God's Will Made Simple

Knowing God’s Will

The problem with approaching theological issues as a fallen human being is really pretty simple: as a fallen human being, my default mental setting is always, "it is all about ME."

Take God’s will as an example.

Whenever I start thinking about finding God’s will, I automatically focus on such questions as “Which person should I marry?” or “What job should I apply for?” or “Where should I go to college?”.

Those are all crucial questions in my life. Why? For many reasons, but chiefly because they all deal with my personal happiness, fulfillment and success in life. To be fair, people do ask such questions because they are concerned about knowing God’s “perfect plan” for their lives. But there is a deeper issue here.

Desiring to know God’s will for a specific person (myself included) is a time-honored, traditional desire among Bible-believing Christians. But...it is a desire that has no Biblical basis. 

You read that right: wanting to know God’s individual will for your individual life is not a Biblical idea, and it never has been.

The “traditional” and faulty view I’m talking about is that which assumes that God has a perfect plan for every person--a plan that is possible to discover for oneself by spiritual and/or experimental means such as reading “signs,” claiming Bible promises, seeking godly advice and analyzing one’s own personal desires. This perfect plan is also one that it’s possible to miss out on by making the wrong decisions along the way: marrying the wrong person...attending the wrong college...choosing the wrong career path, etc.

The two things in the previous paragraph that make the view a faulty one are these:

1. God’s perfect plan can be discovered for oneself, and

2. God’s perfect plan can be missed out on or thwarted by one’s own choices.

I was brought up on this traditional view; in fact, this approach was often used as an incentive for me to make the “wisest choices” possible, so as to not miss God’s best plan for my life. The problem was not the need to make wise choices, but the idea of being able to thwart God’s best plan. Eventually, it became clear to me that the picture the Bible paints is far less ME-centered and far more GOD-centered than I had imagined.

Does God indeed have a perfect plan for every person’s life? Yes. Our God is the sovereign Ruler of the universe; He has complete control over His entire creation, ruling perfectly over all of His creatures and all of their actions, all of the time. That is what it means to be God. We are all the beneficiaries of His kind, benevolent rule, and ought to be supremely thankful to be so.

Does God instruct me to know what His individual plan for my life is in advance and stick to that plan by making the correct life choices? No. That is an idea that is foreign to the teaching of the Scriptures. When God revealed his individual will to individuals written about in the Bible, He did so by audible, verbal, extraordinary methods such as visions, dreams, angelic announcements and words from heaven. Such methods were limited to times and situations where God’s word was being delivered or authenticated. They were never used to give directions for believers’ individual life choices unless those believers were advancing God’s revelation or His redemption. And whenever those situations occurred, it was God, not the individuals, who took the initiative of revealing His will. The believers never took it upon themselves to discover it.

In fact, we are warned in the Scriptures not to try and discover God’s secret plans for our future. Deuteronomy 29:29 reminds us, “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.” When King Saul went to the witch of Endor and attempted to receive direction by consulting the dead, he was violating God’s will and was disciplined accordingly. When Peter asked Jesus about the future plans God had for the Apostle John, Jesus, in effect, answered, “Peter, that is none of your business. You must follow Me” (John 21:22).

There are things about our future--most things--that God has planned out, but which it is none of our business to know in advance. People who assume that they can discover that secret will of the Father for their lives are playing a dangerous game. At best, they are hankering after signs and other extraordinary revelations apart from the perfect revelation of Scripture. At worst, they are delving into mysteries similar to those sought by sorcerers and soothsayers.

So, what HAS our God permitted us to know regarding his will for us?

Even more important than that question is this one: What reason does God give us for knowing His will for us? Is it to satisfy our own curiosity? To assure us of our own security, fulfillment, happiness, success?

God’s will for us is to “be filled with the knowledge of His will” (Colossians 1:9b) so that we will grow into the likeness of His Son. In other words, He gave us His word to instruct us in the ways of holiness--to teach us to obey Him in the same way Jesus did. God saves us. He gives us new hearts to believe and obey His gospel so that we are justified by the work of Christ. And once we are justified, His will is for us to be sanctified--made over in Christ’s likeness as obedient servants of the King.

And if you are not yet saved by God’s grace through Jesus Christ, it is God’s will that you repent and believe the good news. Turn from your sins and surrender your life to the Lord Jesus, your King and your God. Begin your life anew with Jesus as your Master, His word as your instruction manual, and Heaven as your ultimate destination.

That pretty much sums up all of God’s plan that He means for us to know. If we are living our lives in obedience to His word, by faith in His promises and His power, then believe me, none of our choices will ever depart from His perfect plan for us.

May He bless you all abundantly this coming week!