The Hunt for God’s Will
By Lois Amari
Is it
possible for a Christian who is sincerely and actively searching for God’s will
to miss it? I believe it is not just
possible but highly probable, especially if the person is too preoccupied with
this mission.
But how
could a person miss God’s will if he is earnestly and aggressively searching
for it? The answer is in the question itself: the act of searching
for God’s will for one’s life may frequently lead to missing doing
God’s will in one’s life. This is because the emphasis of the mission is on
finding God’s hidden will rather than on doing God’s revealed
will.
Our
mission in life should not be to search for God’s hidden will (God’s specific
and futuristic plan for the individual), but rather it should be in doing God’s
revealed will (God’s laws concerning lifestyles and righteous living). When we
are so consumed by the desire to find God’s specific will for our lives to the
point that the mission becomes an obsession or an idol, then we are no longer
devoted to enjoying God and glorifying Him, which is what God created us
for. The mission can distract us from
living a life pleasing to the Lord. It may even lead to a state of unhappiness
and captivity, and it may lead to a stagnation in our spiritual life.
If you
have reached this point in your life and you currently feel frustrated because
you have spent so much of your life searching for God’s will that now you are
not able to discern it, I invite you to put your search on hold and take the
time to examine the teaching of God’s words on this subject. It is highly possible that your frustration
is more a result of wrong theology than anything else. Let’s examine common
false views Christians hold regarding God’s will.
Many people think that God’s will for an
individual is to attain a specific state described by the following major
elements: ministry, education, career,
a marriage partner, number of children, and place of residence. These elements constitute what many call
God’s specific will for an individual. Furthermore, some believe that God has
only one perfect plan for each individual. Most of us, however, do not reach
close to living in this perfect state because of sin. If we miss this perfect
state (i.e. married X instead of Y), we end up with less optimum states or
plans, known as the practical will of God. The practical will of God is God’s
perfect will adjusted for those things we lost due to not following God’s
perfect will. Therefore, the more we sin, the greater the difference is between
the practical will and the perfect will.
It is true that God has a specific plan
for each individual. God declared, "For I know the plans I have for you,
plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a
future'" (Jeremiah 29:11). When the Bible, however, talks about God’s
specific plan for the individual, it doesn’t request the individual to search
for these plans. All that the Bible
requires us to do is to trust God and obey His revealed will: "Trust in
the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all
your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight" (Proverbs
3:5-6). The plans of God for each individual are not the making or responsibility
of man. It is God who will make these plans happen: “Being confident of this,
that he who began a good work in your will carry it on to completion until the
day of Christ Jesus." (Philippians 1:6), “The LORD will fulfill his
purpose for me” (Psalm 138:8), “Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is
the LORD's purpose that prevails” (Proverbs 19:21). We should not make our mission in life a search for these plans;
God has promised to lead us in his timing: "I will instruct you and teach
you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon
you" (Psalm 32:8). As Christians
our responsibility, therefore, is not to search for God’s futuristic plans for
our lives, but to trust him. But if it is not our responsibility to search for
God’s futuristic plans, then what are our responsibilities, and what does the
Bible mean when it tells us to obey God’s will?
The Bible teaches that a person does
God’s will when he or she obeys the word of God. When Moses’s father’s in-law
asked Moses why he was spending so much time dealing with people’s problems,
Moses replied, "Because the people come to me to seek God's will. Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought
to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God's decrees
and laws" (Exodus 18:14-16). When the people sought God’s will,
Moses gave them the decrees and the laws of God.
The mission of seeking God’s will is
fulfilled in knowing and obeying God’s laws and decrees. In fact, God’s will
and His words or commandments are used interchangeably in many places in the
scripture. Jesus said, "My teaching is not my own. It comes from him who
sent me. If anyone chooses to do God's will, he will find out
whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own” (John
7:16-17). Here, knowing the teaching of God is a prerequisite to doing his
will. It is not possible to do God’s will if you don’t know his teaching.
Therefore, God’s will is not a set of information about some theoretical state,
but rather it is doing what is pleasing to the Lord at the present state we are
at.
Let us not be obsessed with this abstract
state, but, instead, devote ourselves to pleasing the Lord and enjoying Him in
our daily walk. Many times, our obsession with His specific will leads to a
spiritual stagnation, makes us less effective in the ministry, and moves us
farther from attaining His perfect will. God expects us to obey what He has
revealed to us, and He will hold us accountable for what He has revealed to us.
Do not let this philosophical teaching about God’s perfect will distract you
from obeying His revealed will. And if you have been searching for God’s hidden
will for a long time, it is time for this search to end. Pick up the Bible,
read it daily, and apply the biblical principles to every area of your life.
Remember that we are only responsible for obeying God’s revealed will. The
question is, are you obeying God’s revealed will? If you actively obey His
revealed will rather than actively search for the hidden will, then I believe
your frustration will go away.
God’s will is not only about the
big-ticket items of life, i.e. who should we marry and what career we should
pursue, but it is about how we should live our daily lives. Does your lifestyle
please the Lord? For instance, are you living a pure and holy life? “It is God's
will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual
immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in
a way that is holy and honorable” (1 Thessalonians 4:3-4). How is your prayer
life? The Bible teaches us to “Pray continually; give thanks in all
circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus” (1
Thessalonians 5:17-18).
Are you generous in giving to the Lord’s
work? Paul testified about the generosity of the Macedonian churches: “They
gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on
their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this
service to the saints. And they did not do as we expected, but they gave
themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God's will.
But just as you excel in everything--in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in
complete earnestness and in your love for us --see that you also excel in this
grace of giving (2 Corinthians 8:3-7). Are you using your spiritual gifts to
serve God and others? “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to
serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms” (1
Peter 4:10). The Bible contains teaching about every area of our lives. It
instructs us “how to live in order to please God” (1 Thessalonians 4:1). Are
you applying God’s words, His revealed will, to every area of your life?
The disciples and God’s servants throughout
history were not obsessed with who they should marry or where should they live,
but with doing God’s revealed will. Today’s Christians are obsessed with such
things, but at the same time they do not live a Holy life. Remember that when
we reach heaven, we will not give an account as to whether we lived in Los
Angeles versus Chicago, or whether we became engineers versus doctors, but we
will give an account for every word that came out of our mouths, for every
deed, for every thought, for our faithfulness or lack of it in using the gifts
that God has given us.
Why are you so obsessed with these
futuristic plans of God when at the end of day what really counts is your
obedience to God’s revealed will?
Many times we think of God’s will as
something for the future. In doing so, we ignore the present state: we don’t
consult the Lord with our present decisions; we don’t examine our lifestyle to
see if it glorifies God; we don’t seek His kingdom and serve Him in the current
place we are at. We should remember
that we can only do God’s will in the present. If God’s will is always in the future, then
we will always be missing it in the present. But if we are faithful in doing
His will at the present place we are at, then most likely we will not make
foolish decisions that will lead us away from His will in the future.
Sometimes God reveals futuristic things
to us, gives us promises about the future, or calls us into ministries. The futuristic states that we feel God calls
us to are in the future and if there are elements about these futuristic plans
that God wants us to worry about (education to prepare us for a career), then
He will reveal them to us in the present and these elements will become part of
the present and not the future. And
when He reveals to us futuristic states or places that He calls us to, such as
marriage, we should not be obsessed with them (other than, of course, praying
for them and the normal preparation for them), but rather concentrate on the
present state because the present state needs to be lived and optimized for His
glory. It is when we are faithful with
the present moments that the Lord will bless the future moments. When we are focused on how to live the
present life for His glory, it is then that we learn to listen to His voice
more clearly, learn the necessary spiritual lessons, and develop the required
skills needed to do His will in the future.
God’s will is dynamic. It changes with the time, place, and
circumstances of one’s life. The question should always be what God wants me to
do in the current state I am at. The answer to this question may change from
state to state. For instance, let us say at time = 0, you married an
unbeliever. Your action at time = 0 was displeasing to God because He
specifically said that you should not be unequally yoked with unbelievers in
marriage (2 Corinthians 6:14). Suppose three years later you decided to
divorce your still unbelieving spouse. You can’t justify your divorce by saying
my marriage wasn’t God’s will. It is true that your marriage was not God’s will
at time = 0, but at time = 3, God’s will has changed for your life. As a
married person, God’s will for you is to remain married. As a matter of fact,
God hates divorce, and to divorce is a big violation of His commandments
(Malachi 2:16, Matthew 19:9, Mark 10:5-12, 1 Corinthians 7:12).
Don’t try to correct your mistakes of the
past by back tracking all your steps and undoing them, such as with the undo
function in the edit menu of a word processor. Instead, ask what God wants you
to do in the current place you are in.
God’s will is not hidden. God is not
playing hide and seek with us. He wants us to know what He wants from us and
how He wants us to live our lives. He has already revealed His will in the
scripture. His words are not only to show us how to live our daily lives, but
they also guide us to God’s specific plans. It has principles that will guide
us in making decisions regarding all areas of our lives, whether it is
marriage, career, or ministry:
"
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path." (Psalm 119:105).
"When
you walk, they [the commandments] will guide you; when you sleep, they will watch
over you; when you awake, they will speak to you. For these commands are a lamp, this teaching is a light, and the
corrections of discipline are the way to life, " (Proverbs 6:22-23).
"
Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and
night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will
be prosperous and successful." (Joshua 1:8).
God also uses godly men and women to help
us discern his will:
"The way of a fool
seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice" (Proverbs 12:15).
"Plans fail
for lack of counsel, but with many advisors they succeed" (Proverbs
15:22).
God also uses circumstances and other
means to guide us into His will. Some Christians feel that the above mentioned
means (i.e. scripture, Christian counsel, circumstances) are not sufficient
guides for their lives, and they seek some sort of a supernatural revelation of
God’s will. And unless they have this revelation, they will bring their whole
lives into stagnation. We seem to think that the stagnation is brought by God
not revealing His will to us, but we are the one who are responsible for this
spiritual stagnation. We are responsible because sometimes the problem is not
that God is not revealing His will, but it is that we are not listening to His
voice. We don’t listen because we are not familiar with His voice; we haven’t
developed an intimacy with him. Sometimes, we don’t listen because our own will
is speaking louder than His. In this case, we need to learn how to align our
will with His. Sometimes, it is not a problem with listening but with trust and
obedience. Whatever the problem is, it is not that God is not revealing His
will. Yes, God is speaking, but are you listening?
Often times when people pray for God’s
will they are really praying to settle down. They want to enter a state of
equilibrium or steady state. They think when they pursue the ultimate career
God wants them to pursue, when they marry the person God wants them to marry,
when they live in the city God wants them to live in, that will be when they
will enter the state of God’s will. But God’s will is not equivalent to a state
of settling down. Do you know that God’s will for your life may be to never to settle
down? Besides, such a state doesn’t exist because change is inevitable. If we
seek such a state we will be disappointed because it is only possible to live
in it momentarily, because it is natural for humans to experience change. The
only place of settling down is in heaven. On earth, there will be no rest. Stop seeking rest in your circumstances and
surroundings; true rest can be found in Christ alone.
Sometimes people are not truly seeking
God’s will but are seeking to know what the future holds for them. God doesn’t
want us to worry about the future: “Therefore do not worry about
tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of
its own” (Matthew 6:34). He wants you
to trust Him, to concentrate on the present, and live each day for Him. If you
are worried about the future, bring your worries to the Lord in prayer. God
wants you to pray about everything: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in
everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to
God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your
hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7)
This earthly future that we worry about
is temporary and not certain. As a matter of fact, we might not be part of it.
But there is another future, which is eternal and certain. What additional
revelation about the future do we need from God when He has already revealed
eternity to us? Why do we need to know about the future when God has already
revealed to us the most important thing in life: where we are going to spend
eternity? If we keep the eternal prospective, then we will not be anxious about
this temporary earthly future, but, instead, we will be occupied in the present
time to do God’s will.
In his sermon titled “God’s will about
the future” delivered on Oct. 16, 1890, Spurgeon said:
“Why, then, is it, that we are
always counting upon what we are going to do? How is it that, instead of living
in the eternal future, where we might deal with certainties, we continue to
live in the more immediate future, where there can be nothing but
uncertainties? Why do we choose to build upon clouds, and pile our palaces on
vapour, to see them melt away, as aforetime they have often melted, instead of
by faith getting where there is no failure, where God is all in all, and his
sure promises make the foundations of eternal mansions? Oh! I would say with my
strongest emphasis: Do not reckon upon the future. Young people, I would
whisper this in your ears; Do not discount the days to come. Old men,
whispering is not enough for you, I would say, with a voice of thunder: Count
not on distant years; in the course of nature, your days must be few. Live in
the present; live unto God; trust him now, and serve him now; for very soon
your life on earth will be over.” (For the complete sermon, go to:
http://www.spurgeon.org/sermons/2242.htm)
Many times the so-called will of God that
we are seeking is just a figment of our imagination. It is not a reflection of
God’s will and heart, but of ours. It tells more about us rather than about
God. What are you expecting God’s will
to be for your life? Is it a state of perfect happiness? Is it a beautiful, educated,
talented, smart, and sweet wife? How could you be sincerely seeking His will
when you already have all these ideas of what you want to do with your life and
what is the best for you?
Furthermore, did you know that God’s will
for your life could involve pain, suffering, loss of loved ones, health
problems, and other undesired things?
Paul said, “I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that
prison and hardships are facing me. However, I consider my life worth nothing
to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has
given me--the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace” (Acts 20:23-24).
We should expect suffering as part of God’s will: “Dear friends, do not be
surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange
were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of
Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed….So then, those
who suffer according to God's will should commit themselves to
their faithful Creator and continue to do good” (1 Peter 4:12-13, 19)
A second question you need to ask
yourself is, why I am seeking God’s will.
Are you seeking God’s will because you do desire to please Him, because
you want to live your life completely for Him, or is it because you feel that
it is an escape of your current situation?
Many times we confuse what is God’s will with our desires. A person who
seeks God’s will comes stripped of the love of self and considers his or her
life cheap and offers it a sacrifice to the Lord. As Paul said, “I consider my
life worth nothing to me” (Acts 20).
Doing God’s will is an act of offering oneself to the Lord. It means to
die to one’s self, desires and will, and to live for the will of God. It is
only possible to die to yourself if you love God. Do you love the Lord from all
of your heart, all of your mind, all of your soul, and all of your strength?
In summary, I would like to repeat
Spurgeon’s admonition: “Live in the present; live unto God; trust him now,
and serve him now; for very soon your life on earth will be over.”
__________________
Scripture taken from the Holy
Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®.Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International
Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of
International Bible Society.
Copyright © 2003 by Lois Amari. All
rights reserved.