How do I find God's will for my life?

A couple of weeks ago at church we looked at the question of making decisions and the will of God. Although there are always going to be exceptions I expect that most Christians believe that part of what it means to be a Christian is that you want to do what God wants - even if we don't always agree on what that is.

So if we want to do what God wants it is necessary to find out what that looks like - not just in a general sense, such as the kind of character we should develop (love, joy, peace, patience...), but also in the sense of what to do with my life, where to live, who to marry etc etc. And I expect that that is where many of us get stuck - because although there are passages in the Bible (such as 2 Samuel 5) where God seems to direct people very specifically and clearly - our experience is often not so specific or clear.

So how does God guide us? I think that there are broadly speaking, four ways in which Christians think about God's guidance.

1) God has a plan for my life (Destination A) and therefore for every decision I take there is a right and a wrong option - if I make a wrong choice at some point this will result in having to move to Plan B - and missing out on the best God has for my life.

2) God has a plan for my life (Destination A) but if I make a mistake God is able to work things out so that I can get back on track and still reach 'A', although it might take a little longer.

3) God has a plan for my life (Destination A) but at a series of points along my life's journey God presents me with a variety of options - all of which are acceptable to God and all of which will still lead to destination A.

4) God has a plan for my life but there are a number of final destinations that are equally acceptable to God, depending on what choices I make at various points in life.

[What (4) is not saying is that we can do whatever we like and make whatever choices we like. It is also allowing that there will be some decisions we face where there is clearly a 'right' choice, in terms of the will of God.]

I'm sure that many of us would like to know exactly what God would have us do - because it takes the responsibility and pressure off us to make a decision. We pray - God tells us.

Romans 12:2, and other verses, makes it clear that doing the right thing comes out of a life that is lived the right way. It follows from having a mind that has been transformed in the way you think about everything - and that transformation comes about through spiritual disciplines such as time in prayer and Bible study - things we find hard to maintain. So there really are no easy answers...

But when we are facing difficult decisions (whether to do X or not) here are a few points to help us determine what God might be saying:

• Have I prayed that God will show me his will?
• Does the Bible allow/forbid me to do X?
• If I do X will God be glorified?
• Will doing X allow me to grow spiritually - or will it hinder my spiritual growth?
• Do I really want to do what God wants?
• Have I spoken to some mature, wise Christians, who I trust?
• Has God given me a peace about doing X?
• Am I trusting God?