How Do I Know the Will of God?

As we seek to follow God, ultimately queries about being in His will come up. What does God want me to do with my life?

We engage in a lot of activities to discern the direction of the Almighty.

• We ask.
• We look at all life’s circumstances and try to discern the best path.
• We set out “fleeces” saying things like, “God if you do this (or that) then I will know this is right.”

Sometimes our methods turn into downright manipulation or magic.

A little seeking, a bit of fasting, some prayer and wise counsel, and “Poof” we know His Will.
We attempt to make deals with God saying, “God if you show me this I will live for you forever!”

No amount of deal brokering is foolproof. There are no magic spells consisting of good works which always produce the desired result.

So how do we know the Will of God?

Slowly. Little by little.

Paul, in his letter to the Galatians, gives the church members both the secret to the Christian life as well as the key to knowing the will of God.

Don’t miss it.

“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” Galatians 5:16 (ESV)

Did you catch it? If you were looking for a formula or a method you would miss it.

Paul simply says, “Live (or Walk) by the Spirit.” That’s it!

A working definition of living by the Spirit would be to trust, depend, or rely on God. Earlier in the letter, Paul tells the Galatians that they started their Christian life in the Spirit. The beginning of every believer’s journey is salvation; which is completely based on God and not works. The Galatians trusted God for salvation; the rules have not changed after conversion.

Ok.., so the Christian life is one lived in the Spirit. Fine. But, how do I know what God wants me to do with my life?

Galatians 5:25 gives us another angle to this new “life in the Spirit.”

“Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” (NIV). Other translations read, “let us be guided by the Spirit.” (NRSV)

Want to know God’s Will? Paul tells us how.

Walk. Live. Trust. Depend.

What? No 10 Step Plan?
No formula or method?

Our human nature wants to know how.
“Just tell me what to do and I will do it”, we scream!

God isn’t concerned with how, His concern is with who. Knowing the will of God is not a program but a Person.

What? All we do is keep our eyes on Jesus? Just trust Him? Seem too simple?

We are very good at complicating the simple.

Want to know the will of God? Here is the secret:

• Keep your eyes on Jesus. (Hebrews 12)
• Trust and depend on God. (Galatians 5:16)
• Walk and He will guide. (Galatians 5:25)

God wants us to fulfill our “destiny” even more than we do. As we look at Him and walk, even if somehow we head down the wrong path; God can steer a moving ship easier than one anchored in port. Walking in the Spirit implies action and movement.

We need to free ourselves from the bondage to formulas or methods and walk in a relationship with God.

Judah Smith say, “God’s primary goal for us is relationship, not destiny or purpose.”

As we do, He will guide us!

So Relax.