How Do I Know God’s Will?Sample

The Known Will of God

Today, we’ll discuss the Known Will of God. A few passages in the Bible tell us exactly what it means to do God’s will. 

• Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks always (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
• Do Good (1 Peter 2:15)
• Avoid Sexual Sin (1 Thessalonians 4:3)

It seems like such an odd mix of guidelines to follow, doesn’t it? Be joyful, pray a lot, show gratitude, do good, oh, and don’t be sexually immoral. But surely there’s more to God’s will than that, right? 

We find many commands in the Bible from God. Here are some of them:

• Love God and others. (Matthew 22:37-39)
• Don’t gossip. (Ephesians 4:29)
• Don’t murder. (Matthew 5:21-26)
• Be honest. (Colossians 3:9)
• Be generous. (Luke 12:33)
• Help others. (Philippians 2:4)

It’s so common for followers of Christ to desire to make great strides in the kingdom of God. We want to change the world but don’t consider it very important to change our part of the world, let alone ourselves. We get laser-focused on the will of God that is Unknown to us and push the Known will of God aside. The Unknown will of God is much more exciting and grand to us. The Known will of God, which includes numerous dos and don’ts, tends to be boring and monotonous. We want to know what He has for us tomorrow but we disobey Him today. 

What if we directed our desire to know God’s will to do the things we actually know to do? We may not know the path ahead for us when it comes to our career, but we know that it is God’s will for us to help others today. We may not know who our spouse will be in the future, but we know that it’s God’s will for us to give thanks in all things right now. And we certainly don’t know what our financial situation will be 15 years from now, but we know that it’s God’s will for us to be generous with our time and resources now. 

God is looking for people who are faithful. Faithful in the little...first. Let’s be loving, kind, generous, honest, and grateful people because it’s in the small, seemingly ordinary things in life that give us a glimpse of God’s greater plan. It’s often the completion of ordinary tasks that leads to extraordinary outcomes.

Reflect

• Do you tend to think of God’s will in a more grand sense and not in day-to-day living?
• What is one area of your life that would fall under God’s Known will that you need to obey?