One of the questions every Christian should wrestle with a bit, is how to know God's will for our life. To evade the question, is essentially to retain control of our life. But Scripture teaches, that is not really an option:

Romans 14:9
For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.

This week I stumbled on to a good article by R. B. Ouellette, at Ministry 127 on the subject. In the article, he gives four good suggestions for discerning God's Will:

1) Commit to doing His will. John 7:17If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.. God communicates His will most clearly, to those who will carry it out. By contrast, an unsurrendered heart has an incredible capacity to rationalize and justify whatever course of action it wants to pursue.

2) Be consistent in the Word. Psalms 119:105Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.. The Scriptures give important guidelines we should never violate. But even more, it enables us to become familiar with the character of the One who inspired them, and make decision based on that.

3) Get godly counsel. Proverbs 15:22Without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counsellors they are established.. We all have blind spots. Having friends who know us, and know God--and are willing to point out our blind spots are a valuable resource. Cultivate those relationships, then tap into them when making important decisions.

4) Listen to inner conviction. Colossians 3:15And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.. While we cannot go by feelings or impressions alone, God's Spirit still speaks to man. Following steps one though three, enables us to listen for that still small voice, and hear it.

There is nothing hard about these principles. For the most part, they are common sense. The real challenge is making the decision to intentionally seek out and follow God's will in all the major decisions of life. And then following through on that decision until it becomes a way of life. But anything less, to some extent at least, means self is still on the throne. And it robs us of the blessings that come from tuning in to God...

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What helps you to discern God's Will? How can we avoid unintentionally bending God's Will to own personal desires? Leave a comment.

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