How to Know God's Will, Part 9

by Paul Sands on October 6, 2011

To know God’s will, we need wisdom. To attain wisdom, we should pray to God, seek advice from others, and search for insight from the scriptures.

We should also consult our desires.

When I was a young Christian, I remember being impressed with a “seasoned saint” who said the surest way to know God’s will is to put away every desire. “Have no will of your own,” he said. “God’s ways are not our ways. You’ll never know his will until you surrender every desire on the altar.”

There is truth here. Sometimes duty calls us to choose a path that is painful. God’s will might involve sacrifice. Think of Jesus in Gethsemane.

But it is a gross exaggeration to say that God’s ways always runs counter to ours. Has not God created us? And has he not created us in a manner suited to his purpose? Rather than hindering his plan, isn’t our humanity part of it? Allowing for exceptions that prove the rule, can’t we assume that God’s will is — in the highest sense — “natural” to us? If we assume otherwise, are we not implying that God’s creation works at cross purposes with God’s providence?

It is true that sin often warps our desires. In one sense, it is “natural” to do God’s will; in another, it is “natural” to act out of greed, envy, lust, selfish ambition, or cowardice. But note well: God’s will is not frustrated by our humanity but by our sin. We don’t have a “will problem”; we have a “sin problem.”

What is God’s will for you? Or, to ask the same thing differently, what is the wise thing for you to choose? You won’t find the answer by emptying yourself of all preferences (as if that were really possible, anyway). You will find the answer as you pray, seek advice, search the scriptures, and consult your desires.

Assume you are “hard wired” to desire what God desires for you. Watch your motives, of course. Sin tempts us all, and we should guard against it. But once you are satisfied that your heart is pure, feel free to choose whatever you want. “Take delight in the LORD,” said the psalmist, “and he will give you the desires of your heart” (Psa. 37:4).

So if you want to do God’s will, here is my advice: Watch your motives, but trust your deepest desires.

In Christ’s service,

Paul