Steps To Take To Help You in Discovering God's Will For Your Life
Discovering God’s Will For Our Life
Divinely instilled within us on the supernatural code of our spiritual DNA is the desire to know and live out God’s will. That desire became most real to us when we initially said yes to Jesus. That being said, discovering and understanding God’s will for our lives is not always easy, and it usually doesn’t fast. Throughout the past 26 years of walking with Jesus, I learned that discovering God’s will best falls into the category of a process.
When I look back over my life with Jesus and my own discovering God’s will for my life, I could never have imagined the journey Jesus would take me on. 26 years ago, I started my journey with Jesus. The next couple of years, I spent simply trying to figure out how to walk in a relationship with Jesus. Honestly, at that point I don’t think I even started asking, What is God’s Will for my life? But, soon I would.
Throughout the past 19 years in ministry, many women asked me, “How do I know God’s will for my life?”
Discovering God’s Will For Each Moment
In considering the answer, I realize the question itself may be the wrong thing to ask. Maybe we should not be asking, “What is God’s will for my life?” Maybe we should pray, “Lord teach me Your will for my day, my present situation, or even my moment.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.
Proverbs 3:5-6
Do you hear the daily-ness, or possibly even the moment by moment and situation by situation-ness of that Scripture verse?
In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.
I don’t know about you, but I have a lot of different “ways” going on in my daily living. I am NOT saying that there is something wrong with asking God to show us His will for our life. However, after years of walking with God, I realize He likes daily leading me. This reminds me of one of my many favorite verses in the Bible, Psalm 119:105.
Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path.
Psalm 119:105
God speaks to us through His Word and shines the necessary light to illuminate our next step on our life path. Once again, reminding me that He wants to lead me daily and moment by moment. So, a question comes to mind, “Is this daily, step-by-step leading of God because that is the way He likes to do this best or is it another reason altogether?
Walking with Jesus Daily
Let me suggest that possibly the reason that God wants us to walk with Him daily when discovering God’s will for our life is the high probability that if He gave us His will and plan for our lives in an instant, we would set off to accomplish it without Him. Knowing my own personality of being self-motivated, goal-oriented, and loving productivity, I believe walking daily with Jesus protects me from venturing out without Him.
Jesus knows if He laid out a plan before me, I would take the bull by the horns and run with it. I would run my own race, put my own people in place, and work through the details of His will for my life without His input.
Therefore, my relationship with Him would suffer and probably decline. Others would see my work, not His, which may be a little upside-down glory going on. And ultimately God’s will would not be fulfilled in my life. Not at all how I want my life to be. Psalm 143:10 holds yet another key to our discovering God’s will for our life.
Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God.
May your gracious Spirit lead me on level ground.
Psalm 143:10
Psalm 143:10 shows us that the psalmist sought God to teach him to do His will. He recognized that what he had within himself was lacking. He understood that he needed God’s Spirit to teach him concerning God’s will and to lead him in the path for his life. As a believer in Jesus, we have the Holy Spirit living in us who stirs within us a desire to know God’s will and He is the very one who can lead us in discovering God’s will.
Here Are Daily Steps To Help You Discover God’s Will:
1) Start each day by choosing to trust God with your day.
· Believe God wants you to know His will. If you struggle with knowing or trusting God’s will, I want to encourage you that as continue to choose to seek and trust God with your daily life, you will more and more see His goodness in each day. As that daily trust grows, you will grow in your ability to trust God with the big picture of your life.
2) Write down these 4 Scripture verses on index cards: Psalm 24:4-5, 86:11, 143:10; and Jeremiah 29:11.
Make me know You ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths.
Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation;
for You I wait all the day.
Psalm 25:4-5 (NASB)
Teach me your way, LORD, that I may rely on your faithfulness;
give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.
Psalm 86:11(TNIV)
Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God.
May your gracious Spirit lead me on level ground.
Psalm 143:10 (NKJV)
For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD.
"They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.
Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT)
3) Use these index cards during your prayer time.
· As you talk to God and seek to discover His will for your day and your life. Turn these verses into your prayers in seeking God and His will for your life. Always remember that discovering God’s will for our life starts with our day and seeking His will for our life each day.
4) Ask God to teach you His will and to give you the courage and strength to do what He shows you to do.
· Sometimes God directs us to do things that are hard or uncomfortable. In following God’s lead in those hard and uncomfortable steps causes us to stretch and grow beyond our selves. Also, in our willingness to be uncomfortable is often where we experience the greatest spiritual growth and discover God’s will for us.
5) Use your index card to help you memorize the verses.
· This is so important, yet often overlooked. We need God’s truth in our mind when doubts or difficulties come. Because they will. God’s word in our hearts and minds strengthens us and our commitment to trust God. Psalm 119:11 tells us that His word hidden in our heart helps keep us from sinning against God. Joshua 1:8 shows us that meditating on God’s word actually makes our way prosperous.
God wants us to know His will and will be found in the degree we trust God and believe His will is good. I also believe it will be found in the daily-ness of our walk with Him. The last thing I encourage you to do is to commit to practice these steps for 40 days and then evaluate what God has done in your life during those 40 day. You will have a story to tell.
Much Love & Blessings!
