Chapter 1
Discovering Godâs Will
God Has a Will
Since some variation of the words âthe will of Godâ or the âFatherâs willâ occur more than twenty times in the New Testament, it is fair to assume âthe will of Godâ exists and can be known. The apostle Paul commands us to âunderstand what the will of the Lord isâ (Ephesians 5:17). Jesus uses the expression when He addresses God with the words, âYour will be doneâ in what has come to be known as the Lordâs Prayer (Matthew 6:10). Yes, God has a will that we must discover and do from the heart.
Paul declared âthe whole purpose of Godâ (Acts 20:27). There is a body of content between Genesis and Revelation that squarely applies to the church. In less than thirty-six months, Paul taught the Christ-followers this âwhole purpose.â
We read in Jude 3, âthe faith . . . was once for all handed down to the saints.â There are boundaries to this content. In fact, Paul warned: âlearn not to exceed what is writtenâ (1 Corinthians 4:6).
Epaphras was âalways laboring earnestly . . . in his prayersâ for the Colossians, that they might âstand perfect and fully assured in all the will of Godâ (Colossians 4:12). Unfortunately, we can know and do just part of Godâs will.
How important is it to learn the whole purpose of God and do it from the heart?
Consider Jesusâ words in Matthew 7:21: âNot everyone who says to Me, âLord, Lord,â will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.â Later, He adds, âFor whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and motherâ (Matthew 12:50). John further emphasizes the importance of Godâs will when he declares, âthe one who does the will of God lives foreverâ (1 John 2:17). Doing the will of God, therefore, not only reveals our relationship to God, but it is also related to our eternal destiny. Concerning eternity, the writer of Hebrews states, âTherefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promisedâ (Hebrews 10:35â36).
From Jesus and the apostles we learn that the will of God never ranks second to anything. For this reason, all of us should be asking, âWhat is Godâs will?â
Most of the time when people ask, âWhat is Godâs will for my life?â they have in mind a specific concern: career, love relationships, finances, etc. Rarely do people simply ask, âWhat is Godâs will, His whole purpose, to which the Bible refers?â The difference between these two questions is crucial to finding Godâs will for you. I believe that if you start by asking the second questionââWhat is Godâs will?ââyou will likely discern the answer to the first question, âWhat is Godâs will for my life?â
The question, âWhat is Godâs will for my life?â considers what I refer to as the unique will of God for me. The question, âWhat is Godâs will?â explores what I call the universal will of God for all believers. I contend that the best way to know Godâs unique will is to know and follow His universal will for all believers, and this book is about four universal wills of God, which serve as a great starting point, as I referenced in the Introduction.
Godâs Universal Will
The apostle John describes how following the universal leads to the unique. First John 3:21â22 states, âBeloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.â
There we have it. Keep Godâs commandments (His universal will in imperative form) and encounter His unique response to our petition. In response, God guides and provides for us at a personal level. We can experience a remarkable answer to prayer, an orchestration of events pointing to a particular course of action, or a supernatural peace in the midst of unanswered prayers. Amazing things can happen as we keep His universal commandments and then ask Him to uniquely direct our steps.
Godâs Four Universal Wills
Though all of Godâs commands in the Old and New Testament that apply to the church fall under Godâs will for us, God reveals in four passages, four specific wills. I refer to them as the four wills of God.
Like on a map, it is as though God declares, âStart Here!â
This doesnât mean we can ignore the rest of Godâs commands, only that we probably will ignore the rest if we ignore these four.
These four wills, or commands, are found in four passages that identify precisely the will of God. These four specifically declare âthis isâ or âsuch isâ the will of God. These passages are matchless. No other verses identify Godâs will with such exactness.
What are these four?
John 6:40: âThis is the will of my Father that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life and I Myself will raise him up on the last dayâ (emphasis added).
1 Thessalonians 5:18: âIn everything give thanks; for this is Godâs will for you in Christ Jesusâ (emphasis added).
1 Peter 2:13â15: âSubmit yourselves for the Lordâs sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right. For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish menâ (emphasis added).
1 Thessalonians 4:3: âFor this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immoralityâ (emphasis added).
In other words:
Believe in Jesus Christ.
Give thanks in everything.
Submit in doing right.
Abstain from sexual sin.
These four wills are divinely highlighted in gold, so to speak. God intends for these four to stand out. Follow these and you are in the best position to have confidence He will reveal His unique will to you as you ask Him to lead you, as the apostle John taught.
Godâs Unique Will
All of us long for God to uniquely lead and bless our lives. But is that a valid desire? Does God have a unique will for us?
Scripture tells us God designed us and knew us before we were born: He âknit [us] together in [our] motherâs wombâ (Psalm 139:13 niv). Even when we feel totally lost, God knows everything about us and our circumstances. As the psalmist says, âI will counsel you with My eye upon youâ (Psalm 32:8). Though we may pursue or plan many things, âthe Lord will continually guide youâ (Isaiah 58:11) because your steps are directed or âordainedâ by Him (Psalm 37:23; Proverbs 20:24).
We believe such Scriptures as these: âHe will make your paths straightâ (Proverbs 3:5â6), â. . . your plans will be establishedâ (Proverbs 16:3), âthe Lord directs his stepsâ (Proverbs 16:9), and âif any of you lacks wisdom . . . it will be given to himâ (James 1:5).
God responds to our good and personal desires. Psalm 20:4 says, âMay He grant you your heartâs desire and fulfill all your counsel!â Psalm 21:2 states, âYou have given him his heartâs desire, and You have not withheld the request of his lips.â We read in Psalm 145:19, âHe will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He will also hear their cry and will save them.â
We would be hard-pressed to argue that God is not interested in being personally involved in the believerâs life!
As the apostle John told us in 1 John 3:21â22, when we keep His commandments and do what is pleasing in His sight, then whatever we askâas individuals in specific circumstancesâwe receive from Him.
Listen to three amazing stories of God actively involved in the personal lives of believers.
Sam!
Let me illustrate with a godly father and mother of a daughter that I learned about from my friend Paul Lewis. This husband and wife walked with God, trusting and obeying Him faithfully. Hereâs what happened.
One summer this family of three from southern California went hiking in Oregon. As they trekked in the woods, they found a Bible lying on a huge rock. Because the Bible evidenced no weather damage, they concluded the owner had recently left it there. Though the cover had the name âSamâ on it, there was no further identification. As the father thumbed through the pages, he noticed heavy underlining, exclamation points, and devotional comments that indicated that Sam possessed a vibrant relationship with Jesus. Not knowing what to do with the Bible, the family took it home with them.
One day the parents were interceding for their daughter and felt led to pray for a future spouse. The spiritual passion of Sam came to mind, and they found this prayer surging from their hearts: âGod, please send a man to marry our daughter who loves you as much as Sam, that young man.â Since Samâs faith so clearly reflected their hopes for their daughter, they simplified the prayer over the years to âSend us a Sam!â
What parents would not smile when four years later they learned that their daughter, now in college, was dating a guy named Sam? One weekend this Sam offered to help the family move across town. While carting boxes from the house to the moving trailer, he saw a book slide out. When Sam picked it up, he was stunned to realize that he was holding his long-lost Bible. âWhere did you get that Bible?â he asked in amazement. âThatâs my Bible!â
Indeed, that was Samâs Bible. Not only did God send a Sam, He sent the Sam! And, Sam eventually married their daughter.
Such a story should send chills up our spine!
We can receive from God what we ask from Him. We can experience the unique moving of God for our lives. He knows us by name in a very intimate way (Philippians 4:3; Revelation 21:27) and responds as though we alone exist!
$1,500!
For Marilyn, a friend of mine from Holland, Michigan, God demonstrated His unique and wonderful will. Marilyn recounts an incident in which she and her husband found themselves $1,500 short of what they thought they had in their bank account. When they figured out that Marilynâs husband had mistakenly recorded one $1,500 deposit twice, he said, âMarilyn, donât write any more checks. Iâve really made a mess, and we are $1,500 overdrawn.â Then they prayed together and asked for Godâs help.
That night they went to their weekly c...