How to Be Sure of God’s Will

Every day of our lives is to be lived for God’s purpose, according to His plan, and in obedience to His desires. But how can we be certain we are walking in His will, especially in times of difficulty, suffering, or pain?

Each day is filled with decisions, and every choice is an opportunity to ask the Lord what He would have us do. In this message, Dr. Stanley shares principles from Scripture to help us evaluate our circumstances and decisions through the lens of God’s will.

God assures us that whatever we experience, even our difficulties, can be redeemed for our ultimate good. We can know His will even in times of heartache and hardship, and we can thank Him for His empowering presence and unwavering love. For more messages from Charles Stanley, including this week’s broadcast, go to www.intouch.org/watch

Good morning brothers and sisters,Whatever you are,I pray that GOD’S love be with. Wherever you go ,I pray that He will protect you.Whatever you do,I pray that joy will fill your heart. Because you deserve every good gift wonderful life can hold.Amen🙏🏽
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If somebody should ask you the question, what do you Christians mean by the will of God?
What would you say? How would you answer that question? They deserve an answer.
Would you say the will of God refers to the purpose of God, the plan of God, the desire of the heart of God.
If you did. That’s right. God has a plan and a purpose and a desire for all of us.
And oftentimes people never think about the fact that God has a personal interest in them.
They think God is just thinking of this worldwide kind of things.
He, the Bible says, once you trust Jesus as your savior, your name is written in the lamb’s book of life.
So when you think about your relationship to God, and we talk about the will of God, we’re talking about His purpose, His plan, His desire for your life.
That is God didn’t ignore you when you were born, His purpose.
His plan His desire for your life.
And I wonder when is the last time you ever stopped to think now, Lord, where am I in your plan?
Where am I in your purpose? Where am I in your will for my life.
And what I want us to think about in this message is, can we be sure, can we be sure of God’s will and purpose and plan for our life?
And when I think about that, I think about uh what he says in the uh 40th psalm in the eighth verse.
I delight to do your will. Oh my God, your law is written in my heart.
And I think about the people who sit in church week after week, you go to all kind of churches.
Never think about the fact of what’s God’s plan, not, not just what’s, what am I gonna do today?
What’s what, what does God want me to do in this particular situation? But what, what’s his plan?
What’s his purpose? What’s he trying to accomplish in my life?
Did God just put you here just to exist for a while? And they call you home?
No, has a purpose, a plan and a will for your life. The question is, can we be sure?
And the answer is certainly we can.
And when I think about that, I think about the people who go through difficulty, hardship, suffering, pain, all kinds of things.
And they have a right to ask, well, God, if you have a will for my life, how does all this fit into your will?
Well, when you and I are walking in the will of God, whatever He allows is for our good.
It’s hard to take sometimes, but it is true.
And so when we talk about the whole question of, can we be sure? Yes, we can be sure.
So I wanna talk about several categories of, of God’s will and we’ve talked about this before.
So here are the categories about God’s will.
The first one is this, the predestined will of God is his sovereign control.
This is what he’s going to do, what he’s going to accomplish and nobody can stop it.
His sovereign will, his predestined will, his moral will for our life.
That is how he intends for us to live. The 10 commandments would be a good example of that.
And they apply to everybody. Then his desired will.
That is what does God desire for us in the Christian life?
What does he desire for us from the very beginning? And then his circumstantial will.
That is what’s His will for our life?
When we mess it up, we want to live a Godly life, then we must know how to respond to the circumstances of our life.
And so then the last question, what’s his immediate will? That is what is His will today in your life.
So they’re all different sections of thought about the will of God and all of them are important and all of them applied to all of us.
So ask yourself the question, what about His pre destiny? Will his moral will?
His desire will his circumstantial will is what we have to deal with every day.
What’s your will for my life today?
Lord, in this situation, when you get to work tomorrow, you may have to make a decision.
We’re always making decisions. But the question is this as a follower of Jesus, am I asking the right question?
And that is Lord, what’s your will in this particular situation?
Not what he thinks, she thinks, they think what could happen, but what’s your will?
So when you look at it, you are faced with a decision about your job, whatever it might be, you have to make a decision about it.
You have to make a decision about your morals.
You go to work tomorrow and somebody passes something to you and you have to make a decision or you’re gonna turn it down or you’re gonna ignore it or you’re gonna accept it.
You have to make a decision, for example of how you relate to money of, of what, what happened yesterday or tomorrow.
In other words, every aspect of our life is gonna be scrutinized by the will of God because remember this, he’s already chosen the best route, you say, well, but I didn’t become a Christian till I was 40.
That’s ok. But the next 40 or 50 or 60 what about His will for that?
And remember this, that God knowing us perfectly knows how we came into the world, what our advantages were, what our disadvantages were what our opportunities were, what our parents knew, how they need to raise us and not raise us.
All of that is a part of God’s wisdom and knowledge and His grace and goodness and mercy in working in our hearts throughout our life.
But what is the will of God for our life today? His purpose and plan.
So I wanna give you a number of statements that will help you confirm in your own mind and heart.
This is or this is not the will of God. So a test to confirm God’s will.
Here’s the first question. Is this decision consistent with or in agreement with the word of God?
Is this decision you’re making? Is it an agreement with the word of God?
And you, and I can think of a lot of things that are not in agreement with the word of God that people practice.
This is a part of confirming His will for your life. And then is it a wise decision?
And you say, well, how can I tell whether it’s a wise decision or not?
Here’s how you tell, listen carefully. You ask yourself the question, what are the consequences if I do this?
And so what will the consequences be not what I’d like for them to be? What will they be?
There are always consequences to their decisions, whether we plan it or not, whether we like it or not, there are consequences that are unavoidable and this is why we should teach our Children and grandchildren early in life that there are consequences to your decisions.
You, you, you can’t make decisions without some consequence. It may be a good consequence. Certainly we’d hope so.
Maybe not. But it depends upon your motive, depends upon your relationship to God.
But watch this, think about this. You’re living out the will of God or out of the will of God.
Every moment of your life, you’re awake.
You can lie in the bed on Sunday morning and not come to the church.
What’s the will of God? His will is that you be somewhere worshiping him.
And so we’re either in Israel, out of His will.
So what are the circumstances things that we need to consider in our life because your life is affecting somebody else’s life.
No one in here is living in a capsule.
You are affecting in some degree to in some way somebody else’s life.
They watch you, they hear you, they watch how you dress, they see how you act, how you respond the will of God His purpose and plan and desire for your life and we won’t live it up perfectly, but he has a will.
That’s for our benefit as well as for the Kingdom of God. So, is it a wise decision?
What are the consequences? Then number three, can I honestly ask God to enable me to achieve whatever I’m going through with this decision?
Can I honestly ask him to help me to achieve it.
So think about the last big decision in your life. Did you ask God about that decision?
You say, what do you mean? B well, you know what a, what a very serious decision is?
Did you ask him about it or did you say? Well, I’m gonna toss a coin.
How foolish or did you say? Well, I’ve got three choices.
I’m gonna just uh think about them and make a choice.
I’m mature enough to make choices for my life. We’re all mature or maturing to a point.
There are some decisions. None of us, neither one of us is adequate to make wisely without God’s direction and help.
For the simple reason, we live in a world that supposed to God, that supposed the righteousness, that suppose the Godly decisions.
And so one thing you have to remember decisions we make will affect us no matter what we think.
Somebody says, well, you know, that just happened once. Yes, that’s right.
Sometimes things happen once but have a lifetime of consequences.
So the question is, can I honest to ask God to enable me to do this?
And somebody says, well, I prayed about it. Well, well, how long did you pray?
Well, I, I just ask Him if that would be ok if I bought this or did this or the other.
That’s not really asking God you make your, your mind and then ask him to sort of approve of what you’ve done or said the, listen, the will of God has continuing consequences in some decisions through the rest of your life till the day you die.
That’s why the Christian life is not a whole hum kind of life.
It is a serious relationship to God because it affects your life, your purpose, your plans and his desire for your life.
All of these questions are very important. Then, of course, do I have genuine peace?
Do I have genuine peace about this decision I’m facing?
And one of those questions that it comes along with that is this, is this the right timing, watch this carefully.
It may be the will of God that you do or whatever that may be.
But is it the right timing and people make serious decisions that cost very costly decisions because they stepped ahead of God or too late?
So you have to ask yourself a question.
Uh Do I have, do I have peace about this or do you say?
Well, you know, I’m gonna go ahead and make this decision. God understands. Let me tell you something.
He sure does understand. He understands when I’m selfish.
He understands when I’m, when I’m just making the decision and saying, well, it’s gonna be ok.
I’ve talked to God about it, what you’ve done.
You’ve just said, well, Lord, here’s, here’s what I think is the best thing for me to do.
Here’s what I’m gonna do. There are serious decisions that we don’t take seriously major decisions that we think.
Well, I asked God about it and he said it’s ok. Some people have told me things are ok.
And, and when I’ve been around the Bible, I just take the word of God and say, well, how do you say that’s ok?
When God said thou shalt not?
Or he said it in some other fashion, life is serious business because every decision has its consequence, consequences can be fantastic or they can be very costly.
You say, well, what’s this piece got to do with it when you are walking in the will of God?
And you ask him about a question, some decision you’re having to make when it’s His will, he will give you a sense of peace.
Now you say, what, what do you mean by peace?
I mean, there will be a sense of quietness in your spirit.
There will be no sense of irritation going on within you.
There will not be any crowding of doubts into your mind. You won’t be asking somebody else.
What do you think when you have the peace of God? There’s this overwhelming sense of Yes, Lord.
Thank you, Jesus. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.
You and somebody says, well, I don’t know that I’ve ever had that feeling in this because you haven’t stopped to ask God Lord, what would you have me to do?
Listen, watch this. God’s not gonna keep a secret from you when you want to do the right thing.
He’s going to show you what to do every time. And that should start early in life.
And sometimes the less opportunities we have in life early in life, the more it drives us to God.
And you know, I grew up with no father.
And so it drove me to God very early in my life after I got saved when I was 12.
And I learned enough right after I was saved to know that prayer was the secret to everything.
And so I learned to listen to God very early. And how did I learn to listen? Not listening.
That’s why you, that’s one way you learn to listen is not listening. And so what happens?
You suffer the consequences and if you’re wise, you won’t take you long to realize it’s always wise to listen to God.
He’s willing to speak to your heart, whether you’re 12 or 100 and 12. Very important.
And God will give us peace when that’s exactly what we need.
And then you have to ask yourself the question is this consistent with the way God works.
In other words, with the way He works in the scriptures uh through different characters in the Bible.
Uh Can I, can I do this and know that I have his approval?
Listen, if it’s consistent with the will of God, it’ll be consistent with the word of God.
So if you’re in the process of making a decision and you should teach your Children very, very early in life that when they’re making the decision before they make a decision, ask God about it, you say, well, what, what does a 12 year old kid know about asking God?
I tell you, I believe anybody who genuinely wants to know the will of God for their life.
God will show them that you’re living in sin and distant from him. That’s a whole different question.
What he’s gonna show you is you need to get right with Him.
But the question is, is this consistent with what God says? You said, well, how will I know that?
You turn to the word of God? You said, well, I don’t know where to turn.
I’ll tell you what I learned. I had my mother’s big Bible and I had a big index.
If I want to know something about anything, I get her Bible turn to the index and see if I found a word that had to do with what I was dealing with.
You can find something about any subject. And so the question is, is it consistent with what God says?
And you can find out? And people say, well, you know what I think this is OK?
Is that what God said? No. And sometimes the word of God is so explicit, this is absolutely sin.
And people say, well, I’ve prayed about it. And I think it’s OK.
So sometimes I think people are afraid to open the word of God because what it will do, it will expose your life.
It will expose your life.
If you, if you’re being obedient to God, yes, you, you’ll know it.
If you’re being disobedient to God, he will lead you to the verses that warned you not to partake in a particular area of your life.
Then of course, does this fit who I am as a follower of Jesus Christ?
And that should settle a lot of things.
Does this action fit who I am as a follower of Jesus?
Not as a church member, not as somebody who claims to be a Christian, but as a follower of Jesus that is born again, claimed to be saved by the grace of God wanna do his will.
Does this fit that that does this, does this fit who I am as a follower of Jesus Christ, for example, does my language fit that does my dress fit?
That does my responses fit that do my actions fit that that is does it fit when you obey the Lord Jesus Christ?
What’s gonna happen? Is this your actions are going to fit who you claim to be?
So people who know you as a follower of Jesus as a Christian, would they say of you?
Well, their conversation fits that certainly she dresses like that. Certainly he treats people like that.
That is. In other words, it’s real simple. Here’s what he says. The question is, how do I act?
What do I say? How do I respond? How do I dress since I’m a follower of Jesus?
Does this really and truly fit who I am? Then? Of course, another question.
Does this act fit God’s overall plan for my life?
For example, let’s say you got saved and you want to be baptized and you ask your questions.
A simple one. Should I get baptized? Now, what is the word of God say? Sure, you should.
So not a question about that, but then there’s those decisions like in your office, they’re having a big party and you know, they’re gonna drink any corrals and whatever it might be.
And do you have to ask God shall I go or not?
You shouldn’t have to ask him because it is an atmosphere you don’t fit in.
It’s an atmosphere that you’re not comfortable in.
It’s an atmosphere that doesn’t fit who you claim to be and who you are.
And so if I’m walking in, the will of God, things are gonna fit.
If I’m not walking in his wheel, they’re not gonna fit.
And so I, my mother told me some time ago, she said my daughter was getting ready to leave and when I saw what she was wearing, I told her there’s no way you’re getting out of this house, which was a wise woman because what she was saying is you don’t dress that way because that’s not who you are, that doesn’t fit who you are.
And so there’s no inconsistencies in the will of God. So you ask yourself the question.
Well, Lord does what I do fit who I claim to be in your family where you work or in school or whatever it might be.
Does your action, your conversation, your conduct fit who you claim to be?
So ask yourself that question. There should be consistency. Here’s who I say I am.
Here’s how I act. But if here’s what I say I am and this is the way I act.
Probably the greatest hindrance to the Christian life is Christians acting other than who they say they are our testimony, our witness, our influence, you teach your Children and your grandchildren, how they are to respond to situations and circumstances.
Is that the way you act? Listen, you say, well, nobody’s perfect. We’re not talking about being perfect.
We are talking about living a life of obedience to the word of God that is you can improve on God’s plan for your life.
And then of course, will this decision honor God if you make a decision, can you say that it’s in keeping with the word of God that I can make this decision?
And when I get on my knees or when you pray before you go to bed at night, you don’t have any of this ruffling scuffling going on in your heart because you obeyed him.
Listen carefully in the decision that keeps you awake at night and you can’t sleep.
You should ask yourself the question why?
Now, I know we can be concerned for people whom we love that maybe going through a tough time.
But when it comes to your life, if you can’t sleep at night and you’re not sick and you roll and toss and tumble and uh you sort of think about a lot of things when God brings something to your mind, don’t let it pass without dealing with it.
Do you know why he does it to protect you watch over you care for you because He loves you?
God will send things into our life that we don’t like to protect us from things that He knows we wouldn’t like if we got into it.
He’s a loving God.
He has the best plan and the reason why, what do you think people, why do people get on drugs?
Why do they become addicts or alcoholics?
What is it going on in a person’s heart that would cause them to drink so much?
They can’t be themselves and know that one of these days they could have an accident or they could just die.
What is it? People are trying to cover up. I can’t answer that question.
I wouldn’t even attempt to try, but I don’t have to answer a question for them.
You and I have to answer the question for ourselves.
Here’s where we are, here’s where God has led us so far.
And my, my purpose and plan is to be obedient to God through the last moment of my life.
And you can’t ever go wrong with that.
Then of course, the question is, will this decision result in unrest and regret for the rest of my life?
There are decisions people make, they never outlive, they never get over it.
They’re still talking about it. And there are a lot of years of life.
If, how many times have I heard this?
IFI D A if I, if I’d have done this, if I would have thought about that, if I would have just known about this?
If I, if I, if I, and if I usually end up with some suffering, a heartache, a regret of some sort.
Think about this. God has your very best in mind.
He works to get you to do the right thing.
And if you ignore him, there are consequences, then can I expect God to reward me for this decision?
Think about the decisions you make or thinking about making.
Can God reward you for making that decision?
And if you think about it, there’s some big time serious decisions you have to make in life, serious decisions that affect not only you but other people.
So you ask yourself the question.
Can I expect God to reward me or treating her or Him this way, are doing this or that are going here or there are participating in this.
They can, I expect God to bless me. Reward me as a result of that.
If you just think about these sermons on the will of God, it’s all about obeying God.
It’s all about how you live in your life.
It’s all about what you’re going to do, how you’re going to think God has a plan, a purpose and a desire for your life.
And he’s all for what’s best for you. He’s all for what’s good for you.
Your name is written in the lamb’s book of life and he wants to keep everything else right?
You and I have to decide, am I gonna trust him with my life?
Watch this, think about this for a moment. You trusted him with your eternity.
You were born again. Your name is written in the lamb’s book of life.
And you said, God, I’m trusting you that when I die, I’m going to be in heaven with you.
If you can trust God for that, which is an eternal decision.
Can you not trust Him for daily decisions that are not nearly so important? Yes, you can.
God has a purpose of plan a desire for your life.
You say, well, suppose I missed about half of it. Well, this God disappointed.
Well, he knew you were gonna miss half of it before you were born. So God isn’t disappointed.
He’s willing to step into your life at any moment, at any place, you are willing to welcome him and ask him to straighten things out.
God, I know I’m heading in the wrong direction. I’m asking you to forgive me.
Would you please give me direction for my life at this point? Will he? Yes, he will. Suppose.
You’ve suppose you’ve missed about, let’s say three quarters of your life is gone and nobody knows whether that’s true or not.
You can be 21 it’s true or you could be 100 and it’s true. Whatever it might be.
Are you willing to say to him? Lord, I want your will.
I, I want, I want you, I want, I want your best plan for my life, whatever that is and I’m willing to surrender whatever needs to be surrendered, willing to change whatever needs to be changed.
But I want your best. Would you be the one to tell him that you want his best in your life?
You will to change whatever needs to be changed?
That’s the wisest decision you can make.
Lord, I want your will whatever that requires and I want to live in it the rest of my life.
Let me tell you how that starts.
If you have never trusted Jesus as your savior, this is not gonna work.
It’s when you surrender your life to him, confessing your sins, repenting of them, turning away from him, surrendering your life to Him, then you become a child of God.
Then the two of you from that moment on make decisions together if you’re willing to listen.
But right now you’re without Jesus, you’re by yourself.
You can’t expect God to give you wisdom.
If you have rejected His son, you may luck out as you say and do a few things, right?
Or you may do really well as far as the world is concerned, but there’s a payday coming and you will have to give an account for a life of disobedience and rebellion that paid off for you that made you rich, made you famous.
You, you name it, but all out of the will of God, all in opposition to God’s purpose and plan for your life.
And remember this, you’ll never make enough money to pay off. God.
You’ll never be famous enough that you will be accepted by God.
It’s the blood of Jesus that cleanses us from sin that makes us one of his Children.
Father. We love you and praise you and thank you that you love us enough to take personal interest in our life.
And I pray that every person who hears this message will take it seriously eternal is serious.
Boy. This is the truth that wherever they may be at this moment, surrender their life to you as savior, Lord and surrender their life to you as a habit is a natural part of their life every day in Jesus.
Name. Amen.