What Is God’s Will for My Life? (10 Absolutes)
An oak leaf falls to its final resting place on pale grass—russet and scaled with age. I consider the sights it saw from its perch high above and imagine its six short months were filled with wonder. I’m in the woods tonight to pray about God’s will for my life.
I’m not trying to discern an impacting career change or a move across the country. I simply want to create space to assess the rhythms of my days and make sure I’m still in step with my Guide.
Twenty years ago, I sat in this same span of forest and asked similar questions about God’s will for my life. I had big questions about my calling and my future. I wanted to know where God wanted me to live and what he wanted me to do with my days.
In the years since those big decisions of my early twenties, I’ve learned a few lessons about God’s will for my life.
God’s Will for My Life
I’ve learned God is more concerned with how we live than where we live.
He’s more concerned with how we use our lives to bring souls into his kingdom than exactly where we choose to do so.
You might feel overwhelmed about an important decision in your life. Seek God’s will. Pray. Find wise counsel. Make sure your choice lines up with Scripture. Use common sense. And then make the best decision you can make.
Once you’ve taken these steps, relax.
God’s will for your life is about how you live more than where {live or what you choose as a job.
10 Truths About God’s Will for My Life
Let’s look at 10 absolutes that are always God’s will for our lives from Scripture. Be sure to read to the end of today’s post for a free devotional eBook to help you draw near to God and walk in his will for your life.
1. God’s will for my life is that I come to saving faith in Christ (1 Timothy 2:4).
“[God] wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”
God’s greatest desire is for a relationship with you. There is only one path to a relationship with God: receiving Jesus as the Savior and Leader of your life.
Have you received God’s forgiveness through Jesus and decided to follow him? This is the first, and most important truth about God’s will for your life.
2. God’s will for my life is an attitude of thankfulness (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
“Give thanks without ceasing.”
Gratitude changes us. Cultivating appreciation directly changes the way the neurons in our brain function, opening neural pathways that lead to relational connection, purpose, and joy.
If giving thanks is not a natural part of your daily rhythm, consider starting a gratitude list. Or begin each day by thanking God for a few of his blessings.
Studies show that five minutes of gratitude every morning for 30 days can shift a person’s countenance.
3. God’s will for my life is to have a joyful countenance (1 Thessalonians 5:16).
“Be joyful always.”
As we learn to be thankful, our joy increases.
God’s will includes a life of peace and joy. He wants others to be drawn to his goodness through you. If your life lacks joy, ask God to show you how to cultivate deeper joy. He will guide you.
4. God’s will for my life is prayerfulness (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
“Pray without ceasing.”
God’s greatest desire is for a relationship with each of his children. We grow closer in our relationship with God through prayer.
Just as human relationships are strengthened through communication, we will never grow closer to God if we don’t talk and listen to him.
5. God’s will for my life is that I love him with my whole heart. (Luke 10:27).
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind.”
When asked what the greatest command entailed, Jesus declared that we are to love God will our strength.
Ultimately, if we love God, we will obey him. Our loving relationship will guide every decision, and we will walk in his will.
6. God’s will for my life is that I love others (Luke 10:27).
He answered, “’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’ and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
The second part of this verse is that we are to love others as we love ourselves.
Our highest calling is to love God and love others.
7. God’s will for my life is to make his love known to the world around me (John 13:34).
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”
As we love our brothers and sisters in Christ, God’s love is revealed through us.
We stay in step with God’s will when we love all people, even those who feel like enemies.
8. God’s will for my life is to put others before yourself (Philippians 2:3).
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves.”
When Jesus came to earth, he humbled himself to dwell among us and serve us.
We are to follow his example by serving others.
9. God’s will for my life is to seek him first (Matthew 6:33).
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
When we seek God first, he provides all we need.
10. God’s will for my life is to count everything a loss compared to knowing him (Philippians 3:8).
“What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ.”
When knowing Jesus and making him known to the world is our highest aim, we walk in God’s will.
God’s Will for My Life
Let’s sit with the last truth on our list for a few minutes.
When I first decided to walk with the Lord, the words of Philippians 3:8 nearly jumped off the page at me. The translation I was reading at the time put it this way: “What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ” (NIV).
Are you chasing the wrong center?
I realized my life didn’t align with this verse.
All my life, I’d been chasing success, perfectionism, status, and achievement. I did not count these pursuits as garbage compared to knowing Christ. In response to my realization, I asked the Lord to change my heart. I made Philippians 3:8 my life verse, and God worked in me in powerful ways as a result.
The more I learned to seek Jesus first, the more the rest of my life fell into place.
My circumstances weren’t always easy. In fact, in some ways, life became harder as I pursued Christ more intimately. But I also found great purpose and meaning in my life. I had focus. I worried less about where God led me and more about how I pointed the world to him as I lived my life.
Through knowing God, we come to know what we’re supposed to do with our lives.
Through knowing God, we come to know what we’re supposed to do with our lives. #KnowingGod #GodsWill #FollowingJesus Share on XIf we seek God with our whole hearts, the rest falls into place. We will be compelled to set our desires aside. The difference between our desires and God’s plans becomes astonishingly clear. We ache for the pain of others. We willingly step into the heartbreak of the hurting. We’re compelled to bring the love of Christ to a broken and hurting world.
Life becomes less about figuring something out and more about being available.
Do you want to know the will of God?
Love him with all you have. Make the best decisions you can possibly make. When two equal paths are set before you, ask for direction, and then make the best decision you can make.
Be thankful. Stay joyful. Be prayerful. Love well. Put others first. Look for God. He is with you. He wants to be your everything. This is God’s will for your life: Make him your everything, and everything else will be given to you at the right time.
This is God’s will for your life: Make him your everything, and everything else will be given to you at the right time. #Godswill #willofGod #followingJesus Share on XCalling All Parents (and Grandparents)!
As the parent of two sons and a daughter, I have a heart for helping parents develop deeper relationships with their children and with God. Our kids, ages 6, 11, and 15, share this vision. They have helped me write three family devotionals for parents or older relatives to read with the children and teens they love. You can find all three books here or read more below.
Calling All Boy Moms (and Dads)!
God’s Warrior: Devotions for Boys Who Want to Grow in Courage and Strength helps young boys, ages 5-13, learn what it means to trust God and become strong warriors for his kingdom. Now, more than ever, our world needs men who are willing to boldly carry God’s love into the world. I wrote this boys’ devotional book with our two young sons, Aiden and Caleb, ages six and eleven! You’ll enjoy their honesty as we teach boys how to be strong warriors for the Lord. Find this life-changing devotional book here.
Mother-Daughter Devotionals by a Mom and Daughter
Girl to Girl: 60 Mother-Daughter Devotions for a Closer Relationship and Deeper Faith is written for girls ages 7-12. It includes 60 devotions with Scripture, conversation starters, and a shared journaling section for moms and daughters after each devotion. I wrote this book with the help of our daughter, Bekah, when she was eleven. Find this one-of-a-kind shared devotional here.
Heart to Heart: A Mother-Daughter Devotional With 50 Devotions for Teen Girls is for teenage girls ages 13-20. It includes 50 devotions, each with a shared journaling section to help moms and daughters connect through writing. This is a great book for moms who want to communicate about awkward topics—like dating, sexuality, peer pressure, and more—but don’t know where to start. Bekah and I will help you right here.
Find Our Family Devotionals Here
Find all three books right here. They are also free on the Kindle Unlimited plan, which you can enjoy with a free three-month trial! These books make great gifts, and you don’t need to be the parent of young children to read them. Share them with your grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or the young ones you love.
Learn Why Willpower Doesn’t Work and Experience God’s Deliverance and Healing
God wants to work in your life to accomplish what you’ve been unable to do through willpower alone. Lean Into Grace: Let God’s Grace Heal Your Heart, Refresh Your Soul, and Set You Free shares practical ways to experience God’s freedom, healing, power, and presence in your life. Find this life-changing book as a free eBook on Kindle Unlimited or for 12.99 in print right here. (If you do not have Kindle Unlimited, you can try it out with a free three-month trial!) This book will transform your life and revitalize your relationship with the Lord!
A Free Devotional to Help You Find Peace in God’s Presence
I invite you to create space for God to transform your life by downloading a free copy of my devotional eBook, The Lean Into Grace Devotional: An 8-Day Devotional for Healing, Deliverance, and Replenishment. Find it for free here. I also offer a library of free online devotional eBooks for free. I invite you to explore the collection right here!
