Seeking God's Will

I often hear people say they are searching God's will for their lives. A better option is to seek God's will. His will is bigger than our lives. We are not the focal point of His will. God has purposes and He chooses to include us in those purposes. It is not all about us. It is about what He wants done. Admittedly, some people don't concern themselves with the will of God. They do what they want and when they want. Such living usually ends in a lot of sin and a lot of pain. 

How does a person seek the will of God? The will of God is what God desires. Here are the things I make a habit of doing. First, I ask Him in prayer. I ask Him to reveal His heart and mind to me. I ask and wait for His response. He speaks in various ways. I try to live with my spirit attentive most of the time so that I can receive any communication He wants to give. At times, God has spoken through another person. He has used circumstances to communicate. The Holy Spirit has impressed things on my mind.

 The second thing I do, is read the Bible. I choose the method of reading through the Bible at my own pace starting in Genesis and going through to Revelation. I have done this for decades. When I finish, I start over and do it again. There are many other methods and Bible apps on your phone to help you. The important thing is that you are getting into the Bible trusting God to speak to you. This is the primary way God leads me. Each time He wanted to reveal His will to me, it came with a Bible passage. There are certain verses that have sentimental meaning to me because God used them to reveal His will. Sometimes He gave those verses years before I fully understood their meaning related to His will. 

Thirdly, I talk to trusted counselors. Those include my wife and three trusted brothers. I seek their counsel about important decisions. My nature is to live life with my foot on the accelerator. I'm thankful some of these counselors are the brake pedals in my life to slow me down. They have saved me from many mistakes. I talked to each of them recently about a matter for which I needed their wisdom. One just texted me a prayer a few moments ago. They are valued relationships. I am sure you have some people like this in your life also. 

The last piece of advice I would give is to let the peace of God be your guide. What I mean by that is that when having to make a decision, you may feel peace and calm assurance in one direction. At other times, you may feel uneasy and not have peace. I've learned to listen to this internal radar system. When God's will leads down one path and His peace will guide us. When we are straying out of His will, we may feel uneasy which is an internal warning that we're not doing what God wills. 

People think God's will is a sentimental feeling. Sometimes it is a direct command that will lead to unpleasant paths. God's will for Jesus meant going to the cross. God's will for Paul meant a lot of suffering and martyrdom. There are also certainly times when the will of God will lead down paths of blessing and good fortune. Like it did for me when God opened the door for me to get a football scholarship to Howard Payne University. What I did not know was that God was working His will to bring Brenda to that same campus a couple of years later. When I met her and we had our study date, I had such peace that she was the woman who would one day be my wife. 35 years later I'm still madly in love with her. 

His will is always best. It is not always easy. It is not always the safest. It will not always make us comfortable. He knows how to connect us with His purpose and to get us from where we are to where He wants us to be. If we submit ourselves to Him, ask Him repeatedly to reveal His will, consistently read His word, seek the counsel of Godly people, and wait for His peace to guide us, I am confident we will discover His will.