I can vividly remember being a little girl and going on road trips with my family. I loved riding in the backseat of our SUV because I could lay my pillow up against the wall of suitcases and sleep soundly as we cruised down the highway. My dad always drove on road trips. He was the navigator, radio-operator, snack distributor, and entertainer all-in-one. Dad had the route to our favorite beach practically memorized, but even when he had to use the GPS, even when we had to take detours, I never questioned whether or not he would get us to our destination safely. He was my dad. Of course he would get us there because he knew what he was doing. I could trust him. 

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Now that I am grown and in the transition between college life and the rest of my life, I’m met with a lot of doubt about where God wants me and what my next steps are supposed to look like. I can’t help but think so many of us are in the same season. Seasons of change are often marked with uncertainty and doubt. As Christians, we know we’re supposed to trust the unknowns of our future to the God we know is faithful, but that knowledge is easier to repeat like a mantra than it is to actually live out.

Maybe you’re fresh out of college and deciding what field to go into with your degree. Maybe you’re about to welcome a new baby and aren’t sure how your life will have to adjust. Maybe you’re having to make a substantial move after spending years of your life committed to one job. Maybe your children are all grown and you’re rediscovering your purpose as an empty nester. Whatever season you’re walking through, change is something we never grow out of. So no matter what stage of life we’re in, the uncertainty that can come with discovering God’s will in each season is something that we can all relate to. 

If we're truly seeking the Lord's guidance, we'll know that whatever we do, we must do it wholeheartedly as unto the Lord (Colossians 3:23). But what about when the specifics are unclear? It is our human nature to crave assurance of the direction we’re taking. But what if it wasn’t as complicated as we make it out to be? While there is no exact formula for discerning God’s will for our lives, we can rest assured that if we’re seeking God and walking in obedience, He will not withhold His guidance from us. With that in mind, let’s take a deep dive into how we can discover God’s will for our lives! 

First and foremost, we must acknowledge that Scripture is our authority in all things and as such, it should be the first place we turn when we’re seeking direction. The Bible is God’s self-revelation to us, composed under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. In it, God discloses things to us that shape our thoughts, transform our hearts, and guide our lives. Ultimately, God desires that we obey His Word so that we may live as He intends. We cannot expect to know His will if we are not first committed to being in His Word. The more we hide the Word of God in our hearts, the more we will be able to recognize when opportunities are in alignment with His Word and have the assurance that those opportunities are within His will. The psalmist writes “The steps of a man are established by the Lord, when he delights in his way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the Lord upholds his hand.” (Psalm 37:23-24) If we are living in accordance with God’s revealed will in Scripture, we can have confidence that He will guide our steps.

Do you ever say or hear a word used out of context so often it seems like it loses all sense of meaning? Words are powerful, so we must be deliberate about the language we use when we talk about God’s will. I think it's easy for us to lose sight of what exactly God’s will is because of the language that Christian culture has popularized. We use terms like "purpose", "calling", "God's plan", and "God's will" interchangeably and specifically to us. However, Scripture tells us something a little different. In Matthew 22:37-40, Jesus said "‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” These commands have a universal connotation and establish our collective fundamental purpose as Christians. Before ascending into heaven, Jesus' final command was to "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them all I have taught you." Every Christian has a shared, singular purpose to love God, love people, and make disciples. 

What we seek when we’re trying to discern God’s will for our lives is the thing He wants us to do. We often use the word "calling" to describe this, viewing our calling as the thing we're supposed to do for God. When we do that, we're confusing calling with assignment. More than anything we can do for God, He desires for us to simply be with Him. He is the calling, only and always. Jesus said in John 15:4-5, "Abide in me, as I also abide in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you abide in me. 5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you abide in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” What Jesus is saying is that we can do nothing of eternal significance apart from Him. Our ability to do God-honoring, kingdom building things in our lives is an overflow of our relationship with Him. It only comes through cultivating spiritual discipline and spending time abiding in God. 

Another word for abiding is remaining. It is both an actively existing identity and an ongoing pursuit. Abiding connotes a process of spiritual formation through which God grows us, refines us, and molds us to be more like Christ. So how do we abide in His presence? Thank goodness, the presence of God is not something we have to search for. He has placed His Holy Spirit in each of our hearts as a seal and as our Helper (Ephesians 1:13, John 14:26). Abiding in Him doesn't mean striving for His presence, but quieting our minds and attuning our awareness to His already-indwelling Spirit so that we might commune with Him, hear from Him, and be empowered to bear fruit as a result. 

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God has uniquely and deliberately endowed each of us with spiritual gifts and abilities that allow us to serve Him in a way that only we can. As we go through life, we will grow in these gifts according to the season we are in. It is natural for us to want to use those gifts for the Lord, but we must guard our hearts against elevating the use of our gifts above the Giver of our gifts. Concerning the proper understanding of spiritual gifts, the apostle Paul wrote “All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.” (1 Corinthians 12:11) 

The gifts are not only given so that we may glorify God, but to minister to fellow believers and others. “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace” (1 Peter 4:10) When we’re seeking out God’s will for our lives, we must consider what path allows us to glorify God and serve others. Sometimes we may feel like the best use of our gifts and service is within the church, but the church is where we mobilize; our day-to-day lives are where we minister. Whatever your workplace looks like – an office, a workshop, a hospital, a school, a warehouse, a cafe, a retail store, your home – it’s all your ministry field. You can do the work of eternal significance in any occupation if you are submitted to the leading of the Lord! 

Finally, it is important that we recognize how our perception influences our ability to see God’s hand. We all have what I like to call a “painter” that lives in our heads. When we ask God for something, we have an idea of what it will look like when He answers. But God, in His infinite wisdom, almost always answers in an unexpected way. If we’re so consumed with waiting on God to reveal His plan for us how and when we think He should, we’re in danger of completely overlooking it when His answer comes according to His way and timing. What we must do instead is open our minds and hearts to receive His revealed answer, whatever form it may come in. 

During the waiting season, our job is simple: we must do what waiters do and serve. Making ourselves available to God is the single most important thing we can do when we are on the journey of discovering His will for our lives. We cannot let our worry about the unknowns of the future paralyze us into being bystanders in our faith. Instead, we must spend time in the Word, in prayer, in worship, and in service to God, allowing Him to shape and mold us into the people He intends for us to be. When we give God our “yes,” He will not withhold His direction.

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Ultimately, determining God's will for your life starts with small acts of obedience every day. The more you lean into the Provider, the more you will see the provision. The promise of Christ to all those who walk in obedience is that they will receive whatever they ask in His name (John 14:13-14). So, wherever you find yourself faced with a point of decision, let Scripture be your measure, seek the Lord – not just what you can do for Him, cultivate your spiritual gifts, and be open minded so that when your due season arrives, you can faithfully step into what God has prepared for you.

Love and blessings,

Madilyn