Now is the Time to Increase Your Confidence in Knowing God’s Will for Your Life

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Take These Three Steps if You Truly Desire to do God’s Will and Fulfill the Purpose He has for You

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Today my husband and I are considering a major change in our lives. It is a change we expected at some point but not this soon. Yet, we feel God directing us to make this change. How can we be certain of God’s will in our lives?

Many Christians have asked this same question as they prayed that God would show them His will for their lives or a specific situation. In fact, most of us have, haven’t we? But the Bible is very clear about how we can have confidence in knowing God’s will in our lives.

God Has Two Types of Will

Before considering how we can know God’s will, it is important to know that God has two types of will: 1) His sovereign will; and 2) His will of command, also called His moral will. What is the difference?

God’s sovereign will always comes to pass no matter what.  What God decrees happens. Jesus’s death on the cross is an example of God’s sovereign will. Jesus in His humanity prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me.  Nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”  (Matthew 26:39 NASB 1995.) By deferring to God’s will instead of His own, Christ was acknowledging God’s sovereign will.  Although in His humanity Jesus did not want to die, He knew God’s sovereign will was to be done. No matter what, God’s sovereign will comes to pass.

God’s will of command is His will based on His commands to do what is right, which is often disobeyed and doesn’t come to pass. Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven will enter.” (Matthew 7:21 NASB 1995.) So, there are those people who will do the will of God and those who will not.  Clearly, this is the will of command, which can be obeyed or disobeyed, unlike His sovereign will, which always comes to pass.

When we ask God to show us His will for our lives, we are seeking His will of command, the will that we may or may not obey. If we truly wish to do God’s will and fulfill the purpose He has for us, we will obey it.

The Will to be Christ-Like

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We all want to be Christ-like, right? Jesus taught His followers to be Christ-like. He explained, “A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher.” (Luke 6:40 ESV.) He was their teacher and He was telling them that they were being trained to be like Him.

The apostles also taught that we are to be like Christ. John explained that those who say they abide in Christ are to walk in the same way He walked (1 John 2:6). Peter revealed Christ as an example and exhorted His followers to walk in His foot steps (1 Peter 2:21). And Paul identified himself as an imitator of Christ while urging his followers to also imitate Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1).

This consistent message throughout the New Testament is important because it leads us to finding God’s will in our lives. Listen to how Jesus describes how He lives.

I am able to do nothing from Myself [independently, of My own accord—but only as I am taught by God and as I get His orders]. Even as I hear, I judge [I decide as I am bidden to decide. As the voice comes to Me, so I give a decision], and My judgment is right (just, righteous), because I do not seek or consult My own will [I have no desire to do what is pleasing to Myself, My own aim, My own purpose] but only the will and pleasure of the Father Who sent Me.

John 5:30 (AMP)

This is how I want to live.  I actually pray this scripture: “Lord, help me to do nothing of myself, independently from you, of my own accord.  Help me to walk as you teach me in your word and through the godly authorities you have placed over me.  I seek your will and pleasure, not my own will and purpose.”

It is not enough to just pray this, telling God we want to do His will, we must also take actions that will lead us to God’s will.

Actions that Lead to God’s Will

Doing the following two things described in Romans 12:1-2 will lead us to knowing His will.

1. Present our bodies as living sacrifices; and
2. Be transformed by the renewing of our minds.

These two actions lead us to knowing God’s will, not His sovereign will, but His will of command or moral will for our lives.  When doing these things, we are offering our reasonable service to God.

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The first step, which is to present our bodies as living sacrifices, means we strive to live a holy life, a life in the world but separated from the values, ambitions and lusts of the world.  Instead of pursuing the things the people of the world pursue, we pursue the things of God, walking according to the Spirit of God within us.

The next step is to renew our minds.  What does that mean? Before Christ came into our lives, we felt free to live according to the natural desires of our bodies and the thoughts in our minds (Ephesians 2:1-3).  We lived and conformed to the popular worldview of our time.  That worldview is inconsistent with God and His teachings, including principles of holiness.  We were not able to discern or understand the things of God (1 Corinthians 2:14).

As believers, we are to no longer conform to the popular worldview that rejects God, but instead to be transformed by renewing our minds so that we can discern and know what is God’s good, acceptable, and perfect will for our lives (Romans 12:2).

Renewing our minds requires that we transform our thinking from the old ungodly thoughts, which include thoughts that go against God and the life He teaches us to live, into godly ways of thinking found in God’s word.  We must replace the error of the world’s way of thinking with God’s truth.  The only infallible source of God’s truth is His revealed Word, the Bible.

How do we do that?  How do we renew our minds by the word of God?  We must be very intentional.

1. Faithfully attend a church that preaches and teaches truth.
2. Routinely engage in personal Bible study.
3. Participate in group Bible studies.
4. Memorize the Word, which can be done by praying the Word as opposed to rote memorization.

We must fill our minds with God’s truth in order to renew our minds so we can discern God’s will for our lives.  Jesus prayed, “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.” (John 17:17 NASB 1995). God isn’t going to just download His word into our minds.  A part of the process of sanctification is endeavoring to absorb truth into our minds, our hearts, and our lives.  As our minds absorb the truth, our hearts begin loving it, and our lives begin showing it.

In addition to presenting our bodies as living sacrifices and being transformed by the renewing of our minds, we can also pray for ourselves like Paul and the author of Hebrews. Paul prayed that the Colossians would be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding (Colossians 11:9). The author of Hebrews prayed that God would equip the Jewish believers with everything they needed to do His will (Hebrews 13:20-21). Because it is God who gives us the will and desire to do His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13), we need only ask Him for the knowledge and understanding of what His will is for us.

Having Confidence in Knowing God’s Will

Our focus has been on how to know God’s will in our lives.  We’ve learned we can discern and know God’s will by offering our bodies as living sacrifices, being transformed by renewing our minds, and praying for the knowledge of His will. He will equip us and give us the desire to do His will.

Being able to have confidence that we can discern and know God’s will in our lives is very motivating in and of itself.  But wait, there’s more!  There are other benefits of knowing and doing God’s will. We will develop a close, intimate relationship with Jesus (Mark 3:31-35) and we will enter the kingdom of heaven and live forever (Matthew 7:21; John 2:17).

Oh, to be more Christ-like, as Jesus and the apostles taught their followers.  I want to be able to say as Jesus did:  “My food (nourishment) is to do the will of Him who sent me and to accomplish His work.”  (John 4:34.) We can have confidence in knowing God’s will in our lives.

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