Have you ever wondered if you were “following God’s will?” Or worse, have you ever wondered if you weren’t “following God’s will?”
You aren’t alone.
It’s nerve-racking to think you might get it wrong. The worries abound: “maybe God won’t love me if I don’t get it right.” Or, “Maybe I’m missing out on something bigger.” Or, “Maybe I’ll make a mistake and mess everything up….”
So, how do we know? How do we know what God’s will is?
Sometimes I wish that navigating life with God was like driving with a GPS.
How cool would it be, to be able to search for “right spouse,” “perfect job,” “meaningful retirement,” or “how to raise a kid” and then click “search nearby”? How reassuring it would be to hear the Holy Spirit say, “You are on the fastest route,” “in 500 feet, turn left,” or “your destination is on the right”?
I don’t know about you, but I feel like the clearest directions I’ve ever gotten from God was a gentle (or not-so-gentle) nudge from the Holy Spirit saying, “In 400 feet, make a U Turn.”
Me when I ask God for a sign and try to figure out the next step to take in life.
There’s something desirable about thinking that God has a very specific will for our lives and we can find it if we look closely enough! And, yet, I think we all know it’s not that simple.
So, what is God’s will?
To help us understand this question, I’ll give you my pastoral response first, then I want to talk about 5 ways God speaks to you as you discern where God is at work in your life.
The pastoral response first: I think we are asking the wrong question. God’s will is not always specific. God’s plan for your life might include specifics, but God has the same will for everyone: that they would know and be loved by God and, in turn, they would know and love their neighbor. God desires goodness, grace, mercy, and compassion for all. Our purpose, then, is joining God in building God’s Kingdom here on earth.
Sometimes we think God’s will is like a roadmap that dictates a very specific path for our life. But God’s will is more like a filter through which you sift your options than a roadmap with only one correct route.
Here's a better question: instead of asking, “What is God’s will,” ask, “How I am looking for God?” God is not intentionally mysterious or confusing. The more we focus on who God is, the clearer we see God’s will for the world and how God’s plan for our lives fits in. If we do our best to look at God, we will follow God’s will no matter who we marry, what our job is, or where we live.
What is God’s will? Love God and love your neighbor.
It’s as simple as that. Although, loving God and loving your neighbor is anything but simple.
Underneath the question of God’s will is a deep desire to want to serve God in our daily lives and with our bigger life decisions. And that can be a daunting task.
Here’s what I will tell you: God doesn’t speak quite as clearly as a GPS, but God is definitely still speaking in the world and we can train ourselves to listen.
Here are 5 ways God speaks to us. You can look for these next time you’re discerning where God might be leading.
1. God speaks through the Bible.
Now, scripture is not always as clear as a GPS either. We can’t bring our questions to it like a magic 8 ball, give it a shake, and expect it to give us the right answer. However, in scripture, we find stories where other people have been trying to figure out God’s plan. We also find stories of how God has directed people in the past. From these, we can make guesses as to how he’s might direct us today. For example, scripture teaches us God values: helping the poor, giving generously, living in a community of faith, loving God, loving your neighbor, etc. And so, when we are discerning how to live in the world, scripture reminds us that God will always move us in those directions.
2. God sends us a sign.
Sometimes we just want a sign that says we’re going the right way. In Exodus, we’re introduced to a man named Moses. Moses has a life many of us might dream about: loving spouse, children, a stable job, lived near family. He was content. Exodus 3 tells us that, one day, as he was out caring for his sheep, he noticed a bush on fire. As he stared at it in amazement, he heard the voice of God loud and clear saying, “Go. I am sending you to Egypt.”
When making decision with God, sometimes we want God to show up in these flashy ways. It’s as if we pause to say, “Lord, if I am to make choice A, start the dresser on fire. If it’s choice B, take the kitchen table!”
But there’s a problem with this. When God is that clear, it can be painful. You had better believe that when Moses was told to go to Egypt, he was afraid. In fact, he fought God over it for the next three chapters. There have been times in my own life too that God made it clear to me that the path I was on was wrong. In those moments, it hurt when my plan was wrenched away,
Here’s a prayer that I’ve adopted: “Lord, please be clear about where I’m going. But please be gentle.”
There’s another problem with “burning bush” moments. They are the exception, not the norm. Sometimes God absolutely speaks to us through signs! But most often, God doesn’t. Thankfully, God speaks to us in many other ways too.
3. God speaks through the right conversation at the right time.
There’s a story in Acts about a godly man named Philip. Philip was out for a walk one day when a man from Ethiopia walked by openly asking questions about Jesus. Philip asked if he could explain the Word of God to him. The man agreed, Philip shared about Jesus, and the Ethiopian man became a Christian. Sometimes God’s sends the right conversation at the right time.
4. God causes the right door to open or the wrong door to close.
When I was in college, I heard very distinctly from God that I was called to spend time abroad as a missionary, but I didn’t know how or when. After months of praying, I remember deciding I would finish college first, then could go overseas for as long as God wanted me. I remember praying, “Lord, if this is not your plan, please let me know.”
It turned out to be one of those moment where God said, “in 400 feet, make a U Turn.”
My plan systematically fell apart. Every group I tried to join said no. My class schedule fell apart. The guy I was interested in decided to go a different path… Every door swung shut.
It was my Dad who finally encouraged me to think about going abroad again. Slowly, I began researching missionary groups and—wouldn’t you know—as surely as one door shut, another one opened. Four months later, I left the country on mission’s trip that changed my life and ultimately led me to become a pastor.
5. God speaks through the many resources God has placed all around you.
God puts so many things in your life to help you know which way to go. God speaks through the advice of trusted friends. God speaks through the lives of people who have faced similar decisions in life. God speaks through our minds and encourages us to collect data and make well-reasoned choices. Sometimes, God speaks through our nervous system, sending us a peace we can’t explain in a moment where it’s most needed.
There are so many instances where God uses every day, ordinary things to teach us how to live and be in the world.
So hone your resources! If you don’t have trusted voices in your life, go find them! Keep in touch with a mentor, a close friend, and a therapist. Each can help you discern where your gifts might meet the needs of God’s world.
And stay informed! God gave us each a brain, so keep using it! We have access to more information now than at any time in history. So get used to looking through information, evaluating who is saying what, and discerning which information should be considered when making a choice.
And figure out your body! God has given you many desires and feelings that are good! But we also have many desires and feelings that aren’t good. So spend some time figuring yourself out. Learn to know which feelings in your body are trustworthy and which ones aren’t.
I want to conclude with a story.
Trying to follow God’s will can look like this.
In Acts 16, we read about a man named Paul who was trying to discern where God was leading him next. Paul already knew that he is called to be a missionary and would spend his life traveling the world teaching others about Jesus. In fact, he’d already been doing this for several years.
As Paul decided where to travel next, he paid attention to how God was speaking.
As he prayed about his destination, he likely checked his resources first by consulting other missionaries and thinking through his options. Once he did this, he first decided the best course was to travel to Asia.
What happens next is very interesting. The end of verse 6 tells us “The spirit of the Lord prevented him from going.” I don’t know what that looked like, but it was almost certainly a closed door.
So Paul tried again. This time he started on an old route he had travelled before and when he came to a fork in the road he said, “you know what, I took a left here last time, how about this time I go right?” So Paul turned North to enter Bithynia.
This time, verse 7 tells us, “The spirit of Jesus did not allow them to go there.”
A few days later, Paul got a sign from God. He has a dream in which a man from Macedonia is pleading with him to come and help them. Feeling clearly directed to Macedonia, off he went.
When finally arrives in Macedonia, he visited a riverbank in search of people who would be praying. Scholars tell us that Paul was likely looking for Jewish Men by the river, like the one who appeared in his dream. Paul might have thought that they would be the most likely to welcome him.
Instead, he finds another closed door. The men, aren’t there…. just a group of women.
Isn’t this just what trying to discern life with God is like?? Every time we think we’ve got it right, it doesn’t turn out in the way we expect!! Thank goodness God doesn’t give report cards on how well we can hear God’s voice and follow God’s directions!
Thankfully, despite all of Paul’s plans going awry, the mission was still accomplished. In verse 16, the right door finally opened. Among the women gathered there is a Greek woman named Lydia. And she is VERY receptive to the Word of God. So much so, that the Paul’s next church began in her very home.
Conclusion
So, do you know God’s will? If you didn’t before, you do now! God’s will is that you love God and love your neighbor. If you’re doing your best to do that, then you are following God’s will.
God’s will isn’t a roadmap with only one correct route. God’s will to “Love God and love your neighbor” is a filter through which you can sift options as you seek to make faithful decisions about your life.
And if you’re still worried about “getting it right” remember that none of us get it right all of the time. Romans 3:23 reminds us that all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glorious standard. As such, I’ve gotten it wrong, the Apostle Paul got it wrong, and you’ve gotten in wrong too. And that’s ok.
Thankfully, God doesn’t give report cards.
We might get things “wrong,” but that doesn’t mean we aren’t loved or aren’t saved. God just wants us to be faithful and do the best we can with the knowledge, skills, experience, and resources available to us at the time. And when we fail (and we all fail!), God always offers us another chance to get back on the road.
So keep on going, friend. Discerning God’s will and God’s plan might not be like driving with a GPS, but you are still called to get on the road and drive, and listen as God calls our attention to landmarks along the way.
Take care!
Pr. Meggie
Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, “this is the way, walk in it.” ~Isaiah 30:21