Have you ever been one to ask, "Am I living God's will for my life?" or maybe, "How do I know what choice is God's will?" If you have, you're definitely not alone. I've been right there with you.
Since it's relatively common, it's worth asking, "What is God's will?" As I've pondered and tried to break it down, I see two answers to this question.
1. God's will is His desire for how people want to live.
God loves us so much that He literally sent Jesus to earth to live a sinless life in a sinful world, die in our place, rise from the dead, give us hope that we may spend eternity with Him someday, and command us to make disciples of all nations. Jesus reinforced the commandments from God (Matthew 5-7 make that pretty clear), so we have an expectation of how He wants us to live. The greatest commandment says it best in Matthew 22:37-38, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets." God's will is for people to live this kind of life: a life full of love for Him and others.
2. God's will is the story that He's writing across humanity.
Going back to how much God loves us, He has orchestrated everything to align perfectly with His plan across time, from the beginning of creation to Christ's crucifixion to the events yet to come. God has planned all of history in such a way that it interlocks. Prophesies of the Old Testament have been fulfilled in the New. Authors of the books of the Bible reference one another and write the same testimonies in different ways, and none of it truly contradicts itself (some have argued that's incorrect). Only God could've so clearly and effectively written a story of such intricate detail that is so vast and pure, and done so using several writers across thousands of years. It was all for His glory, and He's still doing that same work today.
Why do I answer the same question in two ways? Because I think (from experience and from discussing with others) that we focus far too much on the individual "plan" God has for our lives when we think of His will, as if somehow we could veer off of the "plan" and mess everything up. However, I don't think there's a single, set path of life that you must go down in order to be in "God's will". Don't get me wrong, there are absolutely times God will give you direct instruction that He wants you to obey, and you should obey in those times. But also take comfort in knowing that God has factored our stupidity (yes I'm calling out my own stupidity here too, you're not alone), our reactions, even our delays or running aways, into account. He is far bigger than our mistakes or our failures.
That's part of why I think on an individual level, the focus of "How do I live in God's will?" should really just be... love. God's will is for us to love Him, and to love others how He loves us. Put others first. Be kind to them. Respect those around you. Don't seek vengeance. These are all ways we can love like Jesus.
On a grander scale, God's got big plans for this world, and He absolutely uses us for His glory and wants us to be a part of it, but He also already knows how we'll respond. God told Jonah what to do, and how did he respond? Jonah ran away. Jonah literally fled the opposite direction of where God told him to go, and even when he repented, he begrudgingly did the task God appointed him to with as few words as possible, and God did the rest. Even then, Jonah was angry and depressed about the result! I'm not saying we should consider Jonah as a role model on how to react when God gives us instruction, but please know that no matter how you respond to what God is calling you into, He's already considered your reaction and is working accordingly to still get the job done.
I've heard in a sermon before (sorry I can't credit who said it, I don't remember), "If you're not sure what God wants you to do in your situation, go back to the last thing He told you to do, and do that." I know we all have times we wonder, "Should I take this job?" or "How do I handle this relationship problem?" or "Where should I live?" I've had those same questions and wondered what the "correct" answer was to be in "God's will". But in response, I ask, what's the last thing God told you to do? I'll bet it has something to do with love. Ultimately, I've come to realize that unless God is giving you very specific direction in how to answer those questions, it's okay to just... decide for yourself how to handle it. Definitely still respond in love and don't go against the Bible's teachings for your own selfish reasons, but if it's just down to whether you should take a job at Company A or Company B, and God hasn't told you directly what to do, just pick one. God will use you wherever you wind up. He's bigger than any decision we can possibly make.
The verse that I often hear in regards to God's plan is Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." Those are comforting words, and I love that verse. However, it is not meant to be taken on an individual basis the way we often use it. This was written to an entire group of people, the Jews. God had big plans for His people Israel (the "you" in that verse) and encouraged them of this while they were in Babylonian captivity. He worked for welfare and gave them hope and a future. This verse is not about making sure you make the "right" choice to stay in the plans God has for you. It's an encouragement that even when life doesn't look the way you expected, God is still working for good across the board. He genuinely just wants you to seek Him and let Him work out the rest.
So, where does that leave us? If you have a specific situation you've been seeking "God's will" on, I want to encourage you that while praying about it and seeking peace in the situation is still good (and you should still do that) you cannot mess up God's will. I'm telling this to myself too, because a lie that the devil told me for a long, long time was that I screwed up God's plan for my life and there was no going back. That's not true! God is bigger than any decision I've made, and no matter how "off track" I've delved, He has already considered it and is working for good in everything. The same goes for you.
Question to ponder: Does this understanding of God's will change your perspective of how you're living in "God's will"?
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