The Beginning of God's Will for Your Life

Today I have the privilege and pleasure of welcoming Charles Specht to the oasis. I first met Charles when we worked together on Michael Hyatt's Platform Launch Team. Instantly I sensed God had bigger plans for our team than launching a bestselling book. 


You will see why I was impressed with him as a writer, father, pastor and friend.
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by Charles Specht

• Should I marry this person?
• Which college should I attend?
• Should I homeschool our children?
• Which job do you want me to take, God?

Have you ever asked God questions about His will for your life? Have you ever wondered what His plan for your life is, and whether or not you’re actually in it right now?

Did you know that God wants you to know His will for your life? It’s true. His plan was never meant to be a carrot on a string. In fact, the Lord has already told you what His plan is, many times over. The issue, frankly, comes down to whether or not you have ears to hear.

God’s will for your life is like a coin with two sides. The top side is God’s REVEALED will. The bottom, His UNREVEALED will. Most people are overly concerned about God’s unrevealed will, such as where to work, who to marry, etc. The blunder we believers tend to make is that we often focus on His unrevealed will while ignoring what He’s already revealed in Scripture.

Did you know that the phrase “will of God” appears in the Bible numerous times? This phrase has to do with all the specifics regarding God’s plan for your life. The problem with most people, however, is that they want to know God’s UNREVEALED will for their life while—at the same time—being disobedient to what He’s already REVEALED.

The key to rightly discerning God’s plan for your life first begins with being the type of person God calls you to be. The New Testament outlines this REVEALED “will of God” for your life, and it can be broken down into the following twelve categories:

1. Salvation.
2. Sanctification.
3. Thankfulness.
4. Prayerfulness.
5. Ministry.
6. Giving.
7. Submission.
8. Hard-working.
9. Wise.
10. God-centered.
11. Suffering.

 Let’s focus on just the first one for now. God’s will for your personal life is that you be saved.

God the Father sent His Son into this world to die on a cross—for you! He didn’t do it for any other reason other than that you might be saved. It is His magnificent plan. It’s how God the Father builds a family for Himself. He absolutely loves adoption, and all those who trust God become the adopted siblings of Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother” (Mark 3:35).

The way God draws people to Himself in order to save them is by allowing them to be sorrowful to the point of repentance. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, saying, “I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us. For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death” (2 Corinthians 7:9-10).

You see, when a woman is broken over her sin, God uses it to draw her to Himself. This plan in the will of God does not lead to sorrow for God’s child, but to everlasting peace.

           

Once a woman is saved by God’s grace, she then receives an insatiable desire for the things of God. The apostle John wrote, “The world is passing away, and also its lust; but the one who does the will of God lives forever” (1 John 2:17). To be singular focused on God’s glory and His plan for your life is precisely the reason God saved you in the first place. It is His will for your life today.

QUESTION: In what areas of your life have you been asking God to reveal His will to you?

Charles Specht is a writer, a pastor, a father of 5 children (2 adopted "special needs" children from China), but mostly just a guy trying to figure it all out. He's devoted to pushing the envelop of Christian media, encouraging believers to be deliberate when crafting their own words to declare the inerrant Word. He has a passion for technology, for reading and writing, for serving Christ, and for figuring out how the worlds of traditional- and self-publishing are evolving before our eyes.

You can visit his church blog at CrazyAboutChurch.com or his Christian Writers website at GodlyWriters.com. Follow him on Twitter @CharlesSpecht, Facebook, and Google+.