God's Will: 1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18

               For this post, I wish to tackle a difficult phrase that has caused a lot of trouble in Christian circles and frame this phrase, God's will, in positive ways that we can act on without being paralyzed in fear. There is a good desire in most of us to do God's will for our lives. However, when we use this phrase, we often get caught up with the idea that there is a secret book of answers floating in the sky, just like the answers to the math problems in the back of a teacher's textbook. If only God would let us look at his answer book, the argument goes, then we would really find satisfaction. What if I said that we have the answers right before our eyes? What if God's will for our lives isn't as mysterious or distant as we feel so often? To start this discussion, let's take a look at 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18:

16 Be joyful always; 17 pray continually; 18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

             Do you notice the phrase, "God's will" in this passage? Does it seem too easy to label this passage as God's will? The response I know most people would give is that this doesn't answer the question they are trying to ask God. For instance, if I want direction on who I should date or am trying to make a major career decision, how could this passage possibly help? Perhaps it helps by making us ask more questions. It is not that your question is illegitimate. God is intimately aware of the desires that are bubbling inside of you. You can see it in Psalm 38:9:

9 All my longings lie open before you, O Lord;
    my sighing is not hidden from you.

           Therefore, the wise thing to do is to bring these desires before God in prayer and continue seeking direction on our decision. But, here's the clincher, we usually don't feel satisfied or at peace after making these petitions to God, right? We do have good moments, but usually our prayers and petitions to God seem to echo void and useless. This is because God wants us to pursue his will past this prayer. However, this pursuit might not mean what you think it means. This pursuit is to find what God wants us to find. In the above verse from 1 Thessalonians, we see that  God's will is for us to be joyful always, pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstances. Therefore, we get to see that, although we have successfully come before God in prayer, he still wants more of us. The phrase "God's will" comes up in a variety of places in the Bible, like two chapters back in 1 Thessalonians 4:3:

3 It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality;

           Thus, the question, "What is God's will for me?", goes way beyond whatever you are hoping to get from your future spouse or job. God wants us to continue to ask that question, but to let him guide us to what that means. Already, we have seen that it is God's will for us to be joyful always, give thanks in all circumstances, be sanctified, and avoid sexual immorality. Therefore, asking God about your future spouse or job is an incomplete question. You don't just approach God about one topic and then walk away. Instead, you keep engaging him about what your whole life should look like. God answers the question about what his will is over and over again in scripture and it all pertains to your original question. When you ask, "Who is God's will for me to marry?", you find the answer to that question in all of God's will. This means finding joy in God today, being content with what he has given you, and purifying yourself sexually. God guides you to your destination through every day obedience to his will and, by will, I don't mean this mysterious answer floating in the sky. I mean taking the step that God has shown you to take today. That is part of the answer to your question. If you dedicate yourself to following ALL of God's will, he will take you to that spouse (or lack of spouse) or job (or lack of job) in his own timing and in his own way. To clarify, it is not wrong to seek a specific answer to questions about jobs and spouses (that is God's will for you), but you need to add on to what you are doing. You seek Him in the everyday, mundane things, and he will bring you to the destination that you are seeking. Not only will you arrive there in the future,  but you will arrive at where you truly desire here and now in seeking God's presence. This is the key behind Psalm 37:4:

4 Delight yourself in the Lord
    and he will give you the desires of your heart.

           As I said earlier, God knows the desires of our hearts. In fact, he knows them better than we do. Since he loves us, we sell ourselves short when we seek satisfaction by forcing our ways into God's answer book. Did you know that finding the answer to your question can be an idol? Have you thought of God's will as becoming an idol with more importance than God himself? He will lead you to your answer, either directly or indirectly, but finding the answer to God's unknown will is not the point of your life. The point of your life is to follow and obey God's known will, which means pursuing and delighting yourself in God here and now. Seeking God's unknown will is a small part of all of God's will for you and should be kept that way; it is a piece of the puzzle, not the whole thing. Therefore, you seek the piece by seeking the whole.
            In closing, meditate on Ephesians 5:17-20:

17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. 18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. 19 Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Peace,
Simeon Snow