Discerning the will of God in your Life

HOW CAN A BELIEVER DISCERN GOD’S WILL IN THEIR DAILY LIFE?

HAVE FAITH IN GOD:

The writers of Hebrews suggest that before you can discern God’s will in your life you have to first believe that God is. That requires a journey of the pursuit of God through faith.

“And it is impossible to please God without faith.  Anyone who wants to come to Him MUST believe that God exists and that He REWARDS those who sincerely seek Him.”  Hebrews 11 v 6

GOD WILL EQUIP YOU TO LIVE A GODLY LIFE WHEN YOU CHOOSE TO WALK IN RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM:

“By His divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life.  We have received all of this by coming to KNOW Him, the One who called us to Himself by means of His marvellous glory and excellence.” 2 Peter 1 v 3

LISTEN BY LEARNING TO DISCERN HIS VOICE SPEAKING TO YOU:

“Be careful that you do no refuse to listen to the One who is speaking.”

LISTEN AND RESPOND TO HIS CALLING:

“But don’t just listen to God’s Word.  You must do what it says.  Otherwise you are fooling yourselves.”  James 1 v 22

ADD FAITH TO YOUR WORKS AND WORKS TO YOUR FAITH:

“But someone will say, “You have faith and I have deeds.”  Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.” James 2 v 18

James goes on to tell us that the father of faith is Abraham because his actions and his faith worked together.  His actions made his faith righteous and complete before God.

“Was not our father Abraham justified by what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?  You see that his faith was working with his actions, and his faith was perfected by what he did. And the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called a friend of God.  As you can see, a man is justified by his deeds and not by faith alone.”  James 2 v 21 – 24

FORTIFY YOUR FAITH WITH THE LORDSHIP OF CHRIST:

A right relationship with Jesus Christ comes by faith.

“Through Christ you have come to TRUST in God.  And you have placed your faith (i.e. now) and hope (i.e. future) in God because He raised Christ from the dead and gave Him great glory.”  1 Peter 1 v 22

What will you do today with the glory of God’s Name?

THINK!  ITS ALL IN THE MIND:

“Prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control.”  1 Peter 1 v 13

“Letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.”  Romans 8 v 6

Do you feel peaceful about your plans for the day?  Align your mind with the mind of Jesus Christ through reading what is written in the Living Word – our daily bread. Paul the apostle told us that discerning God’s will in our daily lives requires us to live a life that is Spirit led because of its impact on our behaviour and choices:

“So, I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.  For the flesh craves what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are opposed to each other, so that you do not do what you want.  But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.” Galatians 5 v 16 – 18

“A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.”  Proverbs 16 v 9

DISCERNING GOD’S WILL POSITIVELY IMPACT YOUR CHARACTER & ACTIONS:

The purpose of a Spirit led life is to bear fruits that reflect the character and compassion of Jesus Christ.  The apostle Paul tells us in the book of Romans to produce a harvest of good deeds or fruits for God as evidence that we are living a new way of living by the power of the Holy Spirit:

“Therefore, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God.  For when we lived according to the flesh, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, bearing fruit for death.  But now, having died to what bound us, we have been released from the law, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.”  Romans 7 v 4 – 6

And what are the fruits of the Spirit that should impact our lives and our service to God and each other?  The apostle Pauls said that these are the fruits that should be bearing in our lives:

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” Galatians 5 v 22

If these fruits are evident in your life, regardless of whether or not you have a local, district, national or worldwide ministry, you are a living testimony of God’s will manifesting in your life.

The apostle Paul also goes on to further say that:

“Since we are living by the Spirit let us follow the Spirit’ leading in every part of our lives.”  Galatians 5 v 25

This means recognising that we don’t live our lives by our own agenda but we get involved in the work of the Kingdom of God by submitting to His leading when we pray that portion of the Lord’s prayer that says:

“Your Kingdom come, and Your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven…” Matthew 6 v 10

FOCUS YOUR FULL ATTENTION ON JESUS CHRIST:

The writers of Hebrews also encourage us to focus on Jesus, who empowers us to grow in faith:

“Keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.”  Hebrews 12 v 2

Amen xxx