One of the keys to understanding how to follow God’s best plan for our lives, is to understand that you have the right to choose and make decisions for your life.
God created you with the right to choose your own destiny.
Deuteronomy 30:19-20 | NLT (19) “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! (20) You can make this choice by loving the LORD your God, obeying Him, and committing yourself firmly to Him. This is the key to your life. And if you love and obey the LORD, you will live long in the land the LORD swore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
Our decisions will either keep us in God’s highest and best for our lives or lead us away from the Lord’s plan.
There are those who are making bad decisions because they do not know what the right decision is to make.
Ephesians 5:15-17 | AMPC (15) Look carefully then how you walk! Live purposefully and worthily and accurately, not as the unwise and witless, but as wise (sensible, intelligent people), (16) Making the very most of the time [buying up each opportunity], because the days are evil. (17) Therefore do not be vague and thoughtless and foolish, but understanding and firmly grasping what the will of the Lord is.
Colossians 1:9-10 | AMPC (9) For this reason we also, from the day we heard of it, have not ceased to pray and make [special] request for you, [asking] that you may be filled with the full (deep and clear) knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom [in comprehensive insight into the ways and purposes of God] and in understanding and discernment of spiritual things– (10) That you may walk (live and conduct yourselves) in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him and desiring to please Him in all things, bearing fruit in every good work and steadily growing and increasing in and by the knowledge of God [with fuller, deeper, and clearer insight, acquaintance, and recognition].
God is saying that He wants us to fully understand what His will is for our lives, clearly and specifically. It is possible for us to know what He wants for our lives, what He desires for us and what pleases Him.
I do not believe that God desires for us to have to seek after the knowledge of His will like an Easter egg hunt where we waste so much time trying to figure out what it is but rather just walking in it.
The will of God for us can be divided into two categories:
- The general will of God that is made known unto us by His Word.
- The specific will of God for our individual lives – where do we live, where do we work, who am I supposed to marry? These are made known to us as we are led by the Spirit.
In the things that God has not given us direction for in His Word, He wants us to be led by His Spirit in our spirits.
Before God can direct our paths, we must first be willing to acknowledge Him in every area of our lives.
Proverbs 3:5-6 | TPT (5) Trust in the Lord completely, and do not rely on your own opinions. With all your heart rely on him to guide you, and he will lead you in every decision you make. (6) Become intimate with him in whatever you do, and he will lead you wherever you go.
Let’s establish seven things in this:
- You are a spirit, you have a soul, and you live in a body.
1 Thessalonians 5:23 | NKJV (23) Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
- The spirit is made new when you are Born Again.
2 Corinthians 5:17 | NLT (17) This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
- We present our bodies as a living sacrifice.
Romans 12:1 | NLT (1) And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all He has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice–the kind He will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship Him.
- We must renew our minds with the Word of God.
Romans 12:2 | NLT (2) Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
- God lives in you by the Holy Spirit in your spirit.
1 John 4:15 | NKJV (15) Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.
- God will guide us, enlighten us, and lead us through our recreated human spirits.
Proverbs 20:27 | NIV (27) The human spirit is the lamp of the LORD that sheds light on one’s inmost being.
- As a child of God, you have a right to be led by the Spirit of God.
Romans 8:14 | NKJV (14) For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
How Does the Holy Spirit Lead Me?
The four primary ways that God will lead the Born-Again believer are:
- The Written Word of God
- The Inward Witness
- The Inward Voice or Voice of Your Spirit
- The Voice of the Holy Spirit
After the Word of God, God will lead you first and foremost through the inward witness.
Romans 8:16 | NKJV (16) The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
1 John 5:10 | NKJV (10) He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself…
His Spirit, God’s Spirit bears witness with our spirits that we are His children. There is a knowing that is right down on the inside of you.
If He will bear witness in our spirits about being Born Again, the most important decision that we could have possibly made, then surely, He will bear witness about all the decisions in our lives.
- He will warn you of impending danger or harm in the same way.
Acts 27:9-11 | NKJV (9) Now when much time had been spent, and sailing was now dangerous because the Fast was already over, Paul advised them, (10) saying, “Men, I perceive that this voyage will end with disaster and much loss, not only of the cargo and ship, but also our lives.”
Paul had a knowing that the trip would not go well because the Spirit of God bore witness to that in his spirit.
- He will confirm that something is good, proper and in His will by a peace in your spirit.
Colossians 3:15 | AMP (15) And let the peace (soul harmony which comes) from Christ rule (act as umpire continually) in your hearts [deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise in your minds, in that peaceful state] to which as [members of Christ’s] one body you were also called [to live]. And be thankful (appreciative), [giving praise to God always].
God will lead you in this way as you pursue a “peaceful knowing” in your spirit.