by David Brenneman
As we continue in our quest to understand and pursue God’s ultimate will for our lives, to follow are eight ways the Father helps us discover His will and the plans He has for us.
Communion With God Through Scripture — Through His Word, God teaches us what the Christian life should look like, what no longer fits us as His children, and how to avoid the pitfalls of life (2 Tim. 3:16-17). In other words, the Bible teaches us what the Father desires for us to do and helps us to accomplish it. It’s His instruction book for living. And He’ll never lead us to or tell us anything that contradicts what He’s written in His Word.
Circumstances of Life — God speaks to us through the circumstances of our lives—where He puts us, the situations we find ourselves in, and the people He places around us. He’s continually working in our lives on a moment-by-moment basis to direct us in His will and accomplish it through us (Rom. 8:28).
Counsel — God speaks to us through the godly counsel of other believers. Sometimes we need the help of other Christians to know what to do in areas we’re unaccustomed with. This is why Scripture admonishes us to teach one another with love, a good conscience, and a sincere faith (1 Tim. 1:5).
Conscience — Another factor in discerning God’s will is through our conscience, which is the inner voice that acts as a moral filter. It’s the alarm that goes off within us when we’re tempted to do something that isn’t right or when we head in the wrong direction (Rom. 2:14-15).
Common Sense — The Spirit-controlled believer is to use his or her mind and common sense when discerning the will of God (Titus 2:11–12)
Compulsion — The Lord gives you the strong desire or the impulse to do His will according to the promptings of His Holy Spirit (Phil. 2:13).
Contentment — We discern God’s will through the contentment or tranquility we feel when proceeding on a course of action. When you’re working against the Lord, you’ll feel spiritual friction that makes you uncomfortable; when you’re in the center of God’s will, you’ll feel peace with Him (Phil. 4:7).
Communication With God Through Prayer — As we bring our questions and concerns to God in prayer, He promises to make sense of what we’re experiencing and will help us understand how He desires for us to proceed (Ps. 119:105).
Today, we’ll consider several factors that can block our ability to hear God. If not dealt with promptly, each can become noise in our lives that stops us from discerning what the Lord is saying to us.
Self Will — The most common and destructive of these factors is our own self-will. We’re so focused on our own needs and desires that we can’t hear what the Lord is telling us.
The Influence of Others — People have influence in our lives, and they’ll always have an opinion when we have a decision to make. But they aren’t you and will never know better than you what God’s will is for your life.
Ignorance of God’s Character and Principles — Another reason we may be hindered in hearing the Lord is that we don’t really know God and His ways.
Unbelief — Another factor which can hinder you from hearing God’s will is unbelief—a combination of fear in your heart about your situation and doubt concerning the Lord’s promises or character.
Feelings of Unworthiness or Guilt — How you feel about yourself can hinder you from hearing God, especially if you see yourself as unworthy of His love and concern.
Busyness — We all make choices about what we should do with our time—and often we may show that the Lord is our last priority by the small amount of time we spend with Him.
God-Directed Anger — The reason you either consciously or unintentionally avoid knowing God’s will is because of unhealed anger and resentment you have toward Him.
Willfully-Harbored Sin — Harboring sin can hinder you from hearing God’s will for your life. When we pass from committing a sin to harboring it (embracing and shielding it as part of who we are and what we’re entitled to), we put up a block between us and the Lord.
As you journey forward, seeking assurance of His will for you, ask yourself the following questions carefully and prayerfully:
Is it consistent with the Word of God?
Is this a wise decision?
Can I honestly ask God to enable me to achieve this goal?
Do I have genuine peace about this path?
Is this decision appropriate for who I am as a follower of Christ?
Does this fit God’s overall plan for my life?
Will this decision honor God?
The preceding are quotes from Dr. Charles Stanley's devotional on the will of God.
Therefore, commit to doing God’s will—not only in the present decisions before you, but for your entire life. Refer often to the ways of discovering His will (Day 5) and make each of these a daily part of your life. Periodically, examine whether there are any hindrances thwarting your relationship with Him (Day 6). Review the seven questions for confirming His will as often as needed (Day 7), realizing that you have almighty God on your side to show you exactly what He wants you to do.
And finally, always be willing to do whatever your heavenly Father says—no matter how big or small, practical or unreasonable, easy or difficult, popular or unpopular, rewarding or costly.
Always say yes to Him.
Even when you don’t want to, are afraid, don’t understand His direction, or when it’s painful—remember that Jesus is the One who saves you, forgives your sins, sanctifies you, provides for you, protects you, gives you a home in heaven with Him, and loves you unconditionally and eternally.
Allow your Savior to give you the abundant blessings and the fullness of joy He’s planned for you. Say yes to His will … because when you do, you’ll experience life at its very best and rewards in eternity beyond measure. - Last portion of day 7 of the same devotional by Dr. Charles Stanley.
The 3 days he mentioned are the first section that you read.
Four years ago my Wife and I were at a crossroads as to knowing whether or not we ought to take a leap of faith and move to where we are today.
I was referred to 1 Thessalonians 4:3a "This is the will of God, your sanctification;". Would we be able to pursue that where we were? No. Hadn't really in 20 years of seeking for it. Would it happen where we desire to go? Yes. We took the leap of faith and though the storms got intense at times we landed in a new home 3 days before Christmas and I had already been in a new job a bit over a week of making that choice.
Our sanctification is the highest priority of God's will for us. Situations that arise are going to be frequent and sometimes unpleasant. But they are necessary to achieve God's will for each of us.
We may not understand everything but we need to trust Him who does.
Our personal satisfaction isn't always going to coincide with God’s will for us. Our lives are not our own, we were bought with a price, the shed blood of Jesus Christ.
We are to be on guard for the schemes of the devil. Make no mistake, you are neck deep in those schemes. You have been and will be while you live and breathe.
How you respond to them is extremely important. How you view them is equally important. How you recognize your steps as being with Jesus or being on your own is important. Using your spiritual eyes vs using your physical eyes are important.
We are all subject to change. But we have to choose that which is in accordance with the will of God.
Recognizing when you are being spoken to is important. We will be spoken to by God. We also need to practice active listening for His voice. We live in a cacophony of noise in every form imaginable and in ways yet unimagined. We get talked into or talk ourselves into things because we're not differentiating the voice of our sin nature from the voice of God. We unknowingly compromise without much of a fight because we aren't checking before leaping.
Our lives can take various turns for no other reason than for God's will for us to grow us in Christ and to be the light of Jesus Christ in our lives.
The Apostles faced many challenges in life that made no sense at all from a human perspective. Yet they did it anyway.
The prophets of old, the same.
Our personal relationship is going to require personal changes and only through a right relationship with Jesus will we make right choices.
You can't know what Godly discernment is without being in God's Word.
You can't say you're obeying God if you don't spend enough time around Him to be used to His voice and how He’s doing things.
You must realize that a right relationship with Jesus is rooted in obedience to God's will for each of us.
Doing things for God without consulting Him is paramount to a life that doesn't truly honor God.
Be sure that you are saved. Without that there is no doing of things for Christ Jesus that are in the will of God. Jesus will separate those who are His from those who are not based on the foundational relationship with Him. Many will claim to do many things in His Name that give every appearance of being wrought in God but are not...these will be cast into Hell, for He never had a relationship with them.
Do something different today and listen for a bit for God’s voice. Trusting God with your today. Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6.
All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission.
New American Standard Bible
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