The Will of God: Tips on Understanding It

This is the longest post I have ever written. It should have been split into five or so posts, but the Lord said no… and who am I to say ‘no’ to His ‘no’? 

Anyway, I am going to divide it into five parts, with no criterion for division whatsoever…

*Deep breathe…*

************************

When I got saved a few years ago - eleven to be precise - in the first few years of my salvation, I had a hard time making decisions that would positively influence my life and those around me in a Christian way. This was because the direction my life had taken demanded that I make decisions that would please God and still be relevant to me and the society I was living in. I was terribly overwhelmed.

I was always hearing about something called "The Will of God", and that this thing was in the Swahili Bible I carried (yeah, I didn't possess an English Bible until a year later – don’t ask me why, that can be a story for another day), but could never really grasp what it entirely meant.

Now, the problem was that I had to read my Bible (which right then was harder than anything I’ve ever tried) and "get" that Will – God’s Will for my life. This made it even more complicated.

But after spending a few years in a relationship with the Lord, I have come to notice a few consistent things in this walk and the way He speaks. This is what I choose to share with us today: His Will, and simple steps towards understanding it.

**************************

If you were to make a Google search of this phrase: “the Will of God for my life”, you are likely to get thousands (or even millions) of answers depending the SEO for various websites. That is how “smart” Google has become today – providing “answers” to questions it is asked by people who wish it really possessed such answers... But the question still remains: does Google really know that much about God’s Will for our lives? Really?

One of the beautiful things about Christianity is that there is only one source of answers that is accessible by all and at all times, and that is reliable and true: its author, Jesus Christ. It doesn’t need a phone or an internet-activated gadget. It just needs Him. We may try to find answers elsewhere but we will always hit a wall and come back to where we began: Jesus. We will come back to the author of life, the author of what we believe in... That is why Google, with all its databases of information that is just a click away has not yet managed to answer what Christianity is all about. It may try to define it and give directions on how it is acquired and lived, but the ultimate source of information about Christianity and God will always be God Himself.

So how do we understand the Will of God (what He has planned for us and what He desires of us as we live in this world – my own definition actually) at an intimate level, and not just the Google way? (Because, anyway, this blog is also a “Google way”.)

Let us begin by noting the following;

After understanding the truth above, let me practically show you what I have found out over the years in simple terms;

1.      If, at the beginning, you don’t understand much about God’s Will for your life, don't get overwhelmed. Everything takes time. There is no formula to understanding God’s Will.  Take your time. Relax.

2.      After you’ve relaxed, now start to consistently studying God's Word with a desire to know what He desired/required of the people He interacted with in the past and the possible ways in which you can relate those life events with what is happening in your life today - start understanding God's nature. This means that you’ll need a Bible (and a pen if necessary.)

3.      After beginning to understand God’s nature, relax again. Relax and begin to desire to know more. Be inquisitive. Ask questions as you read or meditate: Why did God behave this way? Why did this person do this? How better would they have done it? Why was God angry/pleased in this occasion?  As you begin to do this, God will start to reveal Himself more to you by answering those questions by His Spirit in you and making those past experiences relevant to you right now.

4.      Read His Word again, now seeking that the things you are reading will transform you. Talk to Him. Talk to God through your reading. Whisper about what you understand.

There is no “working formula” to understanding God’s Will.  Take your time. You will understand it soon.

The more you do this, the more you will find out that His Word has started transforming you, His Spirit's voice starts becoming more real and louder than ever before, and that you are becoming more obedient to it.

**************************

Below are various ways to help you sieve through your actions and reactions to practical life situations as you progress in this life, which will help you prove whether you are walking in God's Will for your life or not.
Note: There is a Biblical example for each one of them. Read it to understand the significance of the point in that context and its relevance to you. All Bible quotations are from the English Standard Version Bible unless otherwise.
In whatever you do;

1.      If it is done in a hurry or in a rush, and you are overwhelmed by indecision, and it is highly provocative, God is not in it.
Biblical example - Eve in Genesis 3:6 when craving and rushing to eat the forbidden fruit given to her by the devil (the serpent) and King Saul in 1 Samuel 13:8-14 when he was impatient and failed to wait for the prophet Samuel to sacrifice to the Lord. He instead rushed into war without God’s guidance.

Lesson – Impatience and hurry are mostly of the devil, and never of God.

2.      If you are doubtful of the decision you are about to make, it is either you are limiting God or you are afraid.

Biblical example – Peter in Matthew 14:30-31 when he doubted if he can walk on water. He sunk!

Lesson – Doubt is accompanied with fear. And fear had nothing to do with God: the righteous shall live by faith – by every Word that proceeds from His mouth.

3.      If it not in line with God's Word, regardless of who is speaking it - an angel, a mighty prophet, a great preacher, or whatever - as long as it does not obey the holistic nature of God's Word, He does not approve of it.

Biblical example – Paul says the same thing to the Galatians in Galatians 1:8 and Jesus told off Satan in the same way in Luke 4:1-13 and to Peter in Matthew 16:22-23.
Lesson – Anything that is not in line with God’s Word, even if it is being quoted by an angel himself, it is not God’s Will for your life.

4.      If it is harming you (your morals, your body, your mind and good values) or someone else’s, God is not in it.

Biblical verses – The apostle John says in 3 John 1: 3 that, “I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul.”  The apostle Paul says in Philippians 2:4 “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others” and in Romans 12:2 “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Lesson – The ultimate good is found in serving others and God. Our bodies are to be used for His glory. That is His Will for us. Remember WWJD? Yeah, use it often.

5.      If it is hindering your spiritual growth and maturity, and it is depriving you of peace, God is likely to be far away from it; and if it does not give you peace when doing it and your heart and mind are troubled at the thought of doing it, God is far away from it.

Bible verses/example - Matthew 5:9 “Blessed are the peace makers…” In Acts 9:31, it is said, “So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.” And in Philippians 4:7: “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

We find a good Biblical example in the book of Psalm 51 when David is deprived of peace because of sinning with Bathsheba and killing her husband. His guilty conscience indicates that he is out of the will of God.

Lesson – Peace in the heart and in the mind is one of the greatest indicators that God is with you and that you are in His Will.

6.      If it is being done out of greed, lust, selfish ambition, selfish gain, self exaltation, jealousy, envy, with a hidden agenda etc, God is not in it.

Biblical example/verses – In the book of Daniel, King Nebuchadnezzar’s greed and thinking that he was a god caused him to be sent into the wild for 7 years. King Saul’s envy of David cost him his throne. Judas Iscariot’s greed led him to a shameful death. Ananias and Sapphira’s selfishness and lies led them to the grave.

Proverbs 15:27 “Whoever is greedy for unjust gain troubles his own household, but he who hates bribes will live.”

Prov 28:25 “A greedy man stirs up strife, but the one who trusts in the LORD will be enriched.”

1Cor 6:10 “…nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.”

Prov 20:10 “Unequal weights and unequal measures are both alike an abomination to the LORD.”

Prov 11:1 “A false balance is an abomination to the LORD, but a just weight is his delight.”

Lesson – Greed and self-centredness are the very opposite of the nature of Christ who was/is loving, considerate and selfless. If we desire to be in His Will, we’ve got to be like Him.

7.      If the way or the means by which it is being done, and its end does not glorify God, then He is not in it.

Bible verses/examples – In 1Corinthians 10:31, the apostle Paul says, “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

The pride and arrogance seen in most Kings of Israel e.g. Ahab led to the fall of many and their dynasties. Balaam (a weird prophet) sought his own good from his interaction with Balak (King of Moab) and ended up on his own (Numbers 22 and 23). Diotrephes, a church elder mentioned by the apostle John in 3 John 1:9, was a man “who liked to put himself first…”. His end was full of darkness.

Lesson – If God is receiving the glory and it is all about Him, it doesn’t matter whether you are being misunderstood or not, and whether you are facing opposition or not, stay focused. It is His Will.

8.      This article suggests that for many decisions involving the secular world, we need to ask ourselves the following questions in order to decipher if we are in God’s Will or not;

a.       What do I really want?

b.      Am I truly Seeking God’s Kingdom first?

c.          Have I asked for and pursued Wisdom from God about this matter?

d.      Have I gotten wise counsel?

e.       Do I have all the facts?

9.      Lastly, if it is not being approved by the spiritual and Spirit-filled community, I doubt if God is in it.

Biblical example/verses: One person who really sought counsel in the Bible is David – not only from God but from spiritual leaders too. We see this in his close relationship with the Prophet Nathan in 2 Samuel 12 when he freely comes to correct him in his wrongs.

Prov 15:22 ​“Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed.”

Prov 11:14 “Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counsellors there is safety.”

**************************

Remember:

1.      Problems, challenges and temptations do not necessarily imply that you're out of God's Will. They may be part of your trimming into what He has for you, so take heart.

There is suffering that is out of sin (1 Peter 2:20 and 2 Corinthians 7:10-11), and suffering that that is part of your Christian growth (James 1:2, 1 Peter 2:19-20 and Romans 8:18. )

2.      Sin deviates us from God's Will, but that is not final. Like the Prodigal Son in Luke 16, we can still come back running to the mercy seat. He is faithful to forgive. (1 John 1:9)

3.      Our good plans may or may not be part of God's Will. We may need to inquire with Him first before concluding that those good plans are His Will for us. Not every good plan is in God's Will for us, but all evil is of the devil. (An example is King Saul in 1 Samuel 15 when he chose not to kill all the plunder and the Amalekite people after war in the name of "keeping the best sacrifice for God").

4.      God has said something about everything in our lives. We just need to read more of His Word to understand this. Minus His Word, we are only left to speculation, empty proclamations and constant wishful thinking.

5.      There is nothing like "God's permissive will" and "God's perfect will". That's a human philosophy that seeks to deviate us from the Truth; and it is like saying that there exists "God's permissive Word which can be compromised" and "God's prefect Word which cannot be compromised". There is nothing like that. God’s Will cannot be compromised. It is infallible. The Word of God is perfect (Psalm 19:7) and 2 Timothy 3:16 says, "Every scripture is inspired by God and useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness..." There is only but the Will of God: His Word. Nothing more, nothing less.

6.      We cannot change God's Will for our lives: it is intact. Nothing can change it. We are predestined for many great things which He planned beforehand for us... But, yes, but, sin is the only thing that will derail us from His Will. So there is nothing like, "once saved, always saved". No. Romans 6:23 "For the payoff of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

7.      We can, through prayer and intercession, ask God to change some things that are in contrary to His Will, or things that we know should be part of His Will for our lives or others' lives. Abraham in Genesis 18 pleads for the salvation of Lot and Sodom and Gomorrah and we see Moses in Exodus 32 and 33 pleading for the salvation of the children of Israel.

8.      God punishes His children when they wrong. It is part of His Will for our lives. (Hebrews 12:7 "Endure your suffering as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is there that a father does not discipline?").

9.      God wants the best for us and nothing else. The devil wants what is evil for us – that is why his name means “man’s opponent” or “adversary”.

10.  We can never FULLY understand God’s Will. Never. But as long as we have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16), we know His Will. This is not ambiguous, but plain Truth. Meditate on it.

11.  God does not lie. God does not manipulate. God is all-knowing. God can do all things. God is everywhere (the devil is not). God loves us so much that He gave Himself up to save us from sin and the devil. God is pure, perfect and holy. The way God works transcends all human understanding. God can hide some things from us and yet reveal others for our own good. God does not compromise or show favoritism. God is mighty and sovereign above all things known, unknown, living or non-living. God is not limited by situations, circumstances or lifestyles. God is infinitely eternal. God is above everything known or unknown. God knows you better than you know yourself. God is the Creator of all things.

12.  The devil can use God's Word to deceive us into sinning (like he did with Jesus in Luke Chapter 4 during His temptation in the wilderness), so we need to use God's Spirit in discerning the lies and sieving them with the Truth when the situation arises.

13.  In a “black-and-white-situation”, calmness, patience, prayer and resulting peace lead us to making more Godly decisions than rushing in and trying to “figure it out” on our own.

  

**************************

You may ask, "How am I to differentiate between God’s voice and the devil’s?"
I will share with you a few differences between the two;

1.      God's voice is calm and brings peace (See 1 Kings 19:12 when He speaks to Elijah and when He talked to Gideon or David before they went to war). Queen Esther waited for this voice for days before approaching the King in Esther 5 – in the fullness of time, she took action to report Haman’s plot.
The devil's voice is cunning, authoritative and enticing (as seen in the actions of Cain, Esau and in David when lusting over Bathsheba).

2.      God's voice brings you to purity, leads you away from sin and is in line with His Word; the devil's is not: it takes advantage of your weaknesses, manipulates you and seeks to control you.

3.      God's voice does not lead to a guilty conscience and self-condemnation, but the devil's voice lies to you, deceives you and condemns you even after repentance.

4.      God's voice is patient, while the devil's voice commands you to MOVE NOW!! Or DO IT NOW!!

I hope this post has helped you or will help you in understanding a few things about God's Will for your life.

Stay blessed.

Bonface Morris.