Knowing God's Will

Doing God's will is not just about doing general good works, and applying His word to your life in practical, every day ways. God also has good works in mind for you to personally do, as the Apostle Paul explained in his letter to the Ephesians,

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:8-10)

People often ask me: How can we know what those things particular things are?

There are several approaches to this knotty issue, which I talk about here and here

Some food for thought, for today:

1) Believe that God knows what He wants for you, and for your family, to do. Breakthroughs happen for people who believe God.

2) Sometimes God will first speak to you directly from His word, words that seem to leap right up off the page for you in your Bible as you are studying. God guides people through His word in Scripture.

3) The Bible teaches that we should also seek godly advice from those who are wise and to be trusted. Be humble and teachable as you listen to what they have to say.

4) God will also cause circumstances to reveal His will -- such as an invitation that you didn't first cause to happen, to serve God in some way; or maybe a job offer, or the chance to do something, or move somewhere, or be with a certain person, or an opportunity arises.

5) If God invites you with circumstances, He will give you confirmation through Scripture, His published word. If God invites you through His word, then He will provide the opportunity as well, through your circumstances.

6) Be in prayer throughout this process to sense the Spirit's message to your inner being. Ask God for this inner guidance. Throughout Scripture God promises to guide you, so believe that and pray for God's direction, trusting that He knows how to speak to you in a way that you will recognize is from Him. God will guide through the inward witness of the Holy Spirit.

The "peace of God" in a decision is that sense of knowing within you that this is right -- a contented peace, or a conviction that it is the right thing to do, or a compelling desire -- it is difficult to describe, but easy to identify.

When these things are present, you can be sure that God has called you into doing whatever it is you have asked Him about. Right after there will often come some testing, either doubts or opposition of some kind, that will rattle you. Then you must go back to the process and the circumstances that proved the settling of God's will for you in order not to be moved away from the direction God has shown you.

It helps if you write it all down, as you go through the process, to remind you in times of need what the Lord has been revealing to you.

If this post got you to thinking, please leave a comment by clicking on the word "comments" below, and join the conversation