Many people are seeking to find their purpose in life. What is God’s purpose for them? Frequently, the desires of our hearts are also the will of God. How can you find out what God’s will is for your life? The answer to these questions is of supreme importance, not only for believers, but for God as well. God wants you to know His will for your life. A good place to start is in prayer, reading the Bible, and in seeking counsel from Christian friends.
If you are not a believer in Jesus Christ and have not placed saving faith in Him, then you are out of the will of God for He desires that all to come to repentance and faith and to be born-again. If you are not a Christian, then you will never truly find out what God’s will is for you. For non-believers, God’s will is for you to place your faith and trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior – to repent and ask Him to forgive your sins.
Biblical Purpose for your life
The Bible is clear about what God desires from Christians. God wants us to glorify His Son’s name, Jesus Christ. He desires that we tell others about the good news of the Gospel. Apart from these two obvious wills of God for us, what other Scriptures tell us what God wants us to focus on?
Romans 12:1-2 says, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” When Paul says “I urge you” the Greek indicative is to beg or plead with the brothers and sisters. The word “urge” is more like a desperate plea for your own sakes and in fact the word urge is from the root word for “urgent.” This means it is of critical importance. Also, notice in verse two that it says, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” This renewing is the same Greek word that typifies the Transfiguration of Jesus on the mount of Transfiguration (Matt. 17:1-6). This is where the Shekina Glory was revealed to Peter, James, and John.
So we know that God desires for us to not be conformed to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind by the Holy Spirit. In Romans 1:2 it says, “Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” It says that only then, that is after the renewing of the mind and not being patterned after this world, that we can know “his good, pleasing, and perfect will.” That’s it! This is His perfect will! God’s will for our lives is that we not be conformed to the world but allow the Holy Spirit to transform our minds and then we can “what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” How clear that is. That is God’s will for our lives. It is not for us to be rich, to never be sick, and to not suffer, but to conform to His will and His will is a “perfect will!” Wouldn’t you expect to know where to find God’s will? Naturally you can find it in the Bible, because God’s Word to us is the Bible.
So God’s will for our lives is to be transformed by the Holy Spirit, to not be conformed to the world, and maybe even to suffer. Wait! To suffer? First Peter 3:17 says, “For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.” Jesus had to suffer more than anyone else in human history and just before Calvary Jesus “fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will” (Matt. 26:39). There it is. Jesus wanted to seek and do God the Father’s will over His own. And what was God’s will for Jesus? The prophet Isaiah tells us what God’s will was for Jesus just before the brutal Calvary: “Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand” (Is. 53:10). Yes, this was God the Father’s will for Jesus. His will for Jesus was to “crush him and cause him to suffer” and to make “his life a guilt offering” for those who would believe in Him. It should not surprise us then that sometimes God’s will is for us to suffer and this suffering is for God’s glory! I realize that for some who are reading this article about how to find God’s will for your life would not ever think about it being to suffer, but this is from the Bible and the Bible is God speaking to us from His Word (2 Pet. 1:20-21, 2 Tim. 3:16).
Seek Godly Counsel
Another way to find God’s will in your life is to seek the counsel of an adviser, a friend, a pastor, or teacher. The Bible says that “in the multitude of counselors there is safety” (Prov. 24:6b). Proverbs 11:4b also says that “there is safety in having many advisers.” The key word in these proverbs is many. Asking your best friend may not help you find God’s will for your life. It may be good advice but it may not be God’s will.
It’s not like God is trying to hide His will from us or that He will not help us find His will for our lives. Just read Ephesians 1:11, “In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will.” Everything will work out for our best and things in our life will be according to “the purpose of his will.” Romans 8:28 confirms “that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
Trust God’s Sovereignty
As we read in Romans 8:28, Christians can rest in the fact that God is sovereign over everything that happens in this life. He directs events, He puts people in our paths, and essentially He enables us to be in the right place at the right time. Proverbs 21:1 is one of my favorite Scriptures for reassurance when I am praying for God’s will in my life, “The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the LORD; He turns it wherever He wishes.” If God can direct the king’s heart to “wherever He wishes”, then surely He can direct you to the right employer, to the right woman or man, to the right ministry, or whatever His will is for you. The key here is that your will must be aligned with His will or you will be frustrated.
We already know that God’s will is for us to not be conformed to this world, to be renewed in our minds by the Holy Spirit, and to seek godly counselors, but He also wants us to know that He is directing your life in His good and pleasing sovereignty for what is best for you (Rom 8:28). He wants you to trust Him in this directing. Proverbs 16:33 indicates that “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD.” This clearly means that if we cast some dice, God not only knows where they will land, but what their sum total will be. That “decision is from the LORD.” The question is, will you trust Him with it?
Daniel 4:35 says “All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: “What have you done?” If God does what He pleases with the nations of the world, and “no one can hold back His hand”, then surely you must know that He can help you find your will for your life which will also be His will for your life. An important lesson here is that God’s will for your life should be what you are seeking as your will for your life. You do not want to seek your will unless it is also God’s will. To seek a will for your life that is different from that of God’s will for your life will be a continual frustration.
Aligning Your Will With God’s
The true joy in your life will be finding God’s will for it. Anything short of this will not be pleasing to God and will not please you in the end. God’s will for your life is also revealed in these Scriptures.
1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 “It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God.”
1 Thessalonians 5:18 “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
1 John 2:17 “The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.”
Matthew 28:18-20 “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
God’s Will is Found in the Bible
God doesn’t want to frustrate us in seeking His will for our lives. As it says in Deuteronomy 29:29, “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.“ We can see that finding God’s will for our lives is found in the Bible. His words to us are His Word in print – the Bible. You will be amazed at how much of God’s will for your life will be plainly revealed to you by simply reading the Bible every day. God is not trying to hide His will for your life. That is not His way. He wants you to know His will and the will of God is in the words of God – in Scripture.
Final Thoughts on Finding the Will of God
This is not an exhaustive list, but we can sum up some of the know will of God for your life:
Do not be conformed to the pattern of this world.
Be transformed by the renewing of your mind by the Holy Spirit.
Suffer for doing good.
Seek a multitude of godly counselors.
Trust in God’s sovereignty.
Abstain from sexual immorality.
Live a holy, sanctified life.
Being thankful to God for everything.
Read His Word, the Holy Bible.
God’s will for your life is much more than an occupation (a teacher, a janitor, a painter, an accountant, or a carpenter) – it is for you to live a life pleasing to Him, allow the Holy Spirit to renew your mind, suffer for good, trust in Him, live a holy life, and read His Word. This is the will of God for you and for every Christian’s life.
Article by Jack Wellman
Jack Wellman is a father and grandfather and a Christian author and pastor of Heritage Evangelical Free Church in Udall, KS [https://modelchrist.org/] & also a Prison Minister. He did his graduate work at Moody Theological Seminary. His books are include: “Teaching Children The Gospel/How to Raise Godly Children,“ “Do Babies Go To Heaven?/Why Does God Allow Suffering?,“ "The Great Omission; Reaching the Lost for Christ," and “Blind Chance or Intelligent Design?, Empirical Methodologies & the Bible."
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