“It’s not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are.” – Roy Disney
Once you have a dream, how do you know God’s will and make a decision to follow the dream?
In my life, I’ve found there are six important keys to considering God’s will and making a decision. Key 1: Walk closely with God 6 Keys:
Walk closely with God
- Develop a deep relationship with God, through prayer, the study of his Word and fellowship with others devoted to God.
Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
- It’s important to walk closely to God to know what His will is and to see what way He is leading you
Surrender your will
- Proverbs 3:6 (above) says to submit to God. To know God’s will, you need to put your own will aside and completely surrender to Him, trusting in His grace and guidance for your life. As Romans 12 puts it, be a living sacrifice.
Romans 12:1-2 (NIV)
12 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Live by the Word
- God makes some of his will clearly known through His Word. Here are two examples:
1 Thessalonians 4:3 (NIV)
3 It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality;
1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NIV)
18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
- God’s Word has many insights into what God’s will is for us to live godly lives and walk with him. More importantly, your heart needs to be one of obedience to God or He won’t be able to reveal his will and fulfil your dream. Instead, He will need to continue to mold your heart so that you’ll have a true relationship with Him and be with Him forever.
Consider your gifts and talents
- God gives us all talents and gifts to be used for His purpose.
1 Peter 4:10 (NIV)
10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.
- God has given each of us gifts and talents for the purpose of being stewards of His grace – to serve him by spreading his grace to others.
- How do you know what your gifts and talents are? Here are two questions you can ask to help you find them:
- What do others tell you that you do well?
- Do you find yourself always being asked to do certain types of service?
- Mary and I were asked many times to serve in the Children’s ministry in Boston and Worcester, and eventually asked to train to lead the Children’s Ministry, which we did for eight years in Worcester. We also were asked to help with pre-marriage and marriage counselling after being helped with our own marriage in our early years; this led to more training and being in the elder training in Boston and the DC church. When we were asked to do these things so many times, it refined our character, trained us and allowed God to eventually use us in greater ways.
Tell God your desires
- Take time to pray and give your desires to God.
Psalm 37:4-5 (NIV)
4 Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this:
- See how this is combined with committing and trusting? Prayer helps us to develop a close relationship with God and to surrender to him.
Seek godly input
- Finally, make sure you get input from godly mature disciples. God will work through those who know you well and are also walking close to him and obedient to His Word.
Proverbs 11:14 (NIV)
14 For lack of guidance a nation falls, but victory is won through many advisers.
- Be prepared for different advice than what you want to do. And beware if you seek advice from people who always agree with you. The key is to let God guide you through prayer and godly advisors.
Once you have your dream, you need to follow these key principles to lead you to decide what God’s will is for your life. The next step after deciding? Do (see the next post).
Discussion Questions:
- In what area do you need to grow most to go after your dream? Consider the areas discussed above: walk with God, surrendering your will, assessing your real gifts, prayer, getting more advice.
- Discuss your dream and the area you want to focus on with your closest spiritual advisor(s). Look for how God can reveal his will through maturing in that area.