Here is a truism that applies to discovering God’s will for your life: your interest in seeing God work in your life reveals your attitude toward knowing God’s will for your life.
Stated another way, I may say I want to know God’s will but I continue living a life that is focused on everything but God. I am not saying you have to be hyper-spiritual, but it does help to process life through the filter of God’s will for you. When you do this, you will tune in to spiritual things and tune out to the messages the world is trying to send you.
It helps my understanding of this principle by going to God’s Word often. Here is an exercise that might be useful. Take a Psalm that really speaks to you and make it personal by asking how this Psalm reflects an earnest search for God’s will. Then apply it to your own life.
As an example, let’s consider Psalm 25. As you read through, check each verse that speaks to you about a desire to know or discover God’s will. Verse 1 provides something applicable, “To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul; in you I trust, O my God.” I come to God and tell Him I want to know His will. Lift up your heart to Him and tell Him you trust in Him to reveal His will to you. This makes it personal.
Verse 5 says, “Guide me in your truth and teach me.” Ask God to guide you into the truth of His will. Teach me to recognize when You are at work in my life, O God, and continue helping me to have a teachable spirit.
Verse 12 talks about fearing God, and then about Him instructing us in the way we should go. God’s will concerns the way we should go. I want God to instruct me and I express my healthy fear of Him. The fear of the Lord leads to wisdom, so ask God for the wisdom you need in discerning His will. Further, verse 14 refers to the Lord confiding in those who fear Him. That is a great promise!
Verse 20 refers to God as the guard over your life and as your refuge. In discovering God’s will, go to Him and thank Him for guarding and protecting your life. Ask Him to show you how He is working in your life right now to accomplish the things He wants you to accomplish.
Are you paying attention? Some words from Psalm 25 with relevance to this topic include: listen, trust, desire, fear, look, seek. These are active words that describe the Christian that looks for God’s will. Do this exercise with other Psalms to get into the position of discovering God’s will.
