What Is God's Will For My Life?
Lots of people ask the question: "What is God's will for my life?" or "What does God want me to do with my life?" To be sure, there are many important ways to think about and seek answers to these kinds of questions which reach far beyond what I will mention now. But here is a very simple answer taken directly from the pages of Holy Scripture that is often undervalued and overlooked.
One of the more emotive statements from God in the Bible is Deuteronomy 5:29. In these words, Yahweh provides a wonderful window into the desire of his heart for his chosen people whom he has saved by grace. In these words you might say that, at the broadest level, God squarely answers the question of what his will for your life (and mine) actually is. With a tone reminiscent of a loving father, God expresses the traits that he longs to see defining our lives as we walk with him day by day.
Here are God's words; read them carefully:
"Oh that they (my people) had such a heart as this always, to fear me and to keep all my commandments, that it might go well with them and their descendants forever!" (Deuteronomy 5:29).
Do you see the heart of God clearly expressed in these words? Do you hear the longing of the Lord Most High for his beloved children whom he desires to bless?
The question of 'what' we might do to honor the Lord—in terms of our vocation, life decisions, and hobbies—is very important and worthy of our careful consideration. But far more important than the question of 'what' is the question of 'how'.
With what kind of heart will you and I walk before the face of the living God each day?
With what posture of soul will we go about the various activities of our lives?
Our God longs for his people to live out their days in a posture of reverent trusting obedience to his perfect will. Whatever it is that we find ourselves doing in God’s providence, this simple verse succinctly defines the manner in which we have been called to do it. Whether as a student, an employee, a spouse, a business owner, a stay-at-home mom, or a gospel minister: It is when we humbly walk before the Lord with “such a heart as this” that our loving Father promises us (and our descendants) his blessing, his peace, and the sweet communion of his presence in Christ.
“You shall be careful therefore to do as the LORD your God has commanded you. You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. You shall walk in all the way that the LORD your God has commanded you, that you may live, and that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land that you shall possess,” (Deuteronomy 5:32-33).