You Don’t Follow A Map To Find God's Will

This past weekend I needed directions to East Troy Bible Church where I taught a Walk Thru the Bible Old Testament Live Event. I entered the church’s address in my GPS and took off. It gave me specific turn by turn instructions and finally announced “You have arrived at your destination.” I looked up and there it was!

Many people have the mistaken idea that seeking God's will is all about finding an exact answer from God to their question about His will for their life. In a sense it’s like they expect a spiritual GPS to lead them to their destination, the precise answer they’re looking for. For example, if a man with this perspective sought God's will as to who to marry, he would expect that when he found the right woman he would hear the spiritual equivalent of “You have arrived at your destination.” He'd also better hear something affirming from the woman, but that's a topic for a different post. It doesn’t work that way. [Tweet "Finding God's will isn't like following a spiritual GPS to an exact destination."] The problem isn’t with trying to find God's will. The problem is understanding what it means to find God's will.  If we stay with the same analogy, God's spiritual GPS leads us to a neighborhood not a specific address. Even though we’re looking for a specific address rarely does God declare “Here is my will for you.” Instead He leads us to the right neighborhood where we can find His will. Here are biblical guidelines that will get you to the right neighborhood. [Tweet "Rarely does God specifically declare "Here is my will for you.""]

7 Steps to Follow to Find God's Will

1. Commit to seeking and doing God's will James 4:15. If you aren't committed to doing it, why would God lead you to it?.
2. Daily trust and depend upon God Proverbs 3:5-6. Keep your focus on God through the process to the end.
3. Honor God with obedient living Colossians 3:17. A lie never leads to God's will. Nor does disobeying any of God's word.
4. Look for providential evidence of God's leading Genesis 24. There is no such thing as luck. Look for God to work through circumstances to direct and confirm His will.
5. Pay attention to the Spirit’s leading Galatians 5:18. The Spirit will gently tug at your heart. You’ll only notice this if you pay careful attention.
6. Pray for wisdom James 1:5-7. God will give you discernment to see things clearly but only if you ask.
7. Seek godly counsel Proverbs 24:6. Others can sometimes see things we can’t. Lean on godly friends.

It’s amazing that if you follow these steps it will narrow down your options significantly. The last step is to act in faith when you believe you’ve found God’s will.  When you take a step of faith God will reward you.

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. Hebrews 11:6

It’s often a challenge to find God's will for our lives. God loves you and honors you as you seek Him. You will find Him and His will. What has God taught you about seeking His will? Please leave a comment or question below.