It's a common question for Christians to know if they're still in God's will for their lives. We all struggle in this area, but since God delights in giving us His kingdom, we should all be assured that God will let us know if we are or are not aligned with His will for us.
There are a few ways to know if we are in God's will for our lives. If you're currently seeking God's wisdom and guidance in this matter, I hope this short write-up helps you.
Finding yourself in Him
The Bible tells us that we are just sojourners in this world, and that our lives are as fleeting and as short as grass. Knowing this, wouldn't it be good to live our lives on purpose? We only live once, so why not make it count?
That said, we have to know God's will for our lives. When we know His will and our place in it, then it's easier to live our lives on purpose.
Here are some things we should do to find our place in His will.
1) Realize that His will is for Him, not for you
First of all we need to break our wrong mindsets thinking that it's about us. No, it's not about us. Psalm 115:3 tells us,
"But our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases."
The universe is not centered on us. It's not about our callings, our anointing, our ministries. It's not about our talents, our skills, even our dreams. And it's most definitely not about our glory. We need to break through the mold and see that our lives aren't even about us or for us.
We should conform our mindsets to Psalm 115:1, which says,
"Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but to Your name give glory, because of Your mercy, because of Your truth."
2) Seek His will in the Word
Now that we've established that His will is not about us and is about Him, we should then seek His will. God has a general will for all men: that all may be saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. 1 Timothy 2:3-4 tells us,
"...God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth."
God simply wants all men to be saved, and that is why He sent His one and only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross and be resurrected three days later. God's will is for all men to put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, so that through His Son we could be reconciled with Him as our Father.
3) Know your part
So what's your part there? What's God's will for you? To deny yourself, to obey His word, and to spread the Gospel of Christ.
Jesus said to all who would follow Him:
"Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me." (Matthew 16:24)
Jesus said to all who would confess their love to Him:
"Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him." (John 14:23)
Christ Jesus commissioned all who would believe in Him:
"And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen." (Matthew 28:18-20)
Friend, it's not so hard to know if you're not in God's will. Do you pursue Christ with all that you are? Do you read and receive His word and obey it? Does your life point people to Jesus Christ?
If you said no to any of these, then it's time to repent of disobedience to God's word and start obeying. Get up and go!
If you said yes to all of that, then you don't have to worry. Keep going. Fight the good fight of faith!
4) Pray
It sounds so obvious but it's oh so important. Ask God daily to show you His will for that day, for that week, for that year, and you will notice that little by little things start lining up, doors open or close, and you feel a stronger sense of assurance about the direction you are taking. When you ask God to help you recognize which openings are from Him, you will feel more confident about the decisions you make on a day-to-day basis. For many Christians, peace is a good indicator that they're doing something pleasing to God or not. If you don't feel peaceful about it or sure it would please God, it's quite simple: don't do it.
Most important of all
Most importantly, build your relationship with God. He's your Father, and He won't lead you astray. Jesus is your Great Shepherd, and He'll call you and lead you to green pastures. Listen to Him and follow Him. Nothing works better at knowing God's will than knowing God Himself.
