Taking the Anxiety Out of Finding God's Will

In high school, I had a friend that would always talk about “the will of God.” But not in the way you might think. He was the kind of guy that I would ask about going fishing and he would say something like, “Brother Hunter, I just don’t feel like that’s the will of God for me right now.” and so on and so forth. Well, it wasn’t until I became really familiar with Christianese that I came to understand that that’s spiritual code talk for, “Hunter, I don’t want to go fishing with you.”

Well, we have all grown up hearing about the will of God and with there being so many voices speaking about that subject it can get confusing and bring some anxiety into our lives if we aren’t careful. With that said, how many of you would say that you have found yourself thinking something like this, “Lord, you know I want to honor you with my life, but I am so confused about this relationship, these college options, or what job to pursue and I really wish you would just tell me which way is best?”

If you have found yourself there, don’t worry. I have too. And perhaps you might be in that place right now. With some of you beginning to date, or beginning to think about college or the work force; I have no doubt that you really want to honor God with those decisions, but the thing is that you are full of anxiety about making the right decision there. If that’s you, I want to invite you to look with me in the Bible today to see if we can find some guidance on this subject. But before I get started, I want to lay out one important thing for us and it’s this. There are two wills of God that we find in the Bible, okay? There is one that we will call His decreed will and we find that in Isaiah 46:10

Isaiah 46:10 NKJV

10 Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure,’

This will is one that doesn’t change and will happen no matter what. Now what that means for us as His children is that our loving heavenly Father is in control of whatever is going to happen so we can rest in Him knowing that He loves us.

Second, and this is what we’re talking about today, is the revealed will of God. That is basically what we find God teaching us to do and be in the Bible.

With that said, the text I want us to begin with today is Matthew 6:25-34

Matthew 6:25–34 NKJV

“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

In this passage, Jesus brings up several decisions and concerns that people of that time had on a daily basis that would have understandably plagued that mind. However, among those concerns, Jesus calls them to rest in the kindness of God and to keep their eyes set on the kingdom first and foremost.

With that said, today I want to us to find that when we are contemplating God’s will for our lives, we should ask ourselves these three things:

Am I being kingdom minded here?

World’s greatest theft illustration.

We live in a world today that calls good evil and evil good. And as we look around us we find people wanting to satisfy their own wants over the good of others at any cost. The truth is that if we took just a moment to look back on our own lives, I think we would find that we too live this way on occassion. And if we are this way, then we need to ask ourselves who lives with a kingdom mindset because this is what Jesus commanded us to do!

Who is kingdom minded?

The reality is that there is only one man who has ever been truly kingdom minded and it was Jesus. He heart was always set on the will of His Father. He never got His priorities confused and never valued sinfulness or committed sin. In the Garden of Gethsemane, knowing that He was going to suffer a horrible death, Jesus said, “Father, if it is your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not my will, but yours, be done.”

And why did He have to die? He died so that sinful men like me and you could be set free. We went our own way, we lived as though we could do just fine without God, we value sin over righteousness and love our sin more that God Himself and so Jesus came and died in our place that we might be saved, that our hearts would be renewed, and our lives totally changed for His glory and our good.

So if you belong to Jesus today, you belong to His Kingdom, and you are to be a kingdom minded person.

What does it mean to be kingdom minded?

Being kingdom minded means that I live my life on mission for the glory of God and the good of others. It means that I know that God is working through me in this world and that informs the decisions that I make.

This was Paul’s attitude in 2 Corinthians 5:14-15

2 Corinthians 5:14–15 NKJV

For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.

What does it look like to be kingdom minded in this season of decision making? It looks like:

Viewing opportunities given to you as a chance to become a better instrument to bless others.

Choosing to eliminate sinful temptations because you are set aside for a greater purpose.

So, being kingdom minded means I look at the decisions in front of me and ask, “Which of these will allow me to honor God and bless others most?”

Am I considering God’s word?

Now, how are we going to know what is good and what is sinful? Is it because we feel a certain way about something? Of course not! If that were the case then everyone would agree that Monday mornings are pretty sinful. The way that we know what is right and what is wrong is in the Bible.

In Psalm 119:105 David says,

Psalm 119:105 NKJV

Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.

Now, if we are full of anixety as we walk through this season of decision making and we’re concerned about how dark the world is, then we need to look for light to guide us, don’t we? And since the Bible is that light for our paths, then we need to become familiar with it.

But we need to ask ourselves, “What does it mean to consider God’s word when it comes to decision making?”

Well, we cannot possibly eliminate sinful temptations from our life if we don’t know what sin is according to God’s word so we need to search the Scriptures seeing what God intended for us as people made in His image, what sin has done to us, how Jesus delivered us, and with our hearts full of love as He has redeemed us, we push against the sin in our lives.

What does this look like?

It looks like choosing to break off a relationship that’s leading you into sin.

It looks like choosing to do college locally if you’re not strong in your Christian walk at the moment.

It looks like examining life’s options and eliminating the one’s that involve sin.

Am I consulting biblical authorities?

Proverbs 12:15 NKJV

The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, But he who heeds counsel is wise.

Guys, one of the best pieces of advice that I can give you is to have a teachable heart. If we want to make wise decisions, we need to understand that we really don’t have everything figured out and that God has surrounded us with valuable friends, families, pastors, and teachers to speak into our lives.

What I am not asking you to do is to surround yourself with friends who are going to give you the answer you always want to hear. Rather, I am encouraging you to find several people who are older and wiser and to take the time to really hear what they have to say concerning the decisions you're facing in your life.

Conclusion:

Now, in closing I want to leave you with a twothings to hold on to as you walk through these times of decision making in your life:

Just do something.

In Esther 4, Esther is committed to doing all in her power for the sake of God’s people and she sums it up with, “And if I perish, I perish…” There’s no year long pause or paralyzing doubt. She trutst in the providence of God and makes decisions understanding the principles we’ve seen today.

Now here’s something that might shock you, but it’s what I really need you to get today. If you are walking with Christ, seeking His glory and His wisdom in the Bible, and you’re consulting those who love and want the best for you, then you can do whatever you want. You can go to whichever college you want to go to. You can date the girl that you’re wanting to date. You can play that sport that you’re wanting to play. Because if you are walking with the Lord and you’re wanting to honor Him, then He is your desire and He will guide your desires. So, quit being paralyzed by fear here and just do something, do it with all your strength and do it for the glory of God and the good of others.

Rest in knowing that God is with you.

As a child of God, you are not walking through this season alone. He’s looking over you, He’s guiding your steps, His Spirit is in you. He’s given you His Church to walk with you. You’re not alone.