Discerning the will of God is something I think every Christian has attempted to do at one point or another. It’s definitely something I’ve prayed for and longed for and tried to figure out. I’ve often asked that God would reveal His will to me about different decisions or situations, but most of the time I never get a clear, solid answer. Honestly, I sometimes wish I could be like Gideon and put out a fleece to get some answers from God (please, do not do this the next time you need to make a decision).

God’s will can be a tricky thing to understand. We’re told that nothing happens outside of God’s will. But does that mean it’s God will for a family member to be diagnosed with cancer? Is it God’s will for a friend to get in a serious car accident? Is it God’s will for a child to tragically die at a young age? And how are we to understand His will well enough to make decisions that won’t fall outside of it?

All these questions stem from a misunderstanding of God’s will. There are actually three aspects of the will of God: His sovereign will, His moral will, and His personal will.

Let’s begin with the sovereign will of God. God is sovereign, in charge and in control of everything that happens in the universe. Because of this, God knows everything that will happen, and more than that, He determines everything that will happen. As Kevin DeYoung writes,

“In other words, what God wills, will happen, and what happens is according to God’s will.”^[1]

God works all things according to His sovereign will (Ephesians 1:11), and He predestines everything that will take place (Acts 4:27-28). Before we were born, God had a plan for each and every day of our lives (Psalm 139:16). God is sovereign even over the tiniest of details like the number of hairs on our heads, and nothing happens outside of His sovereign will (Matthew 10:29-30).

“for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,’” Isaiah 46:9b-10, ESV

Now, God’s sovereign will is not the same as His moral will. God is perfectly good and holy and righteous, unable to sin. Because of this, He desires us, human beings created in His image, to live good, holy, and righteous lives. Unfortunately, we all have a sinful nature and are unable to live perfectly good, holy, righteous lives on our own. But, because Jesus died and resurrected to free us from sin, we are now able to do God’s moral will (Hebrews 13:20-21). We can discover what is within God’s moral will by reading and studying His Word (Deuteronomy 29:29), and we follow God’s will when we obey His Law and avoid sin (1 John 2:15-17). All those who have been freed from sin and obedient to God’s moral will will spend eternity with Him in heaven (Matthew 7:21).

The final aspect of God’s will is His personal will for me, for you, for everyone. This refers to the specific plan that God has for each and every person’s life. When we ask questions about God’s will, this is the aspect we’re usually thinking of. We want to know what God has in store for us, and we want to be sure that we don’t make decisions that are outside of His plan. We tell ourselves that this desire is good, for we want to do the things God would have us to do and choose the things God would have us to choose. But this desire is actually more sinful that we might realize. As R.C. Sproul writes,

“We tend to have an ungodly desire to know the future. We want to know the end of the beginning, which is indeed none of our business. It is God’s business…”^[2]

Let this be an encouragement to you. God does have a plan for you, and it’s a plan for your good and His glory. But you do not have to figure out God’s specific will for your life. In fact, you shouldn’t. All you have to do is trust God’s sovereign will and obey God’s moral will. Then you will be able to follow God’s personal will, which is the same for every Christian: Christlikeness.

“For this is the will of God, your sanctification…” 1 Thessalonians 4:3a

It is God’s will that we become like Christ. It is God’s will that we walk in a worthy manner, bearing spiritual fruit, increasing in our knowledge of Him, and being strengthened so that we may endure (Colossians 1:9-12). It is God’s will that we’re always praying, always rejoicing, always giving thanks (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). It is God’s will that we abstain from sin (1 Thessalonians 4:3b). This is God’s will for your life.

Next time you have a decision to make or you’re wondering what God’s will is for you, remember what DeYoung once wrote,

“God is not a Magic 8-Ball we shake up and peer into whenever we have a decision to make. He is a good God who gives us brains, shows us the way of obedience, and invites us to take risks for Him.”^[3]

Trust in God’s sovereign plan. Be obedient to God’s holy Word. And, as DeYoung would say, “just do something!”^[4] Whatever you do, God will accomplish His will in you and make you more and more like Christ every day.

^[1] Kevin DeYoung, Just Do Something: A Liberating Approach to Finding God’s Will (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2009).

^[2] R.C. Sproul, Everyone’s a Theologian: An Introduction to Systematic Theology (Sanford: Reformation Trust Publishing, 2014), 73.

^[3] DeYoung, 26.

^[4] This is the title of the DeYoung book I’ve been quoting from. 🙂