Discovering God's Will

Discovering God’s Will

Ken Hathcoat

Copyright © 2018 Kenneth Hathcoat, LLC

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Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture reference in this publication are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Other versions used include: the New American Standard Bible (NASB), copyright © The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977. All rights reserved. Used by permission. The Amplified Bible, copyright © 1954, 1958, The Lockman Foundation, copyright © 1962, 1964, 1965, Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Used by permission. The New King James Version (NKJV); copyright © 1979, 1980. 1982, by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved, The Revised Standard Version (RSV); copyright © 1946, 1952, 1971 by Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. References, Copyright 1959 by Thomas Nelson Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

ISBN:1548962805

ISBN-13:978-1548962807

Ebook formatting by www.ebooklaunch.com

To all those who earnestly and honestly seek to know God’s will for their lives

CONTENTS

1. CLARIFYING THE QUESTION

2. PREREQUISITES TO THE PROCESS

3. ABRAHAM: A JOURNEY OF TRUST

4. NEHEMIAH: GOD’S INVISIBLE GUIDING HAND

5. SHADRACH, MESHACH, AND ABEDNEGO: DOING THE KNOWN WILL OF GOD

6. PROCESS TO A PATH

7. DANIEL: CONFESSION BEFORE REVELATION

8. DAVID: CONSTANT COMMUNION

9. NAOMI: DRIVEN BY CIRCUMSTANCES

10. MARY: LED BY CIRCUMSTANCES

11. PAUL: NOT ABOVE COUNSEL

12. PAUL: ANALYZING THE INNER VOICE

13. FLEECES, FORTUITOUSNESS AND FAITH

14. ELIEZER: FINDING A NEEDLE IN A HAYSTACK

15. THE APOSTLES AND CHANCE

16. PETER: THE STEP OF FAITH

17. FINAL THOUGHTS

ENDNOTES

OTHER BOOKS BY KEN HATHCOAT

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

1

CLARIFYING THE QUESTION

Discovering God’s will is not a math problem. If it was, it would be relatively simple to discover the answer to a given issue. I could devise an equation that had the unchangeable constants of God’s Word, plug in variables such as my own unique spiritual gifts and talents, and factor in secondary variables such as the needs of my family and friends, as well as my personal dreams and ambitions. Then I could run the equation, and the answer from that equation would solve God’s will for any given issue in my life. If I had doubts about the answer, just like any other math problem, I could work the equation backwards, in order to prove the reliability of my work.

Except, of course, discovering God’s will isn’t a math problem. There isn’t a singular, one-size-fits-all solution for discovering God’s will on earth. Nor can I even provide a singular answer to the question, What is God’s will for my life? In some ways, when we look at the bigger picture of this issue, it isn’t even a fair question to ask.

Here’s what I mean: if you were to ask me, What is God’s will for my life?, I could provide some simple answers using direct scriptural references.

John 6:40

"For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day."

1 Thessalonians 4:3

For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality….

1 Peter 2:15

For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.

I can categorically state that God’s will for your life is that if you genuinely believe in Jesus as your Savior, you will be given eternal life. It is also God’s will that you should keep yourself free from sexual sin and strive to be a testimony to unredeemed people of His life-changing work in you. Yet while those answers might help somewhat, I don’t think those answers would satisfy your question. Those and several other biblical commands and worldview statements would certainly be relevant regarding following God’s will for your life, but what you probably meant by the question I posed was something like, What would God have me do with my life here on earth? What direction or path should I be following regarding my work, ministry, family, etc.?

To those questions, you already know I couldn’t give a precise answer. It’s not simply because God does not clearly articulate His specific plans for other Christians through me, but because those plans are dynamic, not static. God’s will for you in your twenties may be completely different for what His will for you is in your forties. For that matter, what God’s will for your life today versus two years from now may be completely unimaginable to you. It’s not because God’s plan for us is changing. It has been set since the foundation of the world. But our perception of what it is now versus what it will be in the future makes it seem dynamic and volatile. That’s the dilemma with offering bumper-sticker answers for discovering God’s will for your life.

There are two directions I could go regarding this difficult topic. One would be to meticulously cover every aspect of what the Bible states God wants us to do and how we should do those things. I would also need to biblically analyze every possible way God has used to communicate and execute His will, and the deeper meaning those ways may influence our lives (the role of randomness, the choices of other people—both believers and non-believers, etc..) That, in turn, would require me to delve into a much deeper and longer discussion regarding predestination and human choice, for this topic is foundational regarding any discussion in how to determine God’s will. I don’t think a book like that would be very helpful for most Christians, and it certainly wouldn’t be very appealing reading.

The other direction I could go would be to briefly outline several clear concepts that can be found in the Bible for how to determine God’s will for your life. Some of these concepts found in Scripture are straight forward and may seem simple, but like many seemingly obvious verses in the Bible, there are also deeper truths to be gleaned from these Bible passages. Conversely, some concepts regarding God’s will are only hinted at in the Bible. They are best understood by putting ourselves into the narrative of believers who were also trying to discover God’s will for their lives, and then make observations from their real-time perspectives.

That latter choice is the direction this book will take. I will outline several straightforward and nuanced biblical themes regarding determining God’s will by studying several men and women in the Bible whose lives are probably quite familiar to you. But first, we need to examine some general principals regarding God’s will.

2

PREREQUISITES TO THE PROCESS

2 Samuel 22:31

This is God—his way is perfect; the word of the LORD proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.

In politics, there is a saying: You have to know where someone sits before you know where they stand. In other words, you have to know someone’s general foundational assumptions on an issue before you can properly evaluate the details of their position. In a similar way, before you begin to determine what is God’s will for you regarding some specific issue, you first need to establish at least three foundational assumptions concerning what the Bible says a Christian’s attitude should be regarding how to discover God’s will in general.

Commit yourself to doing God’s will

John 6:38

"For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me."

Jesus was routinely challenged by the Pharisees about His authority regarding what He said and what He did. Jesus’ simple answer in John 6:38 was that He did and said what God the Father wanted Him to say and do. Jesus’ mindset was to do whatever God wanted Him to do, regardless of where that took Him, regardless of the consequences.

We need to have that same attitude before we even begin to seek God’s will. That seems obvious, doesn’t it? What Christian who is serious about his walk with God wouldn’t want to commit to doing God’s will? Yet, I have often found myself subconsciously putting disclaimers on Jesus’ statement in John 6:38 when I seek His will regarding some issue. I want to follow Your will, Lord—as long as Your will looks mostly like this picture in my mind. Or, I will do whatever You want me to do, Lord—as long as it’s not that.

Jesus didn’t have any disclaimers in His statement. We need to do the same. We need to commit ourselves to doing God’s will, regardless of what that is, before we move forward in the process of determining His will. Because we are human (finite and fallible), we have an image in our minds of what God’s will should look like.

Matthew 7:13-14

"Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few."

The problem with projecting outcomes is that I can’t see the ultimate result of my decisions over time. Therefore, when I come to a fork in the road regarding a decision, I can’t know for certain—based on my own reasoning—that the path that looks good to me is the correct path. However, God is omniscient (He knows everything). He already knows how everything began and how it will all end (Isaiah 46:9-10). While Jesus was speaking of salvation in Matthew 7:13-14, I can generally apply this biblical truth to discovering God’s will. God knows there are paths that look good to me at first, but actually lead me to a dead-end cliff. Conversely, God knows that certain paths look narrow and difficult, but in the end, they lead to life and peace.

God is also holy (He is perfectly good in all He thinks, says, and does). He is not motivated by selfish ambition, nor does He deceive (Numbers 23:19). His desire is to always do what is good (James 1:17) and to bring goodness into the lives of His sons and daughters (Matthew 7:9-11).

Jeremiah 17:5 (NKJV)

The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked; who can know it?

People, however, are sinners (selfish and self-deceived). So even though I may try to objectively look at a decision through the light of God’s Word and His indwelling Spirit, my motives are not always pure. Jeremiah