God’s Will For Your Life

Photo Above: Caracol Falls, Brazil. Photographer: Tiago Fioreze

God’s Will For Your Life

God’s most important will for our lives should not be complicated or stressful to know. This is because it is already clearly outlined in the Bible. But before we discuss God’s will for our lives, let’s look at what modern day theologian RC Sproul describes as the 3 different wills of God.

The first will of God is God’s sovereign decretive will. This is what God wills no matter what. This will is sometimes known and other times not known. As an example of something we know God will do no matter what is that he will come back to judge the earth, and save those who know and love Him. Nothing and no one can change this. There are many, many times when we don’t know what God’s sovereign decretive will is. For instance God has an appointed time when He will come back. We don’t know when this will be and we are not able to change this.

The second will of God is God’s perceptive will. This what we know God has already told us is his will through the scriptures such as his commandments. God allows us to break this type of will, such as sinning through disobedience.

The third will of God is God’s will of disposition. This describes God’s attitude or heart. It is God’s will that we do not sin. It is God’s will that we love him with all of our heart. It is God’s will that none should perish but that all should have everlasting life. These are all things God delights in, but his will is not always met.

Hopefully this helps a little bit when looking at God’s will. So, next I would like to focus on what are some more specific and explicit wills God has for us.

The first will is that you repent of your sins and come into a saving relationship with God through Christ. This is the first and most important will for your life. Nothing trumps the importance of this will.

The next will of God for your life is your sanctification. God’s will for your life is for you to be transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit daily to become more like Christ.

The next will of God is for you to go and preach the gospel to everyone you have opportunity to. If we believe the gospel (good news) and want to put Christ’s name first this should be a joy for us.

These explicit wills of God through the scriptures should be what consumes our lives. This should be our focus. However, with that said I do know many today want to know what specific will of God has for their lives such as what career they should have, where they should live, and who they should marry. God unfortunately, does not always make this clear for us in the way we would like.

However, in order to make the decisions God wants us to make, and to follow his will as best we now how, we should develop what the Bible calls the “mind of Christ.” We develop this mind of Christ through reading the scriptures, prayer, talking with other mature Christians, and getting wise counsel. As the Holy Spirit sanctifies our lives we should develop this mindset more fully. This mindset does not guarantee we always know the best decisions, but it is what we should strive to develop as we mature.

Once we have developed a mature mindset in Christ, I do believe we have freedom to make choices. Martin Luther says it well when says “Love God, and do what you want.” This statement might scare someone at first, but it actually makes good theological sense. Because if we love God first, we will be praying and aligning our motives and desires for God, then from there our Godly desires should lead us in the right path. God in his sovereignty gives us gifts, spiritual and natural gifts. When possible we should try our best to heed to these gifts along with our natural God given inclinations and passions.