No comments yet

How to Know God’s Will

Wisdom is the art of living. Wisdom can be defined as knowing where to go and how to get there. Decision making reveals either wisdom or foolishness. The complexities of practical life cannot be sufficiently sorted out with mathematics, reason, and ingenuity. We need a wisdom that transcends the finite measurements of man. We need to know God’s will – we need Him to tell us where we are to go and how we are to get there.

Decision making – where the eternal meets every life

As the prophet Jeremiah said, “I know that the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man that walks to direct himself.” James in the first chapter of his epistle tells us the key to understanding things – if you lack wisdom ask for it from God. What we need is wisdom – the art of living is to know God’s will and doing it. Jesus said it like this to the woman who supposed that having good children is the greatest blessing in life – “Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.” The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom; the application of God’s word is the end of it.

Equipped to Know God’s Will

The apostle Paul, having finished the doctrinal part of the epistle to the Romans, proceeds to the practical issues. He starts with describing how to be equipped to discern God’s will. Without discerning God’s will, one will never be able to walk in wisdom. Romans 12:1-3 lays out the spiritual equipment for living a life of wisdom.

  1. A hearing ear: The merciful God is calling us to die to self and live for Him.
  2. Right reasoning: A thought process that takes into account who God is and what He has done for us with the conclusion that He is the only one worthy of our lives.
  3. Standing at attention: We stand before God with our bodies ready to decide and act on His command.
  4. A renewed mind: God’s thinking becomes our thinking so that we are transformed from the inside out not conformed to this world’s attitudes, values, and motivations.
  5. The ability to prove the will of God: God’s word and His Holy Spirit give us the ability to test and know the profitable, acceptable, and perfect will of God.

The Place of Equipping

Billions of people suffer from bad decisions because they are not properly equipped to make good decisions. They are not in an environment where they can receive the resources know the answer to the questions Where am I going? And, how will I get there? God has provided a place where men are specifically gifted and commissioned to equip believers with God’s spiritual The local church is the place where wisdom dwells and truth is its pillars. Click To Tweetequipment. The local church is the place where wisdom dwells and truth is its pillars. The church pulpit is the place designed to hold up the Word of God as a light to shine in the darkness of this world and to guide the believer in God’s will. Paul told Timothy the house of God is the church of the living God the pillar and foundation of the truth (1 Timothy 3:15). Wisdom has built a house and it is the Church where Jesus is its head.

How to Know God’s Will

Most believers would say they would do God’s will if they knew it. Decision making is the most important element of life. God’s will and man’s will are designed to be united in good godly decision making. In the absence of an angel appearing telling you God’s will, here is a practical and spiritual matrix for good, acceptable, and perfect decision making. If your decision-making process includes these considerations, at the end of your search you will have a good idea of what the will of the Lord is.Decision making is the most important element of life. Click To Tweet

The Believer’s Decision Making Matrix

  1. The Bible – Search the scriptures and see if there is specific information regarding your decision. The goal is to find God’s mind on your situation.
  2. Holy Spirit Peace in the Heart – Walking with God means you have peace with the Holy Spirit who is in you to lead you and teach you. No peace in the heart might mean you are either quenching  or grieving the Holy Spiri t(1 Thessalonians 5:19; Ephesians 4:30). Doing God’s will sometimes produces trouble with people or situations but God’s will is always accompanied by peace on the inside.
  3. Your Pastor – Every believer should have a pastor who is teaching you God’s word and living a genuine and observable spiritual Christian life. He cannot be a radio preacher or podcast preacher. You need a flesh-and-blood pastor. Ask him to pray for you and his opinion.
  4. Counselors – Wisdom comes in a multitude of counselors. Every believer should have at least two counselors to whom he may go with life’s big questions. The counselors must be mature, Christian people who are not sentimental or short-sighted. There are situations that require expert opinions as well (i.e., legal, financial, medical). In the multitude of counselors there is safety.
  5. The Body of Christ – Your local assembly and your group of Christian friends and fellow believers will represent an general opinion about the decision you are trying to make. If they as a whole are against it or for it, don’t ignore their aggregate counsel.
  6. Circumstances – Adverse or favorable circumstances should never be the final word, but they could be used by God to help you decide whether something is His will or not. Is there enough money? Are the doors open or closed to a certain decision? Was your application accepted or denied? Obstacles are often in the way of God’s will so don’t let circumstances lead you, but wisdom often takes the obvious into account.

Each believer will be judged according to what he did with what he was given on this earth. With the equipment given through God’s Word by His Spirit, a Christian is brought to the place where he can know God’s good, acceptable, and perfect will. When a person’s will chooses yes to the option of doing God’s will, eternity is released in time and that person experiences the greatest privilege known to man. Oh, that we can have the heart of the psalmist who declared, “I delight to do your will, oh God!”

Post a comment