The Will of God

"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."
Romans 12:2

There is a lot of confusion surrounding God's will. People don't understand what it is, or how it works. Many believe that God imposes his will on us so that in the end, our choices really mean nothing. Others see God as passive. They believe that his will has little to do with our lives. What we do, the choices we make, dictate the direction of our lives. But God does have a will and it is perfect. The reason we struggle is because we don't understand it.
    The scripture above is a very clear statement about why we don't understand God's will and how we can better understand it. We don't understand because we continue to conform to the world's thinking. Some of the things we have grown up with highly influence how we live. We were taught to 'pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps.' This means that we take care of our own issues and problems by gaining some kind of inner strength. We're taught to scrape and scratch for everything we can get. The strong are the ones who will survive, and it is up to us to make our own way. But these things oppose the the teaching of the Bible. There is but one way to really know God's will.
    We must forsake the false teaching of the world and receive the truth. This can only happen as we are transformed in our thinking. This is called 'renewal.' Our first experience with God was a renewal. We passed from death to life and our spirits that were once dead were brought to life. But to know God's will and to walk in it requires that we also transform our minds. We must learn to think in light of the kingdom of God instead of the kingdom of the world. It is difficult because we are so accustomed to the ways of the world. But when we begin to think in the Spirit and not the flesh, God's will for our lives becomes much more clear. His will for us often has much more to do with our spiritual place than our physical one. We continually ask God to show us his will for our lives. We want to know where to go, what to do, or how to fix the problem. But when we transform our minds, the answers to these questions become less important. When we gain spiritual direction, the physical direction follows easily.
    I understand that all of us face difficult situations. There are so many things that occupy our thoughts. But if we will change the way we think and press into the things of the Spirit, the answers for the struggles will come naturally. It is a lifelong endeavor to change our thinking. But the rewards of doing so are immense. If we really want to know God's will for our lives, we must make this breakthrough. God's will is revealed by the Spirit, not by anything we can think of on our own. When we think in the Spirit, revelation comes and God's will is made known. Just think how much less pressure there is when we live in the Spirit and allow God's will to flow into our lives. The burden is lightened and joy returns. This is how we know the will of God and he wants to show us.