God's will

[Brother Mike]

It seems in my sixty years, that the phrase "i am looking for God's will in my life" and been observed, and it does bubble up to the top of my thoughts once in a while, so would like to get thoughts on this.

Some things to ponder:
1) How do we know what God's will is?
2) Is there a difference in God's will for us, and where he may guide us?
3) If something is God's will, will it happen regardless of our free will?
4) Does God's will ALWAYS work out?
5) is God's will always clear (in a sense it is SPELLED OUT EXPLICITLY) in scripture.
6) Other thoughts?

[Buckshot]

1) How do we know what God's will is?
2) Is there a difference in God's will for us, and where he may guide us?
3) If something is God's will, will it happen regardless of our free will?
4) Does God's will ALWAYS work out?
5) is God's will always clear (in a sense it is SPELLED OUT EXPLICITLY) in scripture.
6) Other thoughts?

This is my pondering on these-
1. Not sure we do until we try what we are thinking might be. I usually ask myself, is this gonna benefit me or others. If it benefits others more than me and takes effort from me... it’s probably God putting the desire in me to do it. If I don’t try it I will never know. If I try it and others are helped but I lose my peace, I get out of it as smoothly as possible feeling like I did good helping but knowing if it was God’s will I would have maintained a peace in my spirit. If I keep the peace and joy through the task I continue the task until I feel like the Lord telling me I am done.
2. Interesting question. I think He guides us through things that prepare us for His will but along the way we are fulfilling His will. 🤔
3. I believe so, if we do not do our part I believe He can use others and we lose our crowns or blessings we could have received. His will, will be done one way or the other. That being said I believe when He starts a work in us it will be completed because He knew before He started it what we would accomplish.
4. I believe so, just not in the ways we think it will or should.
5. I don’t think so as for as His will for us individually. I believe He hints to many things so we have to seek and follow Him. We learn and grow when we do not know what exactly to do. The lack of clear direction creates a desire to seek understanding and direction.
6. I’m sure glad He loves us and still sees us as children even though we have grandkids. Just as we expect our children and grandchildren to stumble a lot 😂

[Brother Mike]

Thank you, some interesting pondering points, Buckshot.

[RandyPNW]

All good questions. I've put in quite a few years too, and always spend time analyzing, learning, correcting and being corrected. It's what we do!

God's will is a big one with me because...
1) I believe in following God's living word to our heart, God speaking to our conscience, as opposed to simply living biblically.
2) I've had a problem in my personal history with hearing my own voice, telling me it's God's voice. We sometimes think that God is speaking when it is only our own thoughts that are speaking.

So years ago, God began to make His voice louder than my voice, and I could discern the difference because...
1) God speaks through conviction, and not through condemnation.
2) God allows me to use my own reason, along with divine revelation. If the revelation overrules my own reason, it is false revelation. God speaks to our reason.

God's guidance always exudes His goodness, even if He lets us go through awful things. His will is not always desirable to our flesh. It points us in the way of fellowship with God, and never in a direction that discourages relationship with God. Our righteousness comes as a partnership with God.

As I've walked with God, sometimes I've had to go through darkness, and had to experience an enormous amount of patience and endurance. Hopefully, faithfulness prevails, along with faith in continuing in righteousness. I've been so discouraged I've given up. Thankfully God restored me.

Now, later in life, God has showed me we have so much freedom to choose things. Our ideas and desires come from God--we simply have to run our ideas through God. Anything that turns into bad fruit is not from God, and so we know to turn away from certain ideas, no matter how good they sound--not worth losing spirituality over something we want.

Wants are a great danger in our lives. Be ready to give up things for others, simply to maintain the peace. This is especially true in families, but also in church, or elsewhere. Good luck!

[RandyPNW]

I'm a bit on the "philosophical" side, so I will also answer the question on God's will being unescapable or not. I do believe that some things in God's will are intractable and some are more flexible. God's will involves things that God absolutely will do, and other things that are dependent on free human agency.

We are not robots. God treats us not as slaves, but as children, when we are born again. So some things will come to us purely because we ask. Some things we will ask for we won't get because God does not see it as in our best interest.

There is God's ultimate will and his temporal will. God ultimately wants the world to be at peace, completely ruled by righteousness. But He temporarily allows evil so that human will can work itself out. Then God's ultimate will for peace on earth will be done.

[greenonions]

God's laws tell us things that He likes and hates. We should definitely keep these in mind. I think God doesn't always spell out His will in detail in Scripture.

Numbers 36:10 The daughters of Zelophehad did as Yahweh commanded Moses: 11 for Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, were married to their father’s brothers’ sons.

The daughters of Zelophehad had to marry within the tribe of Manasseh, but they had freedom to choose different people to marry within that tribe, according to their preferences.

A similar example:

1 Corinthians 7:39 A wife is bound by law for as long as her husband lives; but if the husband is dead, she is free to be married to whomever she desires, only in the Lord.

The Holy Spirit leads us to do God's will. It shouldn't contradict the law. It's even more specific than the law and encompasses more situations and choices. It's always good to "inquire of the Lord" too.

Galatians 5:18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

Samuel told Saul to do whatever he thought of when the Holy Spirit was upon him.

1 Samuel 10:6 Then Yahweh’s Spirit will come mightily on you, then you will prophesy with them and will be turned into another man. 7 Let it be, when these signs have come to you, that you do what is appropriate for the occasion; for God is with you.

Nathan's advice to David was to do all that is in his heart because God was with him. But sometimes God can give us specific commands or prohibitions too.

2 Samuel 7:1 When the king lived in his house, and Yahweh had given him rest from all his enemies all around, 2 the king said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but God’s ark dwells within curtains.”
3 Nathan said to the king, “Go, do all that is in your heart; for Yahweh is with you.”
4 That same night, Yahweh’s word came to Nathan, saying, 5 “Go and tell my servant David, ‘Yahweh says, “Should you build me a house for me to dwell in?

And yes, God knows what we will choose. Our whole lives are written in his book already. So it is all part of His plan.

It seems in my sixty years, that the phrase "i am looking for God's will in my life" and been observed, and it does bubble up to the top of my thoughts once in a while, so would like to get thoughts on this.

Some things to ponder:
1) How do we know what God's will is?
2) Is there a difference in God's will for us, and where he may guide us?
3) If something is God's will, will it happen regardless of our free will?
4) Does God's will ALWAYS work out?
5) is God's will always clear (in a sense it is SPELLED OUT EXPLICITLY) in scripture.
6) Other thoughts?

[greenonions]

God also guides us by giving us understanding.

Psalm 32:8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you shall go.
    I will counsel you with my eye on you.
9 Don’t be like the horse, or like the mule, which have no understanding,
    who are controlled by bit and bridle, or else they will not come near to you.

[theMadJW]

I was ready to join the Marines, in 1967- where I would have marched out to war in Viet Nam- when I was visited to one who showed me~

Dan 2:44- And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.

And, that changed my life FOREVER!