Why Can’t I Figure Out the Will of God in My Life?
This question came out of a conversation with a relatively new follower on LinkedIn. FYI if you’d like to follow my daily scripture thoughts on LinkedIn you can find me at https://www.linkedin.com/in/troystoneking/.
You see, my new friend is trying to decide whether to move to a new place or stay put. Let me start by answering the big question and then we will break it down.
Question: Why Can’t I Figure Out the Will of God in My Life?
Answer: You’re overthinking it.
Ok, maybe that’s not very helpful. But it’s true and it’s something I’ve had to learn over many years.
The Answer to the Other Big Question
I had originally titled this post “How to Know the Will of God in Your Life.” But that would have led to a very short blog post. And now maybe you’re thinking, “Excuse me???? Haven’t people written whole books on knowing God’s will?” Yes, they have. And some of those books are wonderful. But I’ll give you God’s will for you in three scripture passages. If you get these three right then everything else will fall into place for God’s will in your life.
1) As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.
-Matthew 9:9 NIV
2) And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
-Mark 12:28-31 ESV
3) Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
-Matthew 28:18-20 NIV
There ya go. In summary, here is God’s will for your life:
· Follow Jesus
· Love God and other people
· Make disciples and teach them to obey everything Jesus commanded you
See? That would be a VERY short blog post. It’s not wrong, but also not long.
Great. Thanks (I think). But What About Everything Else?
Oh, you want help knowing God’s will in your specific situation. Well, I suppose you could cast lots as the disciples did when trying to decide whether to replace Judas Iscariot with either Matthias or Barsabbas (also known as Justus). But maybe not. Now that we have the Holy Spirit we should count on His guidance.
Except there is a problem there too. As my friend had alluded to, they had prayed, looked at the options, and still didn’t have a clear direction from the Lord. And THIS is where the overthinking comes in. Now, let me say I am in no way disparaging my friend. I have literally spent YEARS fretting over a decision that could have been made in just a couple of weeks.
Now that I’m older and (hopefully) wiser, I usually don’t have to waste as much time in indecision. But let me make this one thing clear. I still get stuck in decisions sometimes, as my lovely wife will quickly attest to. I’m in the middle of one right now…which I already know the answer to, I just haven’t made the commitment. 😊
But First, A Little Aside
Before I get into the process, let me throw something out there. In the New Testament, I don’t see a lot of fretting about discovering God’s will. After the Holy Spirit had come at Pentecost, Jesus followers prayed, then they acted. And if there was something specific the Lord didn’t want them to do, He let them know. You can read in Acts 16 how the Holy Spirit directed Paul and his traveling companions away from the province of Asia and to Macedonia. (Don’t worry, God took Paul to Ephesus, the capital of the Roman province of Asia, later in Paul’s life.)
But the point is this. In the New Testament, people prayed, sometimes sought the counsel of other believers, and then they acted. I don’t really see this fretting over God’s will in so many situations that seems prevalent in the current western church. So why do WE have so much angst over our decisions in the here and now? I’ll give you the simple answer.
We’re afraid to take risks.
We are afraid to take risks because taking a risk leaves open the possibility of making a mistake. And we’ve been trained our entire lives to do everything we can to avoid mistakes. They taught us that in school. Our parents may have taught us that at home. The pressure was always on to get it right and get it right the first time. Those who did were rewarded with praise and position. The punishments and suffering went to those who got it wrong.
Because of this lifelong training, we think that if we take a wrong action, then it will mess up our entire future and cause us to miss out on something amazing. We believe that a wrong decision will be catastrophic and there will be no way back on the right path. No, beloved, no.
It’s a lie.
It’s a horrible burden that none of us was meant to carry.
Here is the truth.
Anyone who belongs to Christ is a new person. The past is forgotten, and everything is new.
-2 Corinthians 5:17 CEV
Let me ask you some questions. Did Christ redeem you from your sins? Did this same Jesus turn you into a new creation? When you became a true Jesus follower, did He change the entire direction of your life? Has God now given you assurance that you are not going to Hell, but are instead you are going to Heaven? If the answer to each of those questions is a resounding YES then let me give you another truth.
God can redeem any decision you make. God can restore you to His ideal path. Do you really believe that you have the power to destroy the plans of Almighty God because you moved when He might have had you stay? By contrast, do you really think that if you stayed in a place too long that God can no longer get you where He desires you to go?
Oh, dear child, you are not that powerful.
A Short Guide for Jesus Followers in Decision Making
So, with all that in mind let me say one more thing, and then I’ll give you a bit of guidance that may help. Here is the one more thing:
Relax and trust God. Don’t spend time letting anxiety over taking a risk, a risk to change or a risk to not change, keep you up at night. Remember, God can redeem any decision and redirect any path.
A man’s heart plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.
-Proverbs 16:9 BSB
And now, a short guide for decision making. In this process if at any point you feel clearly which option is the right decision from the Lord then stop the process and make the decision!
1) Make sure you have no unconfessed sin. You cannot hear the Lord’s voice if you are not connected to His Spirit.
2) Pray and ask the Holy Spirit for wisdom in the decision.
3) Spend significant time in His word. The Lord often directs through the pages of scripture in concert with the Holy Spirit.
4) Talk to others who will be affected by the decision…but don’t give them total power over it unless you are completely ok with that. For more information on this one check out our post, Can I Have Faith Outside of God?
5) Talk to trusted Jesus following mentors and friends.
6) (If necessary) draw up a list of pros and cons.
7) Roll the dice. Just kidding. Don’t do that. I was simply making sure you’re still reading. 😊
8) Make the decision that seems best to you and those it will impact and don’t look back!!
I hope this has been helpful.
Feel free to reach out to me directly via our contact form.
Love you Jesus follower!
-Troy
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