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One of the most common questions asked by a college student is, “How do I know the will of God?” Whether this is declaring a major, looking for a spouse, or deciding between multiple job offers, there seems to be a universal desire among those walking with Christ to know the will of God without any lingering doubt. This is certainly a noble desire for a Christian to have. However, often times this desire develops into a paralyzing fear of ending up outside the will of God. For those who have ever been consumed with this fear or even faced this question, I have some encouragement for you. What if finding the will of God isn’t as complicated as we make it? What if God doesn’t desire to hide His will from us?

The good news is that when we look at Scripture we see an approach that seems to gives us a certain amount of freedom in discerning God’s will. First, we are asked a simple question: How is your walk with Christ? Is he the treasure of your life? Are you completely satisfied with him? Before anything else can fall into place, this must be right. If you are not walking with Jesus, you are most certainly not “in God’s will”. 1 Thessalonians 4:3 tells us rather bluntly, “This is the will of God for you: your sanctification.” It is without question God’s will for you to walk with Him, be dependent on Him, and satisfied by Him.

Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” Seems like a quaint verse right? One that many of us have seen on a coffee cup. Well, let’s unpack this meaning real quick. Does this mean if I am walking with Jesus I can ask anything I want or do anything I desire? Absolutely not, it means that when we are walking with Him he will actually change the desires of our heart. In the same way an individual with a faulty physical heart may have a new one transplanted. When we know Christ and are walking with him our heart is transplanted for one with new desires.

So, the first step is you must be walking with Christ. After this is established we must ask the question: How does God reveal himself or His will? Many of us have been taught that if we are walking with Christ, he will somehow, through various signs or revelations reveal or confirm his will for us. If we are considering a new job, maybe He will wake us up in the middle of the night and whisper His choice. If we are looking for a spouse, maybe that person will appear with subtle glow, surely signaling that the Almighty approves. Of course, in the Bible God spoke to Elijah “in the still small voice.” If we are dependent on God won’t we hear this still small voice? Well, I hate to (really love) tell you but the answer is no.

Hebrews 1:1 tells us, “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by His Son”. What does this mean for you and I as we go about our daily life? It means that God has been gracious to us. No longer are we dependent on a revelation from a prophet, no longer must we wait on the audible voice of God. God has revealed Himself and His will to us through His Son, in His Word. So, we delight in Christ, we know his Word, then what?

 This is pretty easy when God’s Word speaks directly to a topic but what about when the Bible doesn’t address something? The Bible surely doesn’t give you the name of your wife and certainly doesn’t tell you whether to work for Charles Schwabb or Morgan Stanley. What then? Well, if you are delighting yourself in Christ, you trust that he has implanted His desires within you and you….wait for it….do what you want!

Simple, huh? Thankfully God did not intend to hide His will from us. In fact, he has given us His Word so that we may know His will and He has given us His desires so that we may follow in it. When God doesn’t want you to go down a certain path, He will stop it. Until then: love Jesus, know God’s Word, then follow your desires!

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