What does God want me to do?

[Living Word Labels]

Hi everyone - I've prepared the below article in the form of a tract which I hope to put on the web at some point. I am interested in any feedback before I do this as I can still change it. Many thanks.


What does God want me to do?

Finding God’s will for our lives is something very important indeed. Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord,†will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven (Matthew 7:21). We should therefore make it a priority to seek God. I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me (Proverbs 8:17).

How then do we find God’s will? We cannot see Him or speak face-to-face with Him, so how can we find out what He wants us to do?

Learning to do good

Our first approach should be to learn about God and His ways, and to do those things we know please Him.[1] He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God (Micah 6:8). We should also avoid doing anything evil.[2] But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do (1Peter 1:15). Making the right decision can be costly so we need to be fully determined to do the right thing and sufficiently sure of our convictions, otherwise we may default to the wrong choice.

We can learn what is right by reading the Bible. Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path (Psalm 119:105). If we go to church, we will benefit from the teachings and experiences of others, especially if they have a good relationship with God themselves.[3]

Hearing God’s voice

In addition to learning about God, we need to discern His voice or recognise His leading. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me (John 10:27). God communicates with us individually and in many different ways. He can, for instance, use an inner knowing,[4] a gentle whisper,[5] the Bible,[6] other people and circumstances,[7] signs,[8] dreams and visions[9] and prophecy.[10]

In order to find God’s will in a particular matter, we need to ask Him and then trust Him for the answer.[11] Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight (Proverbs 3:5–6). We may need to spend time in prayer and fasting.[12]

Exercising our initiative

As our relationship with God grows, we will learn when to wait on God[13] and when we should exercise our initiative. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him... (Psalm 37:4). God gave us a will of our own and it is important we use it as we will be judged according to what we do or don’t do.[14]

Generally, we will not know God’s will clearly, because if we did, we would not develop our trust in Him. At times therefore we will get things wrong. Satan sometimes impersonates God[15] and other people will mislead us through things they say.[16] Also, we need to put away our selfish desires.[17]

We need to continually trust God so He can correct us, if necessary. Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting (Psalm 139:23–24).

Bible references

[1] Matthew 22:36–40; James 4:17. [2] Ephesians 5:3–20. [3] Ephesians 4:11–13; Hebrews 10:24–25. [4] 1John 2:20; Luke 24:32. [5] 1Kings 19:11–13. [6] 2Timothy 3:16. [7] Genesis 24:12ff. [8] Judges 6:36–40 but see Luke 11:29. [9] Matthew 2:22; Acts 16:9–10. [10] Acts 21:10–11. [11] James 1:5–7. [12] Ezra 8:21–23. [13] Psalm 27:14; 130:5. [14] Matthew 25:14–30. [15] 2Corinthians 11:14–15. [16] 1Kings 13:15–18. [17] Romans 12:1–2. Bible quotations are taken from the New International Version.

 

[Jethro Bodine]

It's important to know that God's will can be divided into two distinct categories: the service of our gift(s), and the obligation of our obedience. We all share the exact same calling in regard to God's will in the obedience of righteous character. But it is God's will in the service of our giftings that we must discern individually for ourselves.

It sounds like you're talking more about discerning God's will in regard to the service of one's gift rather than the obedience of living. The latter being, IMO, very clearly spelled out in scripture, and perhaps best summarized in the passage about the fruit of the Spirit and the deeds of darkness in Galatians 5. This is very plain in scripture. The problem is, the church in general somehow doesn't seem to understand that as the supreme will of God for our lives. Instead they gravitate toward the service of a gift as the supreme will of God for the church and how we please him.

In regard to our gifts, and how they apply to us differently and individually, the Bible has a few guidelines to help us discern God's will for how and when and where we are to operate in our gifts. In Romans 12:1 we are told to consider our gifting and abilities with sober judgment and not think too highly of ourselves (a big problem among Christians if you ask me). It's hard to accept, but that chapter is really a cautionary applying of the brakes to this matter of the will of God and our gifts, not the gas pedal of scripture to propel us into our gifts as it is often taught as being.

 

[for_his_glory]

If we go to church, we will benefit from the teachings and experiences of others, especially if they have a good relationship with God themselves.[3]

The only problem with your above statement is that we need not rely on what the Church teaches or the experience of others unless we use Spiritual discernment to know for a surety of what we are being taught or hear of others experiences are Spiritual or carnal. Many teachings in the Church (not all Churches) come from traditional doctrine that is taught from a carnal mind of rationalizing the word of God for a feel good message or one of fire and brimstone or or a dictated sermon that is written by the Churches administration for what they want the congregation to hear, but neglects that which the Holy Spirit wants to teach us. Same with others experiences can be something of the flesh or fleshly emotions that have nothing to do with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit as emotions can be deceiving.

Generally, we will not know God’s will clearly, because if we did, we would not develop our trust in Him. At times therefore we will get things wrong. Satan sometimes impersonates God[15] and other people will mislead us through things they say.[16] Also, we need to put away our selfish desires.[17]

The problem with this statement you wrote is that we should always know the will of the father before we set out to do anything in servitude so we can always be pleasing to the Father. Gods will is love, Matthew 22:36-40, which covers every aspect of His ministry here on earth as we display His will in His works or the continued works of Christ according to Matthew 25:34-40. We can clearly know Gods will in all things, especially those areas we question, but trust God in all things he calls us to do. Our trust in God is built upon faith and belief in who he said he was and is by his word taught to us by His Spirit.

1Co 2:13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
1Co 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
1Co 2:15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.
1Co 2:16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

 

[Living Word Labels]

Hi Jethro. Thanks for taking the time to comment. I agree very much with your sentiments in the third paragraph, however I'm still thinking about your first two paragraphs. I'm not sure what you mean by the 'service of our gifts' and 'obligation of our obedience'. These phrases are new to me. Sorry to sound so ignorant!

 

[Living Word Labels]

for_his_glory

Many teachings in the Church (not all Churches) come from traditional doctrine that is taught from a carnal mind of rationalizing the word of God ...

Thanks for this comment which I acknowledge is valid. The reason why I did not include it is for lack of space. I'm keeping the length of the article to fit on one side of letter paper.

we should always know the will of the father before we set out to do anything in servitude

...again, as per previous post, I'm not sure what 'anything in servitude' means. Sorry.

We can clearly know Gods will in all things,

I'm not sure whether you meant this absolutely but just in case...

Some years ago I prayed about somewhere to live and eventually an apartment opened up for me. I stayed there two years and moved on when I changed employer to where I am now which is in a different area. Looking back, I don't feel that I would have been out of God's will if I found a different apartment. My point being is that I'm not so sure God has a will for us in everything we do.

A second, more trivial example, is that of a father offering to buy his daughter an ice-cream and asking her what flavour she wants. If she turns round and asks her father what flavour he wants her to have, he would not be able to give an opinion.

This particular point held me back quite a while in my walk with God as I kept praying for His will in things and I became what I feel was overly passive.

I appreciate your comments thanks. Iron sharpeneth iron as the proverb goes...

 

[Jethro Bodine]

I'm not sure what you mean by the 'service of our gifts' and 'obligation of our obedience'. These phrases are new to me.

You're probably familiar with the phrase "obedience is better than sacrifice". It comes from 1 Samuel:

" “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams." (1 Samuel 15:22 NIV1984)

You can read the account if you're unfamiliar with it and see what Saul disobeyed in the interest of presenting an offering, but the point is God is more interested in our obedience than he is our sacrifices even though both are very much in the express will of God for the believer.

Solomon echoes the sentiment in Proverbs:

"To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice." (Proverbs 21:3 NIV1984)

In the law there was the will of God in the matter of sacrifices, and how and when and where to offer them up, and there was God's will in the matter of doing what is right and just in our relationships with others. But one is far more important than the other and not optional.

Many of the sacrifices were entirely voluntary and even had options to choose from when performing them. But there is very little that is optional in regard to God's will in doing that which is right and just. The point being, it is God's will in this matter of justice and mercy that counts far and above and beyond his will in regard to making sacrifices and which has little room for variance.

Jesus condemned the Pharisees for their partiality to the matters of sacrifices to the neglect of justice and mercy, again both being the will of God but one being more important than the other:

23 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness." (Matthew 23:23 NIV1984)

And then there is the teacher of the law who did understand the import of the differences between these two matters of God's will for his people:

"32...the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. 33 To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.†(Mark 12:32-33 NIV1984)

Obviously, we no longer offer up the literal sacrifices of the law, but we do offer up the sacrifice of our bodies in the service of our various gifts. Paul says to "offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship" (Romans 12:1 NIV1984), just as the Israelites offered their spiritual worship up to God through their various sacrifices. Paul then goes on in that chapter to explain how each of us is to assess our own particular gifting and faith to administer our gift.

It's clear that in this matter of the sacrifice of our gifts God's will does need to be carefully and soberly discerned, but in the matter of the obedience of justice and mercy God has pretty well detailed the specifics of how to do that--summed up in the command to 'love your neighbor as yourself'. That he has made very, very plain IMO. His will on how and where and when to administer your gift...not so much.

I see that you have brought up this other element of God's will: where to live, who to marry, etc. That's probably even harder to discern than how to walk in God's will concerning your gift, but I think you're on the right track when you say that there are some things we simply have the liberty to exercise ourselves.

 

[for_his_glory]

Servitude means to wait on or serve. It often denotes people who dedicate themselves voluntarily to the service of another. The servants of God are devoted to his service to carry out the continued works of the Lord.

 

[Jethro Bodine]

for_his_glory
Looking back, I don't feel that I would have been out of God's will if I found a different apartment. My point being is that I'm not so sure God has a will for us in everything we do.

I agree...at least in regard to knowing if God has a specific will concerning the the various options we have available to us for certain kinds of things.

For some things we simply operate in the sphere of activity that God has made possible for us to operate in. I liken it to rats in a maze. While the rat operates in his legitimate choices to go wherever he wants in the maze, the maker of the maze has limited the choices the rat can make by closing off parts of the maze that perhaps the rat doesn't even know exists. In which case both the will of the rat and the maker of the maze are preserved. And unless you have a Pauline ministry calling on your life I think this is where most of us fall in regard to ministry, and picking houses and cars, etc.



I learned a lot from this verse:

26 From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. (Acts 17:26 NIV1984)

We see that God is the one who has determined the circumstances that have caused us to be where we are at in this world even though we have been completely oblivious to it and actually think we have been doing what we want in this world. Which we really may have been doing...but in the confines of predetermined boundaries set up by God.


I honestly don't think we have to consult the will of God to know what color drapes to hang in the living room. But it is true that God's will in even that decision can be determined to some extent. If we allow our freedom to pick the drapes operate within the greater confines of how it affects other people we will be discerning and making choices that are in the will of God.

Okay, I've probably just confused the matter, but the point is there are things that don't necessarily get determined by God's hard and fast will, and we have the liberty to handle them the way we want, while some things are not that way. God has a very specific will for how you are to respond to the old lady in front of you in the check out line meticulously writing out a $12.50 check...after everything has been checked out, lol. But God's will in regard to somehow witnessing the gospel to her in that moment is probably very much your decision. The bottom line for this matter seems to be the command to 'love your neighbor as yourself'. That is ultimately the most useful way God has given us to discern and walk in the will of God, and please him. Sometimes that means a very specific response. Other times it means we are free to choose how to do that.

I hate long posts but there's my 2 bits worth.

 

[Living Word Labels]

Servitude means to wait on or serve. It often denotes people who dedicate themselves voluntarily to the service of another. The servants of God are devoted to his service to carry out the continued works of the Lord.

I think 'servitude' is used more commonly in the US than the UK. I hardly ever hear it spoken here in the UK. I guessed it meant serving in some way. But I still can't understand the following sentence:

we should always know the will of the father before we set out to do anything in servitude

No need to labour it though! Thanks anyway for your help.

 

[Living Word Labels]

Jethro - thanks again for taking the time to reply. I appreciate your effort!

God is more interested in our obedience than he is our sacrifices even though both are very much in the express will of God for the believer.

In the law there was the will of God in the matter of sacrifices, and how and when and where to offer them up, and there was God's will in the matter of doing what is right and just in our relationships with others. But one is far more important than the other and not optional.

I'm struggling to grasp this. The thing I find difficult is that you seem to be saying that God at times requires us to do two things which cannot both be accomplished.

In the 1 Samuel 15 account, I read it that God did not want Saul to offer up a sacrifice to Him at all. He wanted everything completely destroyed. Saul disobeyed by not destroying everything.

With the Pharisees, I feel they just had the wrong emphasis. They overlooked what was important. I don't think in terms of fulfilling 2 wills of God.

Sorry I'm not quite getting it!

 

[Living Word Labels]

For some things we simply operate in the sphere of activity that God has made possible for us to operate in. I liken it to rats in a maze. While the rat operates in his legitimate choices to go wherever he wants in the maze, the maker of the maze has limited the choices the rat can make by closing off parts of the maze that perhaps the rat doesn't even know exists. In which case both the will of the rat and the maker of the maze are preserved. And unless you have a Pauline ministry calling on your life I think this is where most of us fall in regard to ministry, and picking houses and cars, etc.

Hi Jethro - before I make any comments on the above, I do want to reiterate that I am grateful for your response.

Regarding the above paragraph - I'm sorry to say I am finding it very difficult indeed to understand. I think you must have had a lot of teaching in this area to base it on which I unfortunately have missed out on. Take the first sentence for instance.

For some things we simply operate in the sphere of activity that God has made possible for us to operate in.

I really can't understand this comment at all. I appreciate you follow up with an example but I still can't grasp your point. I'm also not sure what you mean by a Pauline ministry

Thanks anyway though!

 

[Jethro Bodine]

The thing I find difficult is that you seem to be saying that God at times requires us to do two things which cannot both be accomplished.

Yes, I am saying that God asks us to fulfill two distinct areas of his will for our lives. We know from the scriptures that those two areas are the sacrifices we make for the gospel, and the obedience of personal character and how we treat other people. One is not so easy to discern and varies from person to person. The other is pretty straight forward in scripture and doesn't vary person to person. And both can most certainly be accomplished.

With the Pharisees, I feel they just had the wrong emphasis. They overlooked what was important. I don't think in terms of fulfilling 2 wills of God.

Yes, they had the wrong emphasis. Like so many people in the church, they only understood God's will in regard to sacrifices, but not in regard to the obedience of godly character. But it is the obedience of godly character (summarized in 'love your neighbor as yourself') that actually counts high and above the other, and which I suggest is really the compass and guide for discerning God's will in all things...even in things as mundane as where you're going to live and work.

 

[Jethro Bodine]

Me: For some things we simply operate in the sphere of activity that God has made possible for us to operate in.

I really can't understand this comment at all. I appreciate you follow up with an example but I still can't grasp your point.

Some of the things we struggle with regarding God's will are actually already determined for us. In those things God doesn't necessarily have a particular will that we need to struggle to discern and then walk in. Much of life for us normal folks is like this, IMO. We beat ourselves up about being careful to be in the will of God where God has no particular will to follow.

I'm also not sure what you mean by a Pauline ministry

Very, very few of us have the kind of ministry calling that Paul received. For Paul, God's will concerning the sacrifice of his service and the obedience of his character are almost on an even par and must be carefully discerned with equal caution and diligence. That's not nearly so true for us regular folks who minister in the service of our spiritual gifts pretty much when and where we want to. The point being, I think that's okay for us regular folk, but not for people like Paul who have a very special calling to ministry.

Thanks anyway though!

I care that people know how to discern, and walk in God's will for their lives. Many years ago when realizing that I will stand before God and give an account of my life to him, I realized I really did not "understand what the Lord’s will is" (Eph. 5:17 NIV1984) that I could take comfort in what I had been doing as a Christian and could look forward to the Day of Judgment with confidence. As you pointed out, Matthew 7 shows us we must understand what the will of God is, and then do it, in preparation for the Day of Judgment. The Lord has graciously shown me in the scriptures how to do that. I want others to know the peace and confidence of knowing that too.

 

[Living Word Labels]

Thanks very much Jethro