God isn’t playing games with you. He wants you to understand his will, his purpose, and his plan for your life.
You may say, “I want God to guide me, but I still get confused. I don’t know what to do.” Often the problem is we’re looking for the wrong thing. You need to know what you’re looking for before you can find it.
So, what is God’s will?
God’s will is not a feeling.
Maybe you are looking for a feeling or a supernatural sign. You want God to pull your heartstrings so you’ll know exactly what to do.
The problem is that feelings are unreliable; they will often guide you the wrong way. Feelings can come from fatigue, hormones, or an event you’ve just experienced. Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful” (NIV). Even your heart plays tricks on you. Even the Devil can create a feeling. If I had listened to my feelings, I never would have married my wife, Kay. The day before the wedding, my feelings said, “Run!” But that wasn’t God’s will. That was fear!
Don’t wait for a feeling when you’re trying to figure out God’s plan for your life.
God’s will is not a formula.
In our culture, we want everything to be easy. We want things to follow a simple formula that will instantly change our lives. We want a step-by-step guide.
But there’s a problem with this approach: There’s no room for mistakes. If God’s will is a recipe, what happens if you leave out one ingredient? Leaving baking soda out of a recipe is the difference between a birthday cake and a pancake. What if you have “52 Steps to Knowing God’s Will,” and you skip step 37?
God’s will is not a closed system. It is dynamic! It is not always an issue of choosing A or B. In fact, many times you can choose from A to Z, and any of them will be okay. It’s your choice. Why would God give you a brain and not expect you to use it? He lets you make choices, and he gives you second chances.
If God’s will is not a feeling or a formula, what is it?
God’s will is a relationship.
The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 1:9, “God . . . invited you into this wonderful friendship with his Son, even Christ our Lord” (TLB).
We find very little in the Bible about the technique of knowing God’s will. But we see thousands of verses that talk about developing a loving relationship with Jesus Christ. Why? Because God’s will is a relationship.
The better you get to know God, the less confusion you’ll have about what his will is. Get to know God, and everything else becomes secondary.
Talk It Over
If you experience a feeling that you believe is telling you something about God’s will, what is a right, appropriate response?
Why do you think God allows us to make choices and even mistakes when we are searching for his will?
How well do you know God — and how can you get to know God better?
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