article by site founder, Connie Rice:
It seems to be fairly common for people (mostly believers) to ask, “What is God’s will for my life?” or “How do I know what God’s will is?” Our culture confuses us with this, especially with its constant focus on self so that people develop an expectation that the answer is specific to their particular future. However, the answers to these questions are given in Scripture and they apply to us all. The first step is to accept God’s plan of salvation for our lives by trusting in Jesus Christ alone for our eternal salvation, asking God for forgiveness, and turning from our sin (determined by God in His revealed Word, not by us or the culture).
“For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.” [bold emphasis by site founder]
John 6:40
Then we need to choose to follow the Lord’s teachings and keep Him in first place in our lives, allowing the Holy Spirit to transform us to be more like Christ. The particular path He has planned for each of us is unveiled oftentimes gradually, just one step at a time (similarly to how God chose to reveal Himself gradually throughout history through particular people and events). How do we do this? In Scripture, we are given examples of what it looks like to put God first, but one example of this in the Old Testament is with Daniel. He was a teenager when he and other young Israelites were taken into captivity by the Babylonians and faced pressure to accept the new culture, to put aside the commands of God, and they were even renamed from their original Hebrew names that reflected God to Babylonian names that reflected pagan gods:
“Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring into the king’s service some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility – young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king’s palace. He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians. The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king’s table. They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king’s service. Among those who were chosen were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. The chief official gave them new names: to Daniel, the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego. But Daniel resolved not to defile himself [emphasis added by site founder] with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way.” [bold emphasis by site founder]
Daniel 1:3-8
“Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us. Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by Him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves.” [bold emphasis by site founder]
1 Peter 2:15
In order to live in a way that unveils God’s particular will for us as individuals, we must be resolved to not defile ourselves as well. Our culture (and sadly even some churches and Christian leaders) teach that it is okay to follow the culture in various areas, that things have changed and God’s Word is no longer relevant to our lives. It is common now for young Christians to consider sex outside of marriage and living together outside of marriage as perfectly fine. If sexual immorality is repeatedly taught against throughout the Bible and even by Jesus Himself, how can Christians expect to experience God’s blessings in their earthly relationships?
“It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality;” [bold emphasis by site founder]
1 Thessalonians 4:3
As societies are more and more removed from God and the Bible, society suffers from multiple negative consequences as evidenced in the last 75 years or so in America:
higher incidence of domestic violence,
higher rates of abortion (now even trying to legalize killing full-term infants after birth),
more children growing up in single family homes,
less respect for the value of human life – abortion, euthanasia, more murder cases, etc.
increases in sexually transmitted diseases,
increased levels of anxiety – even in young children,
higher incidence of addiction,
more depression & higher incidence in suicide at younger & younger ages
higher crime levels,
increased intolerance for those who think differently,
confusion about one’s own sexuality and gender,
school shootings,
parents abusing and/or killing of their own children,
children killing their parents,
more corruption,
the war on reality with push for alternate realities,
inability for young people to cope with reality, and the list goes on.
“Do not conform 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.” [bold emphasis by site founder]
Romans 12:2
As much as it might be politically incorrect to say so, numerous studies have shown that God’s design for marriage and family with children being brought up in a home with both biological parents provides a healthier foundation for children which results in stronger communities and benefits society overall. When both parents have a close relationship with and serve the Lord, know Scripture, and practice an authentic faith before their kids, we see a legacy of healthy families being built throughout multiple generations. There are no guarantees, but God promises His Word will not come back void.
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”
Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:17-19
Jesus did not negate Old Testament law, but came to fulfill it and live the perfect life that none of us were capable of doing so that His sacrificial death on the cross would pay for the sins of all mankind. It is up to us whether or not we accept the gift of salvation that He freely offers. Along with the gift of eternal life in heaven with Him, Jesus tells us that the truth sets us free and that His Word is truth. He offers freedom from the bondage of sin and the ability to please God.
“I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. This the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us – whatever we ask – we know that we have what we asked of Him.”
1 John 5:13-15
“give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” [bold emphasis by site founder]
1 Thessalonians 5:18
God has done His part – He created a way for us to be redeemed and live a life of victory with purpose even in a fallen world. However, He is Master of all so we need to do it His way. Living with Jesus as part of our lives isn’t what brings victory; we need to seek Him with all of our hearts, minds, strength, and soul. Francis Chan puts it this way, “He wants all or nothing. The thought of a person calling himself a ‘Christian’ without being a devoted follower of Christ is absurd.”
“So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed Him, ‘If you abide in My word, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
John 8:31-32
“Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing His will, and may He work in us what is pleasing to Him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” [bold emphasis by site founder]
Hebrews 13:21
As we watch our culture deteriorate and see the chaos and confusion continue to ramp up, will it be enough for you to get to the end of your own wisdom and humbly seek the One who created you? I pray it is. That will be the beginning of your journey of discovering God’s amazing love for you and His perfect will for your life so you can live a life of purpose and victory, experiencing the the Lord’s supernatural, strength, peace, and joy even in the midst of life’s trials.
“Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the Lord, and He will have mercy on them, and to our God, for He will freely pardon. ‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is My word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to Me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.”
Isaiah 55:6-12
© Constance Rice 2022
Eyes2C 