Am I within God’s will?

Whenever we feel that we are following God’s will and we come up against struggles, the first question we should ask ourselves is:

Am I within God’s will?

This might seem obvious, but many times we either start out within God’s will and then somehow stray from it or we start with our own wants taking precedence over God’s will.  The result is we are not within God’s will.

And we certainly are not without good company.  All the way back in Genesis, we meet Eve and Adam.  They were at one point within God’s will.

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them…  And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.  (Genesis 1:27, 31a)

God said his creation was good, so I will assume that they were within His will.  However, a short time afterwards Eve listens to the serpent twist God’s word, doesn’t discern what was truth from lies, and eats the fruit.  She then goes to Adam, who doesn’t question where the fruit came from, and he eats it.  Their eyes were then opened and they felt a new, terrible feeling of shame.  God confronts them with their sin and punishes them for their disobedience.  (Genesis 3)

When they went outside of God’s will, correction came.  They immediately felt shame and then God cursed them for their willful disobedience.  From what I gather from the text, Eve and Adam did not think, “Hmm.  I want to make God angry today.  I wonder what the best way to do that is.”  No, they listened to half-truths and it started them both down a wrong path.

When problems arise when we think we are in God’s will, it is always important to start with examining if we really are within His will.  It can be easy to get derailed by so many things in our world.  More than likely you might not even have realized it.  The first actions you need to take are to pray and read your Bible.  All that you need to know about God’s will for your life you will find in the Bible.  And if you pray, he will convict your heart of where you need to go.

And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.  (Matthew 21:22)

Now obviously this does not mean that you just have to believe in Christ, ask for a new car, and you’ll get it.  When taken in context and referenced with other verses, this is talking about if you are seeking what is within God’s will he will answer your prayers.  Do not rush this step; sometimes we can be a little hard of hearing with the buzzing of the world.

If after a time, you see how you have strayed outside of God’s path for you, don’t lose heart.  You can go back to the right path and God will be there for you.

And the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them. (Genesis 3:21)

We learn from this verse that you will still have to deal with the consequences from straying off God’s path, but we also learn that God is merciful and will go the extra step to help us.  He didn’t just throw Adam and Eve out of the garden and say, “Good luck trying to find clothes!”  No, he made clothes for them.  He sacrificed his own creation (the first sacrifice for sin) and covered their nakedness (the outward showing of sin and the covering of righteousness).  Rest assured that he will still be there for you, since he has done the same thing for us through Jesus.

Next week, we will talk about what happens when you still feel you are within God’s will and the problems are still happening.

through His grace alone!

Sarah

Are you struggling with this right now in your life?  It is always helpful if other believers are praying for your guidance and strength.  All you have to do is ask for prayer (and share your story if you are comfortable with it) in the comments section or through email.  You will have at least two prayer warriors on your side.