Discovering God’s Will and Plan for my Life
PART FIVE
IT’S WORTH CONSIDERING
Having determined that we will do “our work” as unto the Lord rather than unto man, we move into the final section of our series. The road to God’s will consists of a series of decisions. Suppose that the principles presented in the previous four parts have led you to choose one course over another. One final test will help determine if your decision aligns with God’s will. Answer the following questions:
1.    Is my decision consistent with Scripture?
2.    Is this decision consistent with the way God has uniquely created and gifted me?
3.    Is this decision consistent with godly counsel?

Is my decision consistent with Scripture?
This one is easy to understand. Simply determine what the Bible says on this issue. You’ll likely end up convinced that your specific issue isn’t dealt with anywhere in the Bible. Then you must determine if it violates any biblical principles. Avoid the temptation to try to make the Bible conform to your decision. We can make God’s word say just about anything if we take verses out of context, so be true to the author’s intended meaning.

Is this decision consistent with the way God has uniquely created and gifted me?
Once we have diligently completed the first question, we must see how our decision meshes with your uniqueness. Does it seem like a natural fit for you” Will it allow you to capitalize on your spiritual gift(s)? Does you decision excite your spirit or your flesh? Does it promote you at the expense of what God seems to be doing in and through you? This question can be difficult. It will take some hard work and some soul searching to reach the “correct” answers, but it will be worth the effort.

Is this decision consistent with godly counsel?
This is the easiest of the three to do, and the easiest to avoid. It requires you to go to some of your “wise and godly” friends to see what they have to say. Hopefully, you won’t have trouble finding three or four people in this category. If you can’t, you’re travelling with the wrong crowd and some drastic changes are in order. Like it or not, we become like our “companions,” so if we want to be godly, we’ve got to be hanging out with godly people. Once you’ve found your group of confidants, have the courage to ask them their opinion. This is extremely important. They can likely see through our smokescreens and nail the real issues. If we seem to have received a green light on every question so far, but our friends say, “Not so fast…” we had better take another look.

AS I SEE IT
If you’re like me, you’re wondering why this whole will determining thing has to be so difficult. Why doesn’t God lay it out for us, saving us all the hassle? Deep down, we know better. We are commanded to seek so we will find, and if we become dedicated seekers, we end up finding more than we ever thought possible. God is looking for people who are willing to work to know Him and His will. He is looking for people whose primary goal is to be an Ambassador for Christ-someone who has determined God’s will for him and is actively ministering in some way to fulfill that will.

If you’ve made it this far and you’re still waiting for me to make it even more simple, here it is: If you’re unsaved, God’s will is that you be saved. If you’re saved, God’s will is that you first of all, seek to know God above all else. Then, and only then, you are to go and make disciples (share your faith and help the new believers to grow in the faith). There it is-as simple as it gets. If you’re doing this, everything else will fall into place (as long as your love for God overshadows your service for God.)

The good news is that it’s never too late for us. Our past failures are of no concern to God, so they shouldn’t be important to us either. What we did or didn’t do yesterday is of far less concern to God than where our heart is today. I hope this series has ministered to you and given you some practical steps to take to keep you in the safest place on earth- in the center of God’s will.

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ON THE LIGHTER SIDE
Why is it called “after dark” when it really is “after light”?