So God WANTS you to know his will…He isn’t
trying to make you go on a crazy treasure
hunt to figure out his mysterious will for
your life.
He’s not trying to hide it from you.
He wants you to know it.
So if you want to follow God’s Will for
your life do these 5 things:
Know God
Be Transformed
Give Thanks
Know Yourself
Do Good
If you do those things, you can be very confident
you are in the Will of God for your life.
So,
1.
Know God
But know God with an experiential knowledge.
Don’t just know information about God and
play the religious game, actually experience
God’s presence and get to know him!
Now I know I said God’s calling is more
general than specific and that is true, but
he can also call us to specific things during
specific seasons of our lives.
But unless your name is Abraham, Jacob, Moses,
Mary, Peter, or Paul who God called for a
specific task, God at the very least has a
General Will for your life.
But God does speak to us every day.
So the closer you get to God, the easier it
is to find your calling.
Because you’ll feel the gentle nudge of
the Holy Spirit or hear his still small voice
telling you to go this way or don’t go that
way.
This is part of what it means to be “in
Christ” as the New Testament puts it.
In general though, when you know God and not
just know about God, you will have more discernment,
wisdom, and clarity.
2.
Be transformed
John Ortberg says “God’s primary will
for your life is not so much about what you
do but who you become.”
So who are you becoming?
Are you becoming like the God you worship?
Are you becoming Love?
You were made to bring God’s love into the
world – to reveal God’s greatness and
beauty to the world.
Mother Teresa says “Jesus didn’t speak
of success but of faithfulness in love.
This is the only success that really matters.”
Romans 12:2 tells us to be transformed by
the renewing of our minds then we will be
able to know what God’s will is.
See once you know God and are transformed
by the Holy Spirit, you’ll start to desire
what he desires.
And Saint Augustine plays on this and he says
you know what Love God and do whatever you
want.
3.
Give thanks
The Bible says Rejoice always, pray continually,
give thanks in all circumstances; for this
is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
Rejoicing and praying are usually the natural
result of a grateful heart.
So giving thanks in all circumstances is a
major part of God’s Will for your life and
this verse makes that abundantly clear.
4.
Know yourself
1 Peter 4 talks about how we all have received
a gift but we are to use it to serve others,
“as faithful stewards of God’s grace in
its various forms.”
We all have strengths and weaknesses and knowing
our strengths and weaknesses, knowing our
gifts, is part the foundation of what it means
to know yourself.
And you have to know yourself in order to
know what you’re supposed to do.
As my friend Kevin Sweeney says “How can
you know what YOU are supposed to do if you
don't know who YOU are?”
See we are in this culture where we’re disconnected
from our deepest desires and dreams, what
our heart really beats for.
But you have to know yourself in order to
know what you’re supposed to do.
Because you have to ask yourself, “What
makes me come alive?
What makes me angry in a righteous way?
What am I good at?
What am I not so good at?”
Frederick Buechner has this great quote where
he says “The place God calls you to is the
place where your deep gladness meets the world's
deep hunger.”
The thing that makes you come alive and what
the world actually needs.
So what’s that intersection for you?
5.
Do Good
1 Peter says “For it is God’s will that
by doing good you should silence the ignorant
talk of ignorant people.”
And Micah 6 says what does the Lord require
of you?
Well to act justly and to love mercy and to
walk humbly with your God.
So God’s Will for you:
Know God, Be Transformed, Give Thanks, Know
Yourself, Do Good
If you do these things, you can be very confident
you are in the Will of God for your life.
