How can you find out and be sure that you live according to the will of God?

Question:

Can you explain to me how to be sure that I live according to the will of God?How can I know that in my ministry and calling I am where God wants me to? I examine myself and it looks like I know my gifts, I try to do something, but somehow something seems to miss…Thank you!

Your question is very actual. I hope this article gives answers not only to you, but to many other readers. The first thing I want you to look at is..

To understand God’s will, you need His wisdom

Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus:

So, then, be careful how you live. Do not be unwise but wise, making the best use of your time because the times are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.(Ephesians 5:15-17)

It is clear from these verses that a man that has the wisdom of God, understands His will and will not waste his time, but will buy it up. The word “time” in this passage is the Greek “kaioros” which means “opportunity, the right or opportune moment, season”. A wise man has the ability to see that God’s will is in every opportune moment that we have to use for the enlargement of His Kingdom. One needs the wisdom from above for this. How can you have it? Lord Jesus told His disciples the following, in His sermon on the Mount:

“Not everyone who keeps saying to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will get into the kingdom fromheaven, but only the person who keeps doing the will of my Father in heaven.”

The same text gives us the description of the wise man and the foolish man, pointing out that one understood and did the will of God, while the other didn’t:

“Therefore, everyone who listens to these messages of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on a rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, but it did not collapse because its foundation was on the rock. Everyone who keeps on hearing these messages of mine and never puts them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain fell, the floods came, the winds blew and battered that house, and it collapsed—and its collapse was total.” (Mathew 7:24-27)

Dear friend, the secret of the wisdom of the wise man is in the fact that he not only hears, but also puts into practice the words of Jesus. You cannot understand God’s will for your life without His word. The Holy Scripture is the Word of God that speaks to us and teaches us His will.

Now I would like us to look at the well known example of Martha and Mary when Jesus visited their house. This example can teach us what we have to do when you are in the ministry, but you have no peace and are not sure of God’s will for you.

Martha’s and Mary’s example

Now as they were traveling along, Jesus went into a village. A woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat down at the Lord’s feet and kept listening to what he was saying. But Martha was worrying about all the things she had to do, so she came to him and asked, “Lord, you do care that my sister has left me to do the work all by myself, don’t you? Then tell her to help me.” The Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha! You worry and fuss about a lot of things. But there’s only one thing you need. Mary has chosen what is better, and it is not to be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:38-42)

God’s will cannot be found in meaningless rush, but at the feet of Jesus!

From verse 38, it looks like the house Jesus visited was Martha’s alone, not Martha and Mary’s. Martha received Jesus in her house.Lord Jesus was guest of honor in the house, but look at what Martha did. Verse 40 tells us that while Jesus was visiting with her, Martha was worrying about many things. She was worried serving Jesus who was in her house. It is weird though that in all her desire to serve Jesus, in all her run, Martha could not find a moment to stop and spend time with Jesus. The same can happen to each of us who wants to serve Jesus. We can become so busy, so caught in the ministry, ministry for Christ, and have no time with Him…It is a painful reality of these days, unfortunately.

Martha’s ministry brought her worry and frustration

The way Martha wanted to serve Jesus didn’t bring her fulfillment, but frustration. She sees herself alone, abandoned by her sister and most interesting she thinks she has been abandoned by Jesus Himself…“Lord, you do care…?”. When you do a ministry that the Lord hasn’t called you to do, then neither you, nor people around you, and not even Jesus is pleased with your choice. “Martha, Martha! You worry and fuss about a lot of things.” Is it a pleasure to serve full of worry and frustration? Martha had no sinful intentions. She probably wanted to serve and please God out of a pure heart. But if your ministry doesn’t start at the feet of Jesus, the result will be worry and frustration… Martha was busy serving, but she had no fulfillment, because in her running, she couldn’t stop to have time with Jesus.

Stop and listen to His Word

When Lord Jesus entered Martha’s house, her sister Mary sat at His feet. How much peace and fulfillment she found there! She chose what is better, and Jesus said that “it will not be taken from her”. Dear friend, there are so many ministries that can involve you, but if your ministry doesn’t start out of your fellowship with Jesus, at His feet, then you are doomed to fatigue and frustration. I wonder if Mary was a lazy woman since she left Martha all alone to serve? No way, Lord Jesus did not blame her, on the contrary He praised her. Dear friend, you can have much ministry, and you can go from church to church in search of your ministry, but your ministry should not begin with you. It should begin at the feet of Jesus, out of your time with Him in His Word.

There, at the feet of Jesus, Mary sat to rest spiritually, not physically. There she stopped to listen to the precious words of Jesus Christ, words about which our Savior said: “The words I tell you are spirit and life” How important it is to stop from your running, sit at the feet of Jesus, listen and learn from His Word.

Dear friend, you can find out the will of God when you stop and sit at His feet and allow His Word to teach you. If you do not stop, then you will not be able to understand His will. You will run from early morning till late at night, caught in different ministries, and the result will be frustration and disappointment alone.

Someone said: 

“To be angry that God doesn‘t speak to you while your Bible is closed is the same thing with you not receiving any messages while your phone is turned off.

May the Lord help us stop from our running and have a daily time in His presence and allow the Word to speak to us and teach us His will concerning our lives!