Sarah Cunningham - 14 Ways to Overcome Burnout: A Portion from The Well-Balanced World Changer

All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.
GANDALF THE GREY

We have to find Gods will for our lives.

We just have to!

Or do we?

No, Im not dismissing the importance of seeking to understand God and live out his principles. No question, God designed life to include certain outcomes. To be productive, for instance, to build families, Those are all givens in my book. Probably in yours too.

What Im really asking is, what does will finding look like? What should it look like? And where did we get our ideas about this whole process?

When some people talk about Gods will, I dont always buy all theyre selling. For example, are Gods intentions really so camouflaged that we must pick apart the planet to find them? That we have to carefully examine the events of every day and every setting, hoping to be attentive enough to correctly piece together some underground plan he has drafted for our lives? That if we accidentally pass over a clue hes planted, well never find Gods will for our lives?

When did the search for Gods will become a Nicholas Cage movie?

Or a race for the five golden tickets randomly wrapped among millions of candy bars?

Does the God of the Bible work like that? The being who hung the stars in space to declare his glory?

Do these verses portray someone who is in hiding? Who covertly communicates with us through buried messages? It makes me wonder.

Not to mention I cant think of a single person to whom Jesus said, Get out your magnifying glass. Pay attention to everything you see, every single day. Verily, verily, I say unto you, God has hidden clues thatif put together correctlywill lead you to the particular blueprint for your life.

So am I denying God is mysterious? No. God is a holy enigma, for sure. He has both traits that are knowable and dimension that keeps us growing and yearning to understand more. What he does next often catches us by surprise.

But heres the thing.

Our expedition to discover Gods will, in my opinion, probably doesnt have to take us much farther than our own bedrooms or living rooms or wherever the nearest Bible is sitting.

Might there be a few things, specific to us, that God wants us to pursue? That is altogether possible.

But may I humbly suggest something before you, especially those of you who are young, wait paralyzing years looking for signs, waiting for God to pick up a Sharpie and write something on your bedroom wall or waiting for the sunset to audibly scream your name?

A whole lot about Gods will is not a mystery.

In the creation narrative, God told Adam and Eve to be fruitful, to multiply, to make good use of the earth. Thats pretty direct.

And Jesus said the will of my Father is that everyone who looks on the Son will believe and have eternal life.

You dont exactly need a decoder ring to figure out that one either.

Or take the command Jesus himself identified as the greatest. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. Or, the commandment he assigned to be the second greatest: Love your neighbor as yourself. Surely something of Gods intentions are mixed up in those, right?

Or perhaps most obviously, consider the Great Commission, Jesus parting instruction to his disciples. Disciple, baptize, teach what I command.

First Thessalonians later adds that giving thanks in all circumstances is the will of God.

And these are just the beginning. We could proof-text hundreds, maybe thousands, of statements that reflect Gods direction about human existence.

We grasp that his will was for humans to:

Enter into relationship with him, to declare him our God and to identify ourselves as his people, to bring blessing to others

Hold him first, honor a Sabbath, to reverence his name

Foster societies that promote the well-being of the whole, where we dont steal, kill, or lie

Nurture fair economies, where the needs of the orphaned, the widow, the poor are met

Show hospitality to foreigners