Who should I marry? What job should I pursue? Should I move to a new place? Should I switch churches?
When we think of discerning God’s will for our lives, these are the questions we often think about.
The irony of these questions is that the Bible has little to say about them in general and, of course, no specific answer to them. The Bible does have wisdom on these subjects, but they are not major themes.
Why, then, do we bring in the subject of God’s will when it comes to making choices about our life situation?
Perhaps one reason is that we believe that happiness and the good life hang in the balance with these decisions. We believe that we need the right job, church, spouse, or home to be happy.
But what if our happiness does not depend on them? Could it be that God says so little about these decisions because He has a different view of what a happy life is? Could it be that God does not believe our happiness is rooted in what job we have or what school we attend?
God does have a different view. The Bible has a lot to say about discerning God’s will, but it relates primarily to the type of people we are. I believe that God’s view is that our happpiness is rooted in what type of people we are not in ourward circumstances.
For example, God gave the Ten Commandments as an expression of His will for our lives. These commandments speak to what type of people we are. They call us to put God first in our hearts and lives. They call us to live patient, chaste, temperate, just, and honest lives. According to the Bible, these qualities are what makes us good, happy, and blessed.
This means that whether we live in Michigan, Great Britain, Australia, Africa, or North Dakota, the primary factor in our happiness is not these places or the people in them. It is the type of people we are in those places. As the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius wrote in his <em>Meditations</em>: “Where a man can live, there he can live well.”
If we are the type of people that God wants us to be, then we can be happy whatever the circumstances and whatever the situation. If we love God above everything else, then we have access to Him in any job, place, marriage, or school. Faith in God’s goodness and love for us enables us to say: “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether living in plenty or in want” (Phil. 4:12).
We should not doubt that God wants us to be happy. The trouble is that we pursue things (even good things) that will not get us there. Happiness is not found in the circumstances and people in our lives. It is found in God and His love for us. It is found in being the type of people God wants us to be. The result of being what God wants us to be is joy and peace that enables us to love God and humans well.
God’s will for us is to be happy, and He has told us the way. It is by becoming the type of people who reflect His glory by how we live. There is no question or debate that this is God’s will for our lives. It is not that hard to discern. Living it is the challenge, a challenge we can only meet by God’s grace in Christ.
Am I summarizing correctly?
Discerning God’s will is only for the reason of pursuing happiness or a good life and our happiness and good life are not attainable by decisions we make but who we are.
If we are the “type” of person God wants us to be our life will be happy and good.
To be who God wants us to be we need to put Him first and follow His commands.
There is truth in everything you have said but that’s a little too carte blanch for me. For those of us who are a “hot mess” and struggle everyday with life, I need something so much more. I need to know that He is here with me personally. That He understands me and loves me and will continue to love me when I’m not the type of person He wants me to be. I seek guidance from Him everyday in how to handle life and its situations.
Through prayer, experiencing His love, emerging myself in HIs word, listening to His Spirit as He speaks to me. Being aware of His working in me and around me. It’s personal. It’s deep. It’s convicting. It’s real. The gospel is simple. What he requires is simple (Love Him, Love others) but I need to hear from God, in person. Giving me what I need for the day. I need to know He has lots of grace in dealing with me because I never meet the mark. In my transparency with God and with others I have to have immeasurable grace and mercy. I can’t be the type of person you say God wants me to be. I can be some semblance of it but I will never be that person on earth. I can fake it but God knows my heart. Confession and repentance from me and grace and mercy from Him are my peace and happiness. God works with us as really messy people who don’t make the mark of being who we are called to be. But that’s OK. I know He loves me.
Life is full of pain and struggling for most of us. Pain that is real. Disappointments that are depressing. Hurt that cuts deep.
We need a Jesus that will walk with us in our mess. We need people around us who hold us up. We need to acknowledge that we don’t have it together. I don’t need more rules. I need personal. I need real. I want to know I can have happiness and fulfillment even though I can’t always be the type of person God wants me to be. Happiness and a good life are unattainable for me if I have to meet the mark. I want to know that happiness is in the middle of my mess and is still a good life. There is hope in His grace and mercy. There is guilt in not being able to fit the type. I would love to hear more “heart” (personal) than “head” (a formula or set of rules).
Hi Linda, thanks for taking the time to interact with my post. I appreciate reading your thoughts on this matter.
I think that sometimes we think that what God requires of us is doing this and not doing that. I don’t think that’s what the Ten Commandments are all about. I actually think you have a pretty good grasp of what the Ten Commandments are all about. You write:
That’s a great description of what the first table of the law requires of us. That’s what God wants us to be and how He is transforming us.
The point in this article is just this. If we can really be the people who can experience God in a real, personal, and deep way. Then, it doesn’t matter where we live, what kind of job we have, or whether we get the vacation or home we want. Our relationship with God is enough to give us real joy and happiness in this life.
Of course, it is not perfect because we never love God perfectly in this life. Perfect happiness is reserved for the life to come. However, if we can be the type of people you describe, I think we can find real joy even in the midst of the pain that the world and our circumstances cannot take away. As Paul said, “sorrowing yet always rejoicing” (2 Cor. 6:10). Our justification is perfect in this life, but our sanctification is not.