Recently a good friend of mine was questioning about how to know God’s will for his life and in particular his business. If you’re like me and my friend, you’ve likely also wondered just what is God’s will for your life. There have been many times when God’s will has seemed elusive to me, even when I’ve tried to earnestly seek and find it.

So is there a way to really know what God has in store for you and me?

I believe so, and it involves two components. To be clear, I am not suggesting these two components are the only requirements, but they are integral to discovering God’s will for you and me.

Component 1

The first is the foundation for knowing God’s will, and it forms the basis for even communicating with God. It is an intimate, familial relationship. To know God as our Father, we must first be His child. And contrary to the popular myth, we are not all children of God simply by the mere fact that we are part of humanity.

Rather, we become a child of God through a conscious step and decision. We must acknowledge our need of Him, our absolute brokenness, that we have violated His laws, and that the only way to secure a relationship with God is through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus, who died in your place and mine, as the penalty for our wrongdoings or sins. And three days after his death, Jesus rose again and seeks a personal relationship with us.

As we admit our utter need of Christ’s redemption, believe in Jesus as our Savior, and confess our sins to God, we then become one of God’s children. Only then do we have a basis to approach our Creator to know His will for our life.

Component 2

Many a person who has done this though still struggles with knowing God’s will. Why is this? I believe it is because we have focused our search on the wrong object.

If you needed to know how to use a complex software system and you had the opportunity to either try to figure it out on your own or you could actually spend quality time with the designer of the program, which would you choose? I’d choose time with the designer every time. As I spend time with him, I can inquire of the designer, find out the secrets to the software system, and get the scoop on how it works.

In Matthew 6:33 we are told to “Seek first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.”

In the context of the chapter, we understand that “these things” are the common issues of life we all deal with, from needs to dreams, and health to wealth.

We are clearly told to stop focusing our attention on all “these things” and to rather place our priority on seeking God, getting to know Him, investing in our relationship with Him. As we get to know not only the Designer of the universe, but also the One who designed your life and mine, God’s will for you and me will come into focus.

This is the secret of life that too often creates a conundrum for us. To know the purpose of our life we must seek and know the Author of life, God Himself. And as we do that, His will and purpose for you and me will be known.

When we struggle to find God’s will for our lives we often find that peace also eludes us. This dilemma reminds me of the bumper sticker that says:

No God. No Peace.
Know God. Know Peace.

So if you are struggling to know God’s will for your life, I trust you first secure a relationship with God and through that relationship, I pray you will seek Him with all your heart. Only then will “all these things be added unto you.”