Knowing God’s Will

Colossians 1:9…we have not stopped praying for you, asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.

Recently I stepped out in faith to operate in part of my calling, which involves standing on a platform, teaching God’s word. But the moment I stepped off that stage, I began to struggle with doubt, discouragement and insecurity about who I am and whether or not this is REALLY God’s will for my life. AGAIN. Asking Him for confirmation. AGAIN. All of this doubt based on feelings instead of spiritual discernment.

How often do you struggle with uncertainty about God’s will for you?

According to Colossians 1:9, knowing God’s will doesn’t come from our natural minds or our human reasoning. And it certainly doesn’t come from our feelings! Knowing God’s will comes only through spiritual wisdom and spiritual understanding.

But how often do we try to discern His will by what we think and by how we feel? We judge our understanding of God’s will for us by our fickle thoughts and emotions.

Romans 8:6 says that letting our natural mind control our thoughts leads to death, which is exactly what I experienced this week: DEATH of my vision. DEATH of my passion, DEATH of my confidence. DEATH of my felt connection with Jesus. And it all started in my mind. I let myself get carried away, literally, by negative words in my head. “That message was terrible! You didn’t make any sense. Who do you think YOU are? You don’t even GET this message yourself, so how can you communicate it to anyone else? You aren’t cut out for this.”

My negative thoughts about my PERFORMANCE led to insecurity and doubt about whether or not I was really doing what God called me to do.

UNTIL I read these words in Colossians and realized that God’s will is spiritually discerned — that means we can only know God’s will when we think His thoughts. We think His thoughts when we read His words and listen to His voice. His thoughts in our minds transform us, leading us into life and peace and the knowledge of His will! (See Romans 12:2).

How about you? In what area of your life do you question God’s will? Are you trying to determine His purposes for you by your own thoughts and feelings? How would your life be different if you traded your thoughts for His?