It’s a new year once again, which undoubtedly means many of you have been thinking about New Years Resolutions. Maybe you’ve resolving to lose some weight, learn some new skills, or finally take care of that thing you’ve been putting off for a long time.
But instead of asking what you want to do this year, what if you asked God what He wants you to do?
In other words, what is God’s will for your life?
Fortunately, He tells us exactly what His will is throughout Scripture. For example:
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus (1 Thessalonians 5:16–18).
That seems pretty clear, doesn’t it?
Or, how about this verse:
It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God; and that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister (1 Thessalonians 4:3–6).
Well, that’s relevant for our struggle, isn’t it?
So, apparently, God’s will for you in 2014 is to rejoice, pray, be thankful, and avoid sexual immorality.
Well, yes, technically…but that’s not really what you where hoping to discover here, was it?
When we ask God to tell us His will for our life, what we are usually requesting from Him is a map that outlines exactly how to get from point A to point Z. If He were to reveal all of that to you, though, you would never need to check back in with Him regarding your next steps.
And what happens to relationships when there is no interaction? They die.
That’s why He is much more interested in walking with you from point A to point B. Once you reach point B, He will open the door to point C and walk with you there. And so on.
God is more interested in you being
with Him than you doing stuff for Him.
By asking you to keep coming back to Him for the next step, He is inviting you into a close, continual relationship with Him.
So instead of asking “What is God’s will for my life?” perhaps the question we should ask is, “What does God want me to do today?”
This year, don’t worry so much about God’s will for your entire life. Ask God what He wants you to do today. Over time, you will discover that trusting Him in the small, daily steps will result in you living your life in alignment with His will automatically.
Better yet, by doing it this way (His way), you’ll get to experience a close relationship with Him throughout your entire journey.
What is God asking you to do today? What’s your next step?
