FINDING GOD’S WILL FOR YOUR LIFE

In life, we all have many choices to make. Some are unconscious and unimportant, (what shoe to put on first) but many are vitally important. It is no surprise that we want to find out God’s will to help us with these decisions. As Christians we hope God has a good plan for our lives and we spend a lot of time wanting to discover what it is. But, I want to propose today, that maybe we have difficulty discovering God’s wonderful plan for our lives because He doesn’t really intend to tell us what it is, and maybe we are wrong to expect him to.

The confusion lies at what we mean by the phrase ‘the will of God’.
There are 3 parts to the will of God:
i) God’s will of Decree
ii) God’s will of Desire
iii) God’s will of Direction

i) God’s Will of Decree
This refers to what God has ordained. Everything that comes to pass is according to God’s sovereign decree.  God’s will of decree cannot be thwarted, it’s unstoppable, what He wills, will happen.
Eph 1:11 “In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will,”
God works everything out, from the big to the small, according to his good and sovereign purposes.

But there is a paradox here.  Even though God is in control we are still given choice and freedom in this life.  Look at Prov 16:1 “To man belong the plans of the heart, but from the LORD comes the reply of the tongue.” And Prov 16:9 “In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.”

The plans are yours – you decide and there are consequences for those decisions. But what actually happens (words v1) or (deeds v9) is completely set by God’s will of decree.  We are free and determined both at the same time. It gives us great peace to know God is in control and it’s motivating to know we have true responsibility.

God’s will of decree is what he has decided will happen in your life.  It is something he does rather than gives.  You stand in it rather than discover it.  You feel its current, trust it’s purpose and flow rather than work it out.

ii) God’s will of Desire
The other side of the coin is God’s will of Desire.  This is what God has commanded us to do. 
What he desires from us. 
If the will of decree is how things are, the will of desire is how things ought to be.

Hebrews 13:20-21 refers to this:
“May the God of peace… 21 equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

There is no escape from God’s will of decree but we can disregard his will of desire.  God’s will of desire is the way God commands us and equips us to live.  Doing his will is about obedience and bringing him glory. 

iii) God’s will of Direction
Sometimes hear people talking about finding out God’s will for their lives, could be called God’s will of direction.  But does God have a secret will of direction that he expects us to figure out before we do anything?  I want to propose that the answer is ‘no’.

Does God have a specific plan for our lives? Yes
Is there assurance that he is at work in the big and small of our lives? Yes
And will we be able to look back at our lives and see his guidance and will for us? Yes
But He doesn’t burden us with the task of divining His will of direction for our lives ahead of time.  In other words, we don’t need to figure out his specific will for us in every decision we face.

God is not a Sat Nav for life where we turn to him in every decision we face and expect him to give us the answer.  God has a plan for our lives but have we the right to know the details before it unfolds?  No.

This approach has several consequences:
i) A Sneaky, hide and seek sort of God: 
ii) Wrong Focus: If we think there is some plan we have to get information about before we deicide anything then we tend to focus on decisions that aren’t as important as God’s overall desire for our lives. We major on the minors.  Should we fret over which University to go to or how we can live a pure, mission minded, compassionate and holy life when we get there?
iii) A lack of personal responsibility, accountability and initiative. 

What is God’s will of Desire?
See 1 Thess 4:3-4; I Thess 5:16-18; Col 1:9; Eph 5:18-19
Can you see, this is not step by step instruction, God’s will for your life is to live a holy life, rejoice, pray and give thanks, bear fruit and be filled with the Spirit.  God doesn’t want us to worry about the future (Matt 6:25-34) but rather seek his kingdom and he will provide everything we need to live for him, make him famous across the earth.  Put bluntly, it’s not very sexy.  God’s will for your life is this: CHRISTLIKENESS

God is more interested in making you the sort of person who can make wise choices than telling you in advance what those wise choices are.  Therefore stop obsessing, stop thinking disaster awaits if you miss God’s next instructions, crack on, make some decisions, and stop procrastinating.

How does God guide us?
i) Wisdom
God wants us to spend less time figuring out the future and more time pursuing wisdom.  Wisdom according to Proverbs 2 is understanding the fear of the Lord and finding the knowledge of God. 

ii) Scripture
2 Tim 3:15 “… you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”

We believe the bible isn’t a crystal ball rather a book that is alive. That feeds us, teaches us, instructs us, shapes us.  To become wise we need to read the bible and allow the Holy Spirit to instruct us.

iii) Wise Counsel
It’s vital we don’t read our bibles or make decisions in isolation.  God has given us a bible reading community to help us.  Prov 12:15 “The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice.”  So it’s not that we must please everyone, or consult everyone rather ask people who we respect, know us well, mature in their faith, who are able to speak the truth in love.

Do you seek advice? Do you welcome input from others on your decisions.  Or are you independent, self sufficient, wary of input, and unteachable?

iv) Prayer and Prophecy
It is crucial we pray when looking for guidance, but what do we pray? Ask for God to illuminate the bible, so we can understand it and apply it to our lives. We pray for wisdom as God really wants us to make good decisions.  Pray for good motives, purity, faith, grace, and love. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal where your heart needs to change, where there are lies about God and the gospel.

Be open to God using others to prophecy into the situation.  1 Cor 14:3 “But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort”  However, often this will confirm what you have decided rather than reveal God’s plan ahead of time.  Often it will help you recognise God’s leading rather than set it all out in advance. But it should always be weighed, and worked out in community.  Hold it loosely, don’t elevate it.

And beware ‘fleeces’ – praying that if such and such would happen then you’ll make such and such a decision.  Gideon lays a fleece and asks God to make it first dry and then wet, and it was a sign of his unbelief rather than an example for us.

Application:
Dating and Marriage

Let me explode that myth of finding ‘the One’.  Has God in his secret providence got the right person picked out for if your going to get married – yes. But you only really find that out, once you’re married.  The problem with the myth of the one is that it makes affection, or feeling of being in love the glue that hold a marriage together, when it really is the commitment to marriage that safeguards the affection.

The question is not ‘is this the ‘right’ person to marry’ but rather ‘is this the right kind of person to marry?’  Will they help you live in God’s will of desire?  Will they move you towards Chrsitlikeness?

Step 1: Read your bible:
Step 2: Ask Godly Friends:
Step 3: Pray and Listen to God:
Ask God for pure motives.  Don’t get married for the wrong reasons.  Pray less that God would show you who is the right husband or wife for you and pray more to be the right kind of husband or wife. Listen to God but be careful.  It is almost impossible to hear God in matter so the heart like relationships becasue it is too subjective.
Step 4: Make a decision.
Go out with them or make it clear, in a compassionate way that it’s not going to happen. Or if you’ve been in a relationship for a while and wondering whether to get engaged.  Move towards making a decision.  Most people procrastinate because their scared of rejection or commitment or getting it wrong, but they say it’s because they just want to do what God wants so they’re waiting for him to speak.  No, do steps 1-4 and then decide.

Questions:
1) Talk about the difference between God’s will of Decree and God’s will of Desire.
2) What are some of the decisons people are facing in mission group?
3) Have you fallen into some unhelpful ways of thinking about God’s will for your life?
4) Is there anything you didn’t understand or agree with from the preach?
5) How does this talk impact you and your decision making?