God’s Will for Your Life

What is God’s will for my life?

There is a way to know God’s will so that you can be confident that you are where you should be

Big idea: God’s will for tomorrow starts with my walk today.

God’s will is not first and foremost about the future - In Scripture, Gods will is primarily a present reality - Who you are, not what you will do

If we are going to be confident about living in God’s will tomorrow, it is going to start with what I do today

[Bridge Question] So what do we need to do today to be confident of God’s will tomorrow?

Today I must…

Know my limits (13-14)

We tend to think we are far more capable than we actually are

And we think that our planning accomplishes far more than it actually does

James 4:13–14 “Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.”

Hevel - Hebrew - Vanity/meaningless

Application - Planning your future career, marriage, or financial security as if it all rests on your effort.

We lose trust in God and instead increase the pressure and expectation on ourselves

When I know my limits, I can understand that I can’t hold tomorrow, but I can trust God today.

Know my Lord (15)

God is not limited like us

I think a lot of our anxiety comes from thinking that God is like us… But he isn’t.

James 4:15 “Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.””

“If the Lord wills” is not a magical phrase to guarantee success—it’s an attitude of relinquishing control to the God who already rules today and tomorrow.

Proverbs 16:9 — “The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.” You will end up where God wants you when you know your limits, know your Lord, and trust Him with the things beyond your control.

When I have a right view of God, I can trust him in the things I don’t know, trusting that he is leading me…

Know my heart (16)

Our hearts are self-focused, naturally… In fact, the root of all evil is a fixation on self

The first sin in the garden was to choose self over trusting God - As a result, all humans have the same condition

James 4:16 “As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.”

I am going to do this and this and this… It is self-focused, and that is why it is sinful.

Making plans isn’t sinful - Acting like your plans are best is

Application: When I am obsessing over the future and trying to make things happen… Am I truly trusting God, or just trying to secure control?

Know my responsibility (17)

James 4:17 “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.”

The right thing to do - Obedience

You and I are not promised tomorrow, but we all have this moment right now - And living in God’s will tomorrow starts with how you and I live today

End with story that illustrates all of this - Losing everything… Engagement… To now…