God's Will for Us - Christians in Recovery

God’s Will is for us to:

The best question we can figure out the will of God by is, “What would Jesus do?” Other questions we may ask ourselves include: “Where would Jesus go?” “What would Jesus say?” “How would Jesus act?” “Who would Jesus speak to?” “How far would Jesus go…to do good or to abstain from sin?”

First of all, those who follow God’s will enjoy a close fellowship with Him.

Genesis 6:9
This is the history of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless man living on earth at the time. He consistently followed God’s will and enjoyed a close relationship with him.

And secondly, God’s will eventually is fulfilled whether you follow it or not. If you do not obey His will, He will use other means to fulfill it.

Exodus 8 – the chapter of the plagues of Egypt. God’s will was for the Israelites, His chosen people, to be set free from the bonds of slavery to Pharaoh. God knew Pharaoh would not let His people go so God showed both Pharaoh and his people, along with the Israelites the full power of His force when He sent the plagues upon the Egyptians. In return for the many sufferings of the Israelites at the hands of the Egyptians, God’s will was fulfilled and the Israelites were let go but not until the Egyptians experienced many hardships and sorrows themselves at the hand of God through Moses and Aaron. God will have His will done, one way or another.

God’s will for each of His children are listed below with Scripture references to back them up. They are the same 16 things I first listed above at the introduction of this article. At the end are some questions you can ask yourself daily to really figure out what you should and should not be doing.

1) Read His Word so we can know Him more closely.
The Bible is His eternal love letter to us and we should not have to pick it up and blow the dust off of it just to read it.

And regarding your speculation on whether the dead are raised or not, don’t you read your Bibles?

2. Matthew 21:16 The Message (MSG)
“Do you hear what these children are saying?” Jesus said, “Yes, I hear them. And haven’t you read in God’s Word, “From the mouths of children and babies I’ll furnish a place of praise’?”

3. Revelation 1:3 The Message (MSG)
How blessed the reader! How blessed the hearers and keepers of these oracle words, all the words written in this book! Time is just about up.

4. Deuteronomy 17:19 King James Version (KJV)
And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them:

2) Consume His Word – by reading the Bible we are consuming the Word of God.
Matthew 4:3-5 (New International Version)
The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

Luke 4:4 King James Version (KJV)
And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.

Job 33:4
The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

3) Participate In Communion
The Word of God is the Bible but Jesus is also known as The Word in the flesh. By participating in communion, we are fulfilling God’s Will in remembering the sacrifice He made for us so we might have eternal life and love with Him

Matthew 26:26-28
While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

1 Corinthians 10:16 (New International Version)
Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?

Luke 22:19 (New Living Translation)
Then he took a loaf of bread; and when he had thanked God for it, he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “This is my body, given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

1 Corinthians 11:23-25
For this is what the Lord himself said, and I pass it on to you just as I received it. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God and you, sealed by the shedding of my blood. Do this in remembrance of me as often as you drink it.”

We are to take part in Communion as often as we can. And when we do, we are to remember Jesus’ sacrifice AS OFTEN AS YOU do. This was His command.

When we take part in Communion as is instructed in the Bible, we are obeying God’s will. However, we can’t just take part in Communion. We must sanctify and cleanse ourselves from sin first.

1 Corinthians 11:27 tells us that if we take part in Communion without first acknowledging and asking for forgiveness for our sins, we are sinning against the body and the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks of the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.

1 Corinthians 11:28
A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup.

4) Worship Him in all that we are made of. Worship consists of many things as you will soon see.

Acts 1:14
They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

Acts 5:42
Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.

Deuteronomy 16:11
And rejoice before the LORD your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name-you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, the Levites in your towns, and the aliens, the fatherless and the widows living among you.

Exodus 20:3
“You shall have no other gods before me.”

Psalm 5:7
Because of your unfailing love, I can enter your house; with deepest awe I will worship at your Temple.

Psalm 22:25
I will praise you among all the people; I will fulfill my vows in the presence of those who worship you.

Psalm 22:29
Let the rich of the earth feast and worship. Let all mortals–those born to die–bow down in his presence.

Psalm 29:2
Give honour to the LORD for the glory of his name. Worship the LORD in the splendour of his holiness.

Matthew 4:10
“Get out of here, Satan,” Jesus told him. “For the Scriptures say, `You must worship the Lord your God; serve only him.’ “

Matthew 8:1-3
Large crowds followed Jesus as he came down the mountainside. Suddenly, a man with leprosy approached Jesus. He knelt before him, worshiping. “Lord,” the man said, “if you want to, you can make me well again.” Jesus touched him. “I want to,” he said. “Be healed!” And instantly the leprosy disappeared.

Worship can come in the forms of singing, dancing before God, lifting our hands in praise, praying, daily devotions, gathering together with other believers for enrichment and fellowship to grow and strengthen each other, fasting, sharing the Word of God, thanksgiving, music, studying the Bible, obeying God when He speaks to us, shouting for joy, looking after someone in need, mentoring other Christians who need the help, preaching, listening to someone in crisis…the list is endless.

The will of God regarding worship is a sermon all in its own. For this reason, I will go no further with worship in this article. Suffice it to say that worship is ESSENTIAL in the life of a Christian. Without it, we lose our closeness and intimacy with God. We, as God’s children, are to worship Him, as is according to His will.

5) Another of God’s plans for our daily lives according to His will is to pray daily.
Prayer can be a hard thing to get into but its benefits are innumerable. To pray keeps us in close communication with God the Father through Jesus Christ the Son by the Holy Spirit. It connects us with all 3 parts of the Trinity.

When we tell somebody we will pray for them and then do not, it is like blowing smoke in their faces.

Matthew 5:34 The Message (MSG)
You only make things worse when you lay down a smoke screen of pious talk, saying, “I’ll pray for you,’ and never doing it, or saying, “God be with you,’ and not meaning it. You don’t make your words true by embellishing them with religious lace. In making your speech sound more religious, it becomes less true.

And when you pray, don’t make it a scene. Matthew 6:5 says When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I assure you, that is all the reward they will ever get.

Jesus taught us how to pray and what to pray for in what is now known as The Lord’s Prayer found in Matthew 6:8-13. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.

After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. Matthew 6:9-13

And the Bible is clear on how often we should pray.

Matthew 7:7 New Living Translation (NLT)
Keep on asking, and you will be given what you ask for. Keep on looking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened.
We are to pray before we eat and ask God’s blessing on our meals.

Matthew 14:19 The Message (MSG)
Then he had the people sit on the grass. He took the five loaves and two fish, lifted his face to heaven in prayer, blessed, broke, and gave the bread to the disciples. The disciples then gave the food to the congregation.

Matthew 18:19 The Message (MSG)
When two of you get together on anything at all on earth and make a prayer of it, my Father in heaven goes into action. When we pray with other people and we agree with what is being prayed for, God the Father goes into action and answers our prayers for us.

Matthew 21:22 says that if we ask for anything in prayer, if we believe it will happen, God will make it happen.

Again the Scriptures talk about praying continually.
Acts 1:14 King James Version (KJV)
These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.

Acts 4:30-31 says
Send your healing power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” 31After this prayer, the building where they were meeting shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. And they preached God’s message with boldness.

So prayers opens up the door for the Holy Spirit to move in our lives and God’s will to be done.

There are 4 instances in the New Testament where it is said that we are to pray without ceasing:

Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.

2. Romans 1:9 King James Version (KJV)
For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers;

3. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 King James Version (KJV)
Pray without ceasing.

4. 2 Timothy 1:3 King James Version (KJV)
I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day;

6) Another way to fulfill God’s will is to share the Gospel with people who have not yet heard.
It is called the Great Commission It was the final commandment of Jesus before He was taken into Heaven.

Matthew 11:1 King James Version (KJV)
And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities.

Matthew 28:17-19 – When they saw him, they worshiped him–but some of them still doubted! Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given complete authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

7) A great way to fulfill God’s Will in our lives is to care for those in need such as the widows and the orphans. Exodus 22:22 New Living Translation (NLT) “Do not exploit widows or orphans.”

Psalm 146:9 New Living Translation (NLT)
The LORD protects the foreigners among us. He cares for the orphans and widows, but he frustrates the plans of the wicked.

James 1:27 New International Version (NIV)
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

There are not many verses pertaining to it, but it is commanded nonetheless to look after those who are less fortunate than us. And who among us are less fortunate than widows, widowers, orphans, the poor and needy? This is God’s will, to help those in need.

8) We are to be examples of Jesus in our daily lives.
We are to strive to be like Him in every fashion.

Matthew 5:48 New International Version (NIV)
Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

2 Corinthians 13:11 King James Version (KJV)
Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.

In the NIV it is stated Finally, brothers, good-by. Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.

James 1:4 in The Message states
“So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.”

We are to be examples of Jesus in our daily living. This too is the will of God for our daily lives.

Corinthians 11:30 The Message (MSG)
If I have to “brag” about myself, I’ll brag about the humiliations that make me like Jesus.

Peter 4:1 – Since Jesus went through everything you’re going through and more, learn to think like him. Think of your sufferings as a weaning from that old sinful habit of always expecting to get your own way.

Ephesians 2:7 New Living Translation (NLT)
And so God can always point to us as examples of the incredible wealth of his favour and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us through Christ Jesus.

9) Another way to do God’s will is to do whatever we do as if we were doing for Him alone.
1 Corinthians 10:31 New International Version (NIV)
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

2 Corinthians 5:14 New Living Translation (NLT)
Whatever we do, it is because Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for everyone, we also believe that we have all died to the old life we used to live.

10) Still yet another way we are to be in God’s will and to obey it is to follow the laws of the land we live in.
Jesus made this point very clear. Matthew 22:20-22 (King James Version) And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? They say unto him, Caesar’s. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s.

Hebrews 13:17 “Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.” So we are to obey the laws and the people that govern us for this will bring blessing on us. To break the laws of our land is to break God’s law.

Romans 13:2 New Living Translation (NLT)
So those who refuse to obey the laws of the land are refusing to obey God, and punishment will follow.

11) To know the Will of God and to obey it is also to gather with people who believe as you do on a regular basis.
Hebrews 10:25 clearly states this: And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage and warn each other, especially now that the day of his coming back again is drawing near.

12) We are to prepare and look eagerly for the coming of the Lord in Glory.
Matthew 25:1-13 – “The Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of ten bridesmaids who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. The five who were foolish took no oil for their lamps, but the other five were wise enough to take along extra oil. When the bridegroom was delayed, they all lay down and slept. At midnight they were roused by the shout, `Look, the bridegroom is coming! Come out and welcome him!’ “All the bridesmaids got up and prepared their lamps. Then the five foolish ones asked the others, `Please give us some of your oil because our lamps are going out.’ But the others replied, `We don’t have enough for all of us. Go to a shop and buy some for yourselves.’ “But while they were gone to buy oil, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was locked. Later, when the other five bridesmaids returned, they stood outside, calling, `Sir, open the door for us!’ But he called back, `I don’t know you!’ “So stay awake and be prepared, because you do not know the day or hour of my return.

1 Corinthians 1:7
Now you have every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Philippians 3:20
But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior.

1 Thessalonians 1:3-3
As we talk to our God and Father about you, we think of your faithful work, your loving deeds, and your continual anticipation of the return of our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Thessalonians 4:14-17
For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus comes, God will bring back with Jesus all the Christians who have died. I can tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not rise to meet him ahead of those who are in their graves. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the call of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, all the Christians who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and remain with him forever.

We must be continually watchful for the return of the Lord. Matthew 16:2-3 – He replied, “You know the saying, `Red sky at night means fair weather tomorrow, red sky in the morning means foul weather all day.’ You are good at reading the weather signs in the sky, but you can’t read the obvious signs of the times!

13) And the last thing I will speak of regarding the Will of God is about love.
Now we know that God is love. 1 John 4:8 says New International Version (NIV) Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

And we know the full description of love found in 1 Corinthians 4:4-8 – Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. Love does not demand its own way. Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged. It is never glad about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. Love will last forever.

We are to love God – Matthew 22:37 New International Version (NIV) Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”

14) We are to love each other
John 15:12 King James Version (KJV)
This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.

15) We are to love our enemies
Matthew 5:44 King James Version (KJV) But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

To just love God and our friends is no sacrifice, but when we love those who hurt us and those who are our enemies, then we are showing the kind of love Jesus showed to US. Yes, US. We were sinners yet He loved US. Romans 5:8 King James Version (KJV) But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

John 15:13 King James Version (KJV)
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

We were not yet God’s friend, yet Jesus died for us because He loved us despite our sins – (John 3:16-17).

16) The final thing I can think of that involves God’s will is what we call the Golden Rule
found in Matthew 7:12 – Do for others what you would like them to do for you. This is a summary of all that is taught in the law and the prophets.

The Message says it this way – Here is a simple, rule-of-thumb guide for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you, then grab the initiative and do it for them. Add up God’s Law and Prophets and this is what you get.

When trying to figure out the will of God there are a few questions that you can use as a guide and they will never lead you astray. They have been around for centuries and have just become really popular, especially with younger people. When trying to figure out what God wants you to do, think of these questions:

These are questions we can ask ourselves in our daily lives. Use them in your daily prayer and devotion time. And don’t just talk to God and ask Him the questions then leave. Wait for Him to respond to your questions. He will always answer if you are willing to listen.

Figuring out the Will of God seems like a hard thing to do, but when you look through the Bible, it is chalked full of things we as His followers are supposed to do. All we need to do is have an open mind and especially an open heart, for it is to the heart that God speaks. Listen for that still small voice inside you that says, “don’t do that, go this way, speak to him/her…” Some people call it a conscience, some call it an instinct, but in actual fact, it is the Holy Spirit leading and guiding you to do God’s will. All you have to do is Ask and you will receive. Jesus said it – do you believe it? Well, do you?