Six Steps for Finding God’s Will
In the 1950’s, Mattel (the toy company) created the Magic Eight-Ball. Now, I wasn’t around then, but decades later when I was a kid, those toys surfaced in garage sales from time to time. (Now they’re stored in museums.)
This is how the Magic Eight-Ball was used…
Suppose a boy had a crush on Jenny, the cute girl that sat next to him in second grade. He asked the eight-ball, “Will I marry Jenny someday?”
After violently shaking the ball, an answer became visible through a tiny window. It might read something like “Most likely”, “Don’t count on it”, “Very doubtful”, or “Ask again later.”
If he didn’t like the answer, he could ask the question again, shake the magic ball and see if a better answer popped in view.
Of course Christians don’t dabble in fortune telling. So instead of seeking predictions, they might use it for advice-seeking. Instead of “Will I marry Jenny,” it’s “Should I marry Jenny?” You get the idea.
There have been times I wished I could get answers from God that easily. I suspect you’ve had those moments too. Should I take this new job? Move to another city? Buy this car? Adopt a child?
We all know what it’s like to encounter life’s “fork in the road” moments. For Christ-followers, these decision points can be unnerving. We want to make the right decision, whatever “right” may be. Often we describe this as “being in God’s will.”
Seeking that peaceful easy feeling
In my journey of walking with God and sharing conversation with other faith walkers, I’ve found this to be a most frequent topic of discussion:
the matter of God’s will – and living our lives according to His guidance.
We accept God’s sovereignty – that everything ultimately rests in His control. Still we wrestle with the equally challenging concept of our free-will choice. (These are not opposing ideas but rather mega truths that work together.)
Regardless of how we resolve the paradox in our minds, we’re left to wrestle with day-to-day decisions. And finding a peace that we’re acting in God’s will is essential to our walk with God.
When it comes to the bigger, life-altering decisions, finding the center of God’s will is like an iron-clad insurance policy. We trust in the goodness of God’s sovereign will more than we trust our own ability to make these decisions alone.
It’s not about the decision – but the process
Discovering the will of God can be frustrating. And exhausting. God’s will is not always so obvious. After all, God is invisible and His voice is mostly inaudible. It’s easy to begin to give up as the seeking wears us down.
But seeking God’s will can give us not only direction for decision-making, but can also draw us closer to Him.
And maybe that’s the point.
If God was not interested in engagement and setting up encounters for us, He’d give each of us a personal, written road map to follow… for life. Just as the shortest distance between any two points is a straight line, God would give us a straight path to follow, too.
But since God desires connections with us, He provides a different path….one without straight lines. Seeking the will of God is more like walking through a maze.
Case Study – A look at Jesus
Jesus understood the importance of seeking God’s will. But even He struggled at times.
In the Garden of Gethsemane just before his arrest, Jesus agonized over His predicament. He knew He was in the final hours leading to an appointment at the cross. The burden placed on Him was unbearable and felt even deathly to Him (those were His words).
In that dark hour a quick series of events took place and Jesus found His way to the center of God’s will. When we take a close look at this crucial time, we’ll see there are “steps” we can intentionally walk, to receive our own clarity.
In my free E-paper, 6 Steps for Finding Gods Will, we look at how these steps can help us at times when clarity is needed – and beyond those pressure points! To make it real, I’ve presented a scenario of what it might look like to find God’s will regarding the decision to take a new job.
To access the paper, simply subscribe on this page with your email address. Over the years I’ve shared these insights with folks who found themselves wrestling with major decisions. I trust you’ll find it helpful as well.
