Living in God’s Will

Living in God’s will is not just about finding direction. It is about surrender. It is about laying down your own way and trusting that His way is better, even when you do not fully understand it. A person living in God’s will is not living for self anymore. He is learning to walk by faith, obey the Word, and follow where the Lord leads.

There is peace in that kind of life. Not because everything is easy, but because God is near. “And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7). The world cannot give that peace. Circumstances cannot hold it together. That peace comes from knowing God is in control and that His hand is on the life that is yielded to Him.

There is also purpose in God’s will. Life stops being empty when it is placed in His hands. God is not guessing with His people. He is not making it up as He goes. “For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11). When a man commits his way to the Lord, he stops building on sand. “Commit your works to the Lord and your plans will be established” (Proverbs 16:3). That is where real direction begins.

There is joy there as well. Not the shallow kind that comes and goes with feelings, but the deep kind that comes from walking with God. “You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever” (Psalm 16:11). Jesus said, “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). That does not mean a life without trouble. It means a life filled with Him. Even trials take on a different meaning when they are placed in God’s hands, because “the testing of your faith produces endurance” (James 1:3).

A life in God’s will also changes how a person treats others. You cannot walk close with Christ and stay hard, cold, and selfish. God’s will produces compassion, kindness, forgiveness, and mercy. As the heart is changed, the life begins to show it. The believer becomes less like the world and more like the Savior.

In the end, living in God’s will is a life of ongoing change. It is not perfection in a day. It is the steady work of God in a surrendered life. “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2). That is what God does. He renews, corrects, shapes, and transforms. “But we all… are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory” (2 Corinthians 3:18). That is the beauty of it. God’s will does not just change where a person is going. It changes who that person is becoming.

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“What I write is not for everyone, but what I write is meant for someone.” – Dean Butler

This work may be shared for ministry or personal use, but please credit the author when doing so. © Dean Butler