Should I take this job? Should I buy this house? Should I marry this person? My wife and I pastored for twenty-seven years, and I can’t tell you how many times we were asked these types of questions.
Perhaps you also have questions like these about God’s will for your life.
I encourage you not to be overwhelmed. God wants you to accomplish His will more than you do!
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”
No matter how old you are, how young you are, what race you are, what gender you are, or what age you are, God’s got an awesome plan for you. And it’s not beyond your discovery.
Your future is so bright, you’ve got to squint to look at it!
"Lo, I come to do thy will, O God."
Jesus had to know the will of God in order to do the will of God. If it was possible for Jesus to discover the will of God, then it is possible for you and me to identify the will of God. Not only can you discover the will of God, but He also wants you to walk in it! So, to answer the title question, yes, you can walk in God’s will all the time!
Here are three tips from the Bible to help you walk in the will of God:
1. Study the Scriptures that say this is the will of God.
When you take the time to go through Scripture and yield yourself to walk in the clear, objective will of God (those things specifically stated in the Bible), then the subjective will (those things the Scripture doesn’t state directly) becomes clear to you.
Questions that you have about your personal life—who to marry, what job you should take, and so on—are secondary to the objective will of God. I can’t give you the answers to those things, but as you seek the Lord in your personal study and heed His overt direction, you will get the answers you are looking for.
This isn’t about you vowing to achieve God’s will in your own strength. So, take the pressure off. If you’ll draw on His grace, you will access His ability to do the objective will of God that your flesh can’t do, and you will find the subjective answers you seek.
2. Give thanks in everything.
First Thessalonians 5:16–18 says, “Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” Not everything that happens to you is God’s will, but giving thanks in the midst of all that happens to you is!
Consider the example of the Apostle Paul when he obeyed God to go and minister in Macedonia. Where did Paul end up? Beaten and thrown in jail! But when Paul began to thank and praise God, the prison doors flew open, his chains were loosed, and the jailer and his entire family got saved (Acts 16:9–10 and 19–34).
You’ve got to be careful not to fall into the temptation to leave the will of God by complaining, murmuring, and crying, “Woe is me!” Next time you feel prompted to step out of the will of God by complaining, I’d like to encourage you to begin to start praising God.
3. Shake the devil off!
Once again, Paul was thrown into jail while doing God’s will in Jerusalem. Later he was imprisoned on a ship, a storm came, and the ship was wrecked (Acts 27)! After finally making it to an island, Paul was bitten by a snake.
At that point, most of us would have started complaining, “Why God? I’ve just been doing your will. I’ve just been doing everything you told me to do, and look! I got thrown in jail, had a shipwreck, and now this snake bit me! God, why did you let this happen?” But what did Paul do? He shook the snake off into the fire and experienced no harm (Acts 28:1–5)! You need to be like Paul and shake off the devil.
Paul decided to make light of the problems initiated by the devil and to magnify God. That’s what you need to do.
Brothers and sisters, if you take these three tips to heart, I believe you will walk in God’s will. Don’t allow Satan to take you out of the objective will of God while you’re seeking the subjective will of God.
As you practice these principles, your answers are sure to come!
Watch the Full Teaching
Greg Mohr
Greg Mohr serves as A.R.M.I.’s Ministry Ambassador and director of the Charis Bible College Third-Year Ministry School. Formerly a senior pastor for twenty-seven years, Greg is now a beloved Charis instructor, conference speaker, and author. He holds a degree from Rhema Bible Training Center and a master’s degree in leadership from Southwestern Christian University. Greg is married to his best friend, Janice, and they are blessed with four children and twelve grandchildren.
