Knowing God's Will?

Have you ever been guilty of saying, "I just don't know what God wants me to do in this case," or I really wish I knew for sure what God wanted me to do". I think we all occassionally say these words without really understanding the real meaning of what we want to know. Does it really make sense to you, that the God of this universe, the creator of heaven and earth, your creator has a plan for you and that He would hide it from you? We say that we know He has a plan but very few of us search out that plan and even fewer of us actually fit into His plan for our lives. So for just a minute or two, lets see what is God's will for your life. You see, I do believe that God has a plan and I believe that your plan is most likely somewhat like my plan but perhaps in some ways different. There are absolutes in God's planning for each of us and let's look at them and make sure that we are fitting into His plan for our lives. I don't want you to automatically or arbatriarily think that just because something happens, it is or is not God's will such as; "I've been offered this job so it must be God's will, I've been approved for this loan so it must be God's will. Circumstances occur and we must understand that just because they happen is not the plus or minus of God's will in our lives. Here we go;

#1. God's primary will for people is that they turn to Christ and be saved.
2 Peter 3:9 1 Timothy 2:3-4
Once we are saved, then God has certain things He wants us to do and things
He doesn't want us to do.
#2 He has actually laid out for us certain good works to do to His glory. God's
will is something for us to do, not just to believe or affirm. Ephesians 2:9-10
Mark 3:31-35 1 John 2:17
#3 What is to God's glory is also to our good. Matthew 16:26, Matthew 25:21
Luke 2:10, John 16:7, 1 Cor. 7:35, Ephesians 6:8 Your only going to be
satisfied being where God wants you to be.
#4 God gave us His Word so we could know His will. Then it must be His will
that we read His word to find out those deep, seemingly hidden things of God
1 Cor. 2:9-10; Psalms 119:105
#5 God wants us to be sexually pure, 1 Thess. 4:3-7, He wants us to flee from
Temptation, 1 Cor. 6:18; He wants us to keep our minds pure. Matt. 15:19-20
Matt. 5:28; Proverbs 4:23; Psalms 119:37 Phil. 4:8
#6 God says those who don't know His will are unwise, and it is God's will that
we be filled and controlled by His Holy Spirit. Eph. 5:17-18
#7 God says we don't have wisdom because we don't ask for it---so prayer is
critical in seeking and living the will of God. James 1:5 When we are
controlled by the Holy Spirit, we will not commit the acts of the sinful
nature. Gal. 5:19-21 We will produce the fruit of the Spirit, Gal.5:22-23
and we will worship the Lord, teach each other and give thanks to God
while serving others. Eph. 5:17-33
#8 God wants us to live in submission to God-given authority, so that others
may see our willingness to humble ourselves as servants. 1 Peter 2:13-15
This also means we recognize God as our highest authority and put
obedience to Him above obedience to men. Acts 4:18-20
#9 Contrary to false claims of the health and wealth gospel, sometimes God's
will is taht we go through difficult times, even suffering, to accomplish His
purpose in us and through us. 1 Peter 3:17. Never be surprised by suffering
1 Peter 4:19
#10 The Bible is the revealed will of God. If you want to live in His will, then
"Let the Word of Christ dwell in your richly." Col. 3:16 Fill your heart
and mind with the Word of God, trust in His empowerment to obey Him,
and confess and repent when you disobey and fail. IF you do all this,
you will be living in the will of God.

Finally, Romans 12:1-2 tells us that we should be living out Holy, sacrificial
lives, which is a very reasonable expectation from God and that we should not
listen to what the world has to say, but allow God to "Transform" us and we do all this to prove out God's will for our lives.
Hope this helps you find the will of God in your life and remember, you can't find the will of God until you first find God.