SOLT Podcast – E19 – What is God’s Will

I think this is the one thing almost every Christian has struggled with at some most in their life. What is God’s Will for me? This is a question that we all have asked our selves at some point.

This is something that can affect new Christians, mature Christians, someone who is far from God and even someone who is walking close to God. If we were to be honest, maybe even many of you listen right now might even be currently trying to figure out what is God’s will for your life or maybe even just a specific part of your life.

I wanted to do this episode because this is something that I struggled with for so many years of my life. I struggled trying to figure out what it is God wants me to be doing.

During this time, I started many new things in my life. I started about 4 different businesses, I started 6 or 7 different careers, I started helping in many areas of the church. Deep down inside I was searching for God’s place for me, really, I was searching for God’s will for my life.

What did God want me to do?

If you find yourself always starting new things, always looking for something new to do, new business like me, new career again like me. If this is you then chances are… you might be searching for God’s will for your life also. You are searching for God’s place for you. You are looking for what God wants you to be doing.

I read this verse in Ephesians the other day… Eph 5:17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.

I think that most of us would absolutely do whatever it is that God wants us to do, but I think sometimes we struggle with knowing exactly what it is that God wants us to do.

What I mean is I don’t think many of us would listen to God tell us to do something, and then say Nope, I’m not doing that. Although this does happen, look at Jonah, but I think most of us truly desire to do exactly what God wants us to do.

We just have a hard time knowing what it is that God wants us to do. This is not something that you can just go up to someone and they can just tell you. Your pastor or the greatest preacher of all times can tell you exactly what it is that God wants you to do. They can help you along you path to finding God’s specific will for you but they cannot just tell you what it is.

So how do we find the will of God for us? How do we understand the will of the Lord like it says in Ephesians. I think I have a process that will make this much easier for us to figure this out.

Again, I have been through all of this, not knowing what God wants me to do, trying to figure it out and finally doing what God wants me to be doing.

So how do you find out What God’s Will is for you?

This is going to sound way too easy… but we have to start with the fundaments, the basics.

Pray

When ever you want to know anything, anytime you need advice or wisdom in some area, go to God and ask Him first!

Matthew 21:22 – And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.

1 John 5:14 – And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:

John 14:13 – And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do,

Matthew 7:7 – Ask, and it shall be given you;

We could go over so many more verses about our need to go to God in prayer, and how that directly affects our ability to obtain what it is we are asking for. We must go to God in prayer.

So, concerning finding God’s will, our first step is to Go to God in prayer about it. Pour you heart out to God, tell God what it is that you want and desire. Tell God that you want Him to show you HIS Will for your life.

This is the very first thing we need to do. We should not be going to our pastor or another respected mature Christian about God’s will for our life until AFTER we have gone to our heavenly Father about it first!

Study Scripture

This is not just the read you Bible line that we hear all the time. I am talking about searching the scriptures to find answers. Reading over these scriptures many times. Praying on these verses, ask God to reveal His message to you through His Word.

Anytime we approach the Bible, God’s written Word, we need to go to God in prayer first and ask Him to guide us through His Word, fill us with the Holy Spirit who will help us gain the understanding that we need.

God preserved His written Word for us, He has a message to us in it. God can use His Word to show us His will in our life. We need to pray over it, open it up and study it.

How can someone understand what God is showing us in His Word? The answer is in 2 Tim 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

That last phrase means to understand what God is saying in His Word. Rightly dividing the Word of Truth will allow us to know what God’s will is.

How do we rightly divide the Bible? STUDY

We need to study the Word of God to be able to rightly understand what it is that God is telling us. The more we study the Word of God the more we will understand what it is that God wants us to do.

Seek Counsel

Again, this should not be the first thing we do. We need to have already gone to God in prayer and sought out His direction in His word. After this, it is perfectly fine to seek out Godly cousel from you pastor or a respected mature Christian brother or sister if needed. God may make it clear to you without the need of this step.

But if you need to seek godly counsel then…

Make sure whoever it is that you go to is giving you answers from the Word of God. They should be able to put a Bible verse with everything they are telling you. Write down these verses and study them on your own. Seek God’s leading through His Word.

Your counsel time should bring you back to prayer and the Bible. That is how you know it was a successful counsel session.

Don’t expect the person to tell you directly what God is asking you to do. This rarely ever happens. God typically does not tell other people what He is asking you to do. They can help you find the answers but rarely will they ever be able to tell you exactly what God is asking you.

Proverbs 12:15 – The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise.

God has shown us through His Word that it is not just okay to seek counsel but it is wise and helpful.

Start Serving

How I did I figure out what God wanted me to do? I got busy serving Him. I sought God’s Will and path for each step I took. I was constantly in prayer and searching the scriptures and I even sought counsel along the way BUT it was until I started serving that I found out exactly what it was that God wanted me to do.

And even better than that… the more I served the more clear God made the picture. It was like going to the eye doctor and they say “One or Two”? each time I served God it was like He adjusted the focus a little bit more until it was absolutely clear.

Anyone who wears contacts or glasses knows that amazing feeling you get after getting your new prescription… how you can’t believe how clearly you see things. Everything is in focus.

I was talking to my neighbor a few days ago and he told me that he just had surgery done on his eyes and now he can see so clearly. I could see the excitement on his face. He was as happy as can be to see clearly.

That’s how I felt as I started serving God more and more. And He made it is so clear what it was that I was supposed to be doing.

I want you to feel this excitement as well! God will lead you on this journey. Just pray to Him and search the scripture each step of the way.

God will open a door and shine light on the next step for you, as you take that step, He will show you the next step. Each one of these steps will be an opportunity presented to you to serve Him.

As you take this step and take on this service for God you will find that it will be pointing you and guiding you right to where God wants you to be and you will be doing exactly what God wants you to be doing.

I think sometimes we get to wrapped up in… I might make the wrong decision… and because of that we tend to make no decision at all. The problem with that is that, we can’t do nothing.

Jesus tells a parable when He was close to Jerusalem and the people around Him were asking about the kingdom of God. They thought the kingdom should be set up right then so Jesus tells them this parable about a nobleman that is going far away. This nobleman calls some of his servants and he gives them each money and Jesus tells them “Occupy till I come”.

We know the story, most of His servants served him and one did not. One just sat around with this piece of money and did nothing with it. We know who Jesus said was pleasing and who was not.

I want to focus on the phrase “Occupy till I come”. We think of this word occupy and we think oh that just means to be there or just take up space there but that is not what Jesus is saying here at all. This word occupy means to work, to stay busy, for these men specifically it meant to take this money and trade with it and make more money. This was the work they were to do while the nobleman was gone.

Remember Jesus is telling them this when they are wanting to know about when the kingdom will be established.

Jesus was telling them and telling us… Occupy till I come!

That is our job, that is God’s will for us right now. We need to get busy and stay busy serving God until Jesus comes back or until we go to heaven.

We cannot just sit around like the last servant there; God will not be pleased with that at all. God wants us to occupy, God wants us to get busy working.

God will bring the right opportunities to us, we need to be willing to start doing the work, we need to be willing to get busy and stay busy.

This work WILL lead us to what God’s will is for us. That is right from my own experience. The more I served God the more clear His will was to me.

So, what is God’s will?

Right now, it is to occupy, and while we are doing the work, we need to be in prayer and searching the scriptures daily, and then God will make His plan for us very clear.

If you want to know God’s plan for your life, you want to know God’s will for you… Pray, study scripture and start serving.

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