Texan Mosaic

by: TAYLOR ZARBANO/Staff Writer

Many believers find themselves commonly questioning God’s will for their lives.

Most believers recognize the fact that God has a plan for their life, yet those believers are the ones who are constantly asking this question.

The answer can seem like the hardest answer to find. It is one that believers search for every day.

I used to think that finding God’s will for my life was almost impossible. I knew that my God could reveal His will for my life to me, but I also knew that I am terrible at being quiet when it comes to listening to God’s still voice.

I lived constantly questioning if I was living the life the way God wanted me to.

This constant questioning led me to do some research on the topic of God’s will. I found my answers with the help of God’s word, the Bible, and John Marcarthur’s book, Found: God’s Will. The answers I found changed my perspective and gave me a peace knowing that I am exactly where God wants me to be. I found answers that will never leave me wondering about God’s will or plan for my life ever again.

I believe that God’s will can be easy for anyone to discover if they follow five simple steps that are clearly stated in the Bible and pointed out in theological studies.

In order for one to find and follow God’s will for his or her life, he or she first must be saved.

If one wants God to guide and direct him or her, He must be a part of them. God sent His son to die on the cross for all on earth, in order to give His children, whom He created, eternal life. If one wants eternal life, he or she must ask God for His gift of salvation.

The next step in discovering God’s will is to live a spirit-filled life.

Being saved by God’s grace allows for the spirit-filled life to be lived. Living the spirit-filled life is letting the Lord take control of one’s life. Actions are done with the spirit as a guide. Every decision is controlled by the spirit. When one is living a spirit-filled life, he or she is living as if Jesus Christ was standing right before him or her.

The third step comes straight from 1 Thessalonians 3:4. It says, “For this is the will of God, your sanctification.”

Sanctification means being pure. In order to follow God’s will, one must be pure in heart, as well as in mind.

The fourth step is being submissive to the authority God puts in people’s lives. God puts people in authority for a reason. He wants His children to respect those authorities. By respecting authorities, God is respected.

1 Peter 2:13-15 says, “Submit yourself for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority , or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise for those who do right. For such is the will of God.”

After God says that being submissive is His will, He goes on in 1 Peter 2:15 to say that by doing so, the ignorance of foolish men will be silenced.

The last and final step to discovering and following God’s will is to suffer for Christ.

The suffering that God is talking about is not for doing wrong, but it is for doing what’s right.

1 Peter 4:13 says, “But rejoice in so far as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when His glory is revealed.”

Living a godly life in an ungodly world means that there will be suffering. The world has turned against God and His ways. Therefore, God’s followers will suffer for being different and going against the world’s ways.

In 2 Timothy 3:12 Paul says, “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”

After all five steps are followed, then God’s will for one’s life is simple. You can do whatever you want.

Although it sounds crazy, I believe it really is that simple.

When all five principles are operating in one’s life, then God is the one who is in control of their desires.

Psalm 37:4 makes my previous statement true. It says, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.”

When people are living following the five principles of being saved, spirit-filled, sanctified, being submissive, and suffering for Christ, then the Lord is the one who places the desires in their hearts. He gives the right desires, the godly ones and not the worldly ones.

The question no longer has to be, “What is God’s will for my life?” The answers are all simply given and made clear. All it takes now is taking action.