One thing that often causes anxiety for Godly men seeking to please our Lord is this question, “What is God’s will?” Should I marry this girl? Which house of car should I buy? Is this the right occupation for me? What does my family need? These questions and many others may cause stress if we are consistently seeking to know the will of God. God doesn’t always lay the answers clearly at our feet. Fear of missing ‘God’s best’, and guilt either for inability to find or for misreading God’s will are common outcomes of this search.
From the promise found in Ephesians 1:9, it appears we are making this process far harder than it needs to be. “And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ,” Two truths that we need to keep in mind in this discussion. First, this is a promise from God and God is always faithful in keeping his promise. Secondly, this promise is one of the offerings that come because of our salvation. Therefore, since we are redeemed sons of God, he has and will reveal his will to us.
We need to pay close attention to what this verse is declaring to us. The Apostle, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirt has said that the mysterious will of God has already been revealed. This promise is written in the past tense. Therefore, we need do not need to search for God’s will, we simply need to learn to live in it. This is not difficult. Our means of living in the will of God is clearly outlined in Scripture. Romans 12:1-2, Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God–this is your spiritual act of worship.2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.
To test and approve God’s will, is simply to live in the truth we know. This is the point of these two verses. God’s will is that we live our lives in full submission to the truth of Scripture both in doing those things he commands and rejecting those things he says are displeasing.
What does this look like as it relates to our decisions concerning our everyday choices? I want to be clear; I am not saying God is uninterested in the specific details of our lives. But we do need to hear that God will not withhold his blessing if we buy the wrong car or take the wrong job. He is not a taskmaster that would have us face punishment for missing his will when we do not have accessible information on which to base our decisions.
Nowhere in Scripture did God say that Cindy was the only person I could marry. But it does say I needed a godly wife who supported me in ministry. This God provided. When we obey the truth we know in Scripture, God works out the details of our lives in a way that works together for the good of his Kingdom, which in turn is best for us.
I am not saying we should not pray for the Lord’s leading in the temporal things of our life. However, we do need to assure that we don’t allow the lack of clarity to cause us difficulty. God’s perfect will is for us to live lives of submission and obedience and he will take care of the details.