Finding God's Will One Step at a Time

Most Christians I know have asked the age old question, "What's God's will for my life?" Early on in my Christian life I desperately wanted to know God's will and for some reason felt that I was missing it. After having such an overnight, dramatic conversion I concluded that God's will also had to be found through a similar epiphany experience. While I still welcome and seek to find God and experience Him in new ways, I have come to believe that finding His will happens more gradually and subtly as we follow Him daily.

I have read literature and heard sermons on finding God's will that has been helpful. But too often I find that God's will becomes a forumla that we are trying to crack. The line of thinking typically goes something like this, "If you read your Bible enough, pray enough and make a list of all the pros and cons to every decision, you will find God's will."

I agree that reading God's Word daily, praying without ceasing and making wise choices will help us to find God's will, but I'm convinced that God is more interested in our relationship with Him than in us doing certain things to find His will.

This is what the LORD says:
"Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom
or the strong man boast of his strength
or the rich man boast of his riches,

but let him who boasts boast about this:
that he understands and knows me,
that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness,
justice and righteousness on earth,
for in these I delight,"
declares the LORD. (Jeremiah 9:23-24, NIV)

God's will is for us to know Him. You can know the name of every President past and present, but have never met any one of them. In the same way, you can know about God, that He is Father, Son and Holy Spirit, yet not know Him personally. Finding God's will for your life starts by coming to know Him personally through salvation.

Knowing God doesn't stop at salvation though, in fact it's just the beginning. God wants us to continually "grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ". (2 Peter 3:18) As we come to know Him more intimately, we also come to know His will for our lives. God is not looking for us to crack a formula, but to develop a relationship. May it be at the end of our lives that we share the testimony of Enoch and Noah who "walked with God". (Genesis 5:24, Genesis 6:9)

Of course our greatest example of knowing God and walking in His will comes from Jesus Christ. Throughout the Scriptures we see that Jesus was "led by the Spirit" (Matthew 4:1l, Luke 4:1), spoke and did what the Father showed Him to do (John 8:38) and willingly laid down his will for that of the Father (Matthew 26:42).

Today as believers in Christ we have been given the precious gift of the Holy Spirit. It is the person of the Holy Spirit who "will guide you into all truth", speak to you (John 16:13), give you the words you need to speak (Luke 12:12) and lead you in the ways of God. "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." (Romans 8:14)

I am determined and convinved that God's will can be found by simply following the Holy Spirit one day at a time, one moment at a time. As we learn more about Him through the Word of God and grow in our relationship with Him on a daily basis, through prayer and fellowship with Him, we will find ourselves in the will of God.

So what is God's will for your life?

It's very simple. Do the next thing that the Holy Spirit would have you to do.

Amen.