Knowing God's Will

My ears genuinely perk up whenever I hear someone casually say,

“I know this is God’s will for me.”

This is not because I don’t believe a person can actually know God’s will for their life. No.

It’s more because I think a lot of believers make their own plans and then put “this is God’s will for me” as the cherry on top.

God’s ways are not ours, and while our plans might be noble, He isn’t obligated to bring all of them to fruition just because we put our trust in Him. That’s a really hard pill to swallow.

It is God’s will that you live honestly. It is His will that you give generously and with kindness. It is His will that you wait until marriage. You did all of that, but the ending doesn’t quite look like what you imagined...

You might have been honest in school and worked diligently for your certificate while others cut corners, yet God didn’t reward that honesty with a great job—or maybe any job at all.

You might have waited until marriage to bear godly children, yet God has shut your womb.

You might have given freely, hoping to receive in return, yet nothing ever came back.

Sometimes we confuse God’s will for our obedience with God’s promise of a particular outcome. The two are not always the same.

But Scripture gives us one thing we can be absolutely certain of:

“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.”

—1 Thessalonians 5:18

That verse doesn’t ask us to be thankful because every outcome is good or because every prayer is answered the way we hoped.

It calls us to a posture of trust—a gratitude that says, “Lord, even when I don’t understand Your ways, I know You are still good.”

Perhaps the clearest evidence that we’re walking in God’s will isn’t that life unfolds according to our plans, but that we continue to trust, obey, and give thanks—even when it doesn’t.