asking for Christian advice (see Proverbs 1:5, 11:14, 12:15, 19:20-21, 24:6). Be careful not to choose people who you know will agree with your decisions. Try to ask for advice from those who think differently, or who are much older. You can learn a lot by asking members of another generation, because they don’t have the same blind-spots and preferences as the current generation.

As you work through each of these “legs,” you must bathe the whole matter in prayer. Pray over God’s Word. Pray over your evaluation of your situation. Pray about whom to approach for advice, and then pray for wise advice. And after you have done all of the above, pray again for wisdom to make the right de­cision. There will be times when you have several well-advised biblical options. In such situations, you can confident­ly choose whichever option you want, knowing that God is in control.

Obviously, you won’t always have time to work extensively through this whole process, but the more you approach life’s questions from this vantage point, the faster and more wisely you will live! So, avoid all types of superstition and Pentecostalism, and seek God’s revealed will in His Word. I have endeavoured to cover only the most important elements of following God’s will, and I want to leave you with one final encourage­ment from Proverbs 3:5-6: prayerfully acknowledge and honour the Lord in all your decisions, and He will make your paths straight!

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