How to Know God’s Will
By Vonna Laue, Executive Director of Global Services, The Evangelical Alliance Mission
The title is pretty bold, right? I recognize some people were probably put off by it and didn’t even click. Some of you, though, are eager to know God’s will for your life, and that is exactly why you are reading this.
While speaking over the past 6-9 months, the passage of 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 has been impressed on my heart over and over. Let me break it down for you.
Verse 16 says, “Rejoice always”. Be honest. You’re probably thinking that isn’t even realistic. It seems pretty clear, though. I have been giving it my best attempt. I have found that we often have opportunities to try and rejoice when we would rather not.
Here is a real-life example: In February, I had been in Florida for some board meetings. My husband and I added a couple of days to visit friends. We were planning to spend a leisurely Sunday and then stroll to the airport for an evening flight to Houston for a speaking engagement.
You know how you are only kind of aware of your surroundings when you first wake up? That’s where I was that Sunday morning, but I sensed my husband stir and grab his phone. What followed was a groan. I inquired about his response and found out we had a notification of a significant delay to our flight, which was already scheduled to arrive very late in the evening.
I instantly moved into fix-it mode as most of us do and said, “No. I’ll take care of that.” What I found was that all flights were a mess because of a snowstorm in the Northeast.
I began to search for any option that would give us some assurance of actually getting to our destination. It didn’t look good, and we began to consider the very unfavorable option of driving 16 hours.
Then these words came to mind: “Rejoice always.” What! Not now! This is SUCH a hassle. Yet the still small voice was unrelenting. “Rejoice always.”
I struggled to do that as I changed our rental car reservation four times, waiting on hold with both the airline and the rental car agency, all the while completely missing out on the time we had set aside to visit.
While I didn’t rejoice perfectly, it did change my attitude. I realized that when I had to wait 30 minutes to get through to the dedicated phone line for frequent fliers, those answering the phones must be having a very difficult day.
I tried to be gracious in my inquiries and thanked them for taking my call, and encouraged them to hang in there through a difficult day ahead. I did the same thing with a couple of other airline employees I encountered. It seemed to provide a bright spot in an otherwise difficult situation. You know what else? I found my perspective changed as I did that.
Ultimately, we caught an earlier flight, dropped the rental with no penalty, and arrived earlier than originally planned. Things don’t always end that way, but it serves as a reminder that regardless of the situation or the outcome, we need to rejoice.
Verse 17 says, “Pray continually.” Many of us pray before a meal, perhaps during morning devotions, and whenever we find ourselves in a bind, but do we pray “continually”? That seems unreasonable. What could that look like for you?
Perhaps it means shutting off the radio and refraining from making that call, allowing you to have some quiet car time with the Lord. He’s a pretty good commuting partner, even if it doesn’t work for the carpool lane.
I like to take the opportunity to pray for each of my meetings scheduled for the day before I start work. I know that time won’t get away from me then, and that each meeting is covered in prayer. However, I find there are times in a meeting where it’s appropriate to stop and pray.
I have the privilege of doing that because all of my work is with ministries. Perhaps you can’t stop the meeting to invite your colleagues to join you in prayer, but you can certainly pray as the meeting is happening to ask for wisdom, clarity, unity, the right words to say, your testimony, or any number of other needs.
It could be a quick prayer before you hit “accept” for that call or before you hit “send” on that email.
If you had a person with you all day, would you refrain from speaking to them except when the day starts or as you begin a meal? No. Consider how the Lord is with you all day and begin to converse with Him more.
Verse 18 says, “Give thanks in all circumstances.” Similar to rejoicing always, it doesn’t say to give thanks only when things are great or you get what you want. It says in all circumstances. Take some small steps toward this and see how things begin to change for you.
Finally, verse 18 wraps up with “for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” This is my big takeaway. Most of us have said at various times that we desire God’s will or wish we knew what His will is for us. He makes it crystal clear. “Rejoice always, pray continually. Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
The challenge I have for myself is the same one I leave for you. Stop looking for His will and start living it!
You can reach Vonna at vonnalaue@gmail.com
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