How You Can Know the Will of God

A few months ago I stumbled across a very interesting study. The goal of the survey was to determine what the most common questions Americans were asking today, and do you know what the study found was the most asked question? 

I'll give you a couple of hints. It wasn't "Does God exist?" and it wasn't "Is there life after death?". Above all others, the study found that the question most Americans are asking is a simple one: 

What is the meaning of my life here on earth? 

Even bigger than their concern for the existence of God or the uncertainty of death is a desire for meaning… for purpose! 

I want to tell you that every human being has that desire. How else can you explain the fact that when my friend Rick Warren published his book, The Purpose Driven Life, it quickly became one of the best-selling hardback books in history? 

The reason why so many people are asking what is the meaning of life is simple. You and I and everyone else are all hardwired to believe in God. As much as we need food to eat and air to breath, we need faith to live by! 

So God has fused into our DNA a deep desire to know our purpose… a deep desire to know that there is something greater than ourselves. We are born with an instinct to seek him and his purpose for us! 

God has given a very clear purpose for our time here on earth, and that's to glorify him. The problem is that we are given such a short time to do it! I remember when Billy Graham was once asked the question, "What's your biggest surprise in life?" In his heavy North Carolina accent he responded, "The brevity of it." 

You know, I completely agree with Billy. My wife, Deb, and I celebrated 40 years of marriage in May. But it seems like just yesterday that I saw her for the first time at Hardin-Simmons University. Life has a way of flying by before you can even stop to take a breath! 

In this short time that you and I are given on earth, God wants to use us for something great! He wants you to magnify the name of Jesus with every day that he gives you. As the apostle Paul tells us in Romans 12:1, 

"I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship." 

This is the clear mandate for your life: to present yourself to God as a sacrifice… to glorify and honor him in everything you do! 

So the question you should be asking is even bigger than "What's the meaning of my life?" That's already been answered for you! The bigger question… the one that you should really be concerned with… is "Am I going to honor God with my life?". That's the first thought that should enter your head when you're wondering what God's will is for your life. Will he be glorified? 

Sometimes people ask me, "Pastor, should I do this or that?" And I ask them, "Have you prayed about it?" I ask this because there is no reason they should come to me before they go to God! 

But many people are afraid to pray and I think I know why. They are scared of the response they might get. It's one thing to know the will of God. It's another to actually do it! So here's the ultimate principle when it comes to the will of God… surrender to it! 

Trust God because he knows what's best for you. Allow him to guide you through the sometimes muddy waters of life. When you do this, you can have every bit of confidence that he is in control! 

So what is God's will for your life? Here it is: to honor him in all you do, to seek his guidance in times of difficult decisions, and to surrender to his will when he answers you. That's his will for your life! 

PowerPoint® Ministries is the radio and television broadcast ministry of Dr. Jack Graham in Plano, Texas. Dr. Graham is the pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church, one of the nation's largest, most dynamic congregations. Dr. Graham has served two terms as president of the Southern Baptist Convention.
Read or sign up to receive Dr. Jack Graham's PowerPoint devotionals through Crosswalk.com.

Publication date: October 15, 2010