Suppose for a moment, that the Lord Jesus Christ were to grant you the answer to one question—any question you wanted to ask. What would that question be?
My guess is that it would probably relate in some way to knowing God’s will for your life. After all, to a committed Christian this is really the only thing that counts. Our peace and satisfaction depend on knowing that God is guiding us. And the absence of that certainty leaves us fearful and restless.
But we have a problem because we are confused about what the will of God is in the first place. Most peole speak of God’s will as something you have or don’t have. “Have you discovered God’s will for your life?” Usually they mean “Have you discovered God’s blueprint for your life? God doesn’t reveal a blueprint. What He does reveal is the next step in His will.
God has a plan and purpose for your life. Paul writes about it in Ephesians 2:10, David sings about it in Psalm 37:32, and Luke records it in Acts 13:2.
Not only does God have a plan for us, but He has promised to reveal it to us. “You guide me with your counsel,” says David in Psalm 73. And God promises in Psalm 32, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.” Solomon the wise instructs us in Proverbs 3, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”
Has it ever occurred to you that the vast majority of the will of God for your life has already been revealed in the Bible?
There are many positive commands. For instance, we are commanded by our Lord to go into all the owrld and preach the Gospel to every creature. We know it is the will of God (from Romans 8:29) that we are to be conformed to the image of Christ. If you want more details, read the book of James. List all the specific commands there, and you will have a good start on the will of God for your life.
Never seek guidance on that which God has already forbidden. Nor should we ever seek guidance in the areas where He has already said, “Yes” and given us a command.
God really does not have a great preference whether you have steak or chicken. He is not desperately concerned about whether you wear a green shirt or a blue one. In many areas of life, god invites us to consult our own comon sense. When we are pleased, God is pleased. That’s a wonderful thing to know, isn’t it?